September 7, 1936 - Charles Hardin Holley is born to Ella and Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley on Labor Day at the Holley's Sixth Street home in Lubbock.
April 19, 1940 - Buddy attends the birthday party of a four-year-old girl, and the event is reported in a Lubbock newspaper article, which states "Buddy Holley sang a song for the occasion."
1941 - Five-year-old Buddy enters a talent contest along with his older brothers Larry and Travis. Though his brothers grease his toy violin to keep him from interrupting their performance, Buddy's singing Down the River Of Memories wins him the $5 first-place prize.
1949 - Buddy's first recording is My Two-Timin' Woman, a Hank Snow song, which he sings into a wire recorder.
1952 - Buddy and Bob Montgomery make a home recording of Take These Shackles From My Heart and I'll Just Pretend. The following year they make a home recording of Bill Monroe's Footprints In The Snow.
September 1953 - KDAV radio begins broadcasting what is considered the first all-country music format in the United States. The Sunday Party aired by Hipockets Duncan, a disc jockey and talent scout, gives local musicians an opportunity to perform live. Buddy teams with Jack Neal to form the duo Buddy and Jack, and their show is broadcast live from KDAV during The Sunday Party.
November 1953 - At KDAV, Buddy and Jack record an acetate of I Hear the Lord Callin' For Me, and I Saw The Moon Cry Last Night.
1954 - Jack Neal marries, and Buddy teams up with Bob Montgomery to form Buddy and Bob who advertise themselves as Western and Bop performers. The Buddy and Jack Show is replaced by the Buddy and Bob Show on The Sunday Party. Over the next few years, Buddy is a member of several different bands and performs at schools, teen parties, church events, and live remote broadcasts for businesses owned by KDAV's advertisers.
1954/55 - Buddy, joined at various times by Bob Montgomery, Sonny Curtis, Larry Welborn, Don Guess and/or J. I. Allison, travels to Nesman Recording Studio in Wichita Falls to record a number of songs including: Flower Of My Heart, Door To My Heart, Soft Place In My Heart, Gotta Get You Near Me Blues, I Gambled My Heart, Down The Line, You And I Are Through, Baby Let's Play House, and Queen Of The Ballroom.
February 19, 1954 - Buddy, Bob Montgomery, and Larry Welborn perform Flower Of My Heart, a song written by Bob, for a contest at Lubbock High School. The song wins the competition and is chosen as the 1954 Senior Class Song.
February 13, 1955 - Buddy and Bob Montgomery open for Elvis Presley at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock.
October 14, 1955 - At the Fair Park Coliseum, Buddy, Bob Montgomery, and Larry Welborn perform in a show featuring Bill Haley and The Comets and Jimmy Rodgers Snow. Eddie Crandall, a Nashville agent for country singer Marty Robbins, watches their performance.
October 15, 1955 - Buddy, Bob Montgomery, and Larry Welborn open for Elvis at the Fair Park Coliseum.
October 28, 1955 - Buddy, Bob Montgomery, and Larry Welborn open for headliner Marty Robbins at the Fair Park Coliseum. Eddie Crandall again watches Buddy's performance.
December 2-3, 1955 - Eddie Crandall writes to "Pappy" Dave Stone, KDAV Station Manager, asking for exclusive rights to help Buddy obtain a recording contract. Crandall sends Stone a telegram asking that Buddy and his group send him a recording of four original songs.
December 7, 1955 - At Nesman Recording Studio in Wichita Falls, Buddy, Don Guess and J.I. Allison record Love Me, Don't Come Back Knockin', Moonlight Baby, and I Guess I Was Just A Fool which are submitted on acetate to Decca.
January 23-25, 1956 - Buddy negotiates a recording contract with Decca and a three-year songwriter's contract with Cedarwood Publishing Company. Throughout 1956, between recording sessions with Decca and practicing with his band, Buddy polishes his act and gains much needed experience performing for touring shows, dances, and clubs around Lubbock and West Texas. His encounter with Decca will teach him a lot about the recording industry, and by 1957, he begins to develop a distinctive style and vision regarding the direction he wants his career to take.
January 26, 1956 - Buddy, Sonny Curtis, and Don Guess begin their first recording sessions for Decca at (Owen) Bradley's Barn in Nashville under the name Buddy and The Two Tones. They record Love Me, Don't Come Back Knocking, Midnight Shift, and Blue Days Black Nights.
February 8, 1956 - Buddy receives Decca's contract from Jim Denny of Cedarwood Publishing. Buddy's name has been misspelled, inadvertently dropping the 'e' in Holley. As a result, Buddy adopts the Holly spelling for his last name.
April 16, 1956 - Decca releases the Buddy Holly single Blue Days Black Nights and Love Me.
April 21, 1956 - Billboard reviews Love Me: "If the public will take more than one Presley or Perkins, this one stands a chance."
May 6-10, 1956 - Buddy joins Faron Young's Grand Ole Opry Show on its Oklahoma tour. Other performers included Ray Price, Carl Perkins, Tommy Collins, Jimmy & Johnny, Tom Pritchard, Red Sovine, and Joe Vincent.
July 2, 1956 - The Buddy Holly single, Blue Days Black Nights/Love Me is released in England on the Brunswick label.
July 22, 1956 - Buddy Holly, Sonny Curtis, Don Guess, and J.I. Allison are in Nashville for the second Decca recording session at Bradley's Barn. The song list from the session includes I'm Changing All Those Changes, Girl On My Mind, Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Ting-A-Ling, and That'll Be The Day.
November 15, 1956 - Buddy is in Nashville for the third and final recording session with Decca at Bradley's Barn. Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Modern Don Juan, and You Are My One Desire are recorded.
December 24, 1956 - Decca releases Buddy's single, Modern Don Juan and You Are My One Desire.
January 9-23, 1957 - Buddy, Don Guess, and Sonny Curtis join the Hank Thompson tour. Other artists on the tour include Wanda Jackson, Mitchell Torek, Hank Locklin, Cowboy Copas, George Jones, and Justin Tubb.
January 22, 1957 - Decca sends Buddy a letter informing him that his renewal option is not being exercised and his contract will expire on January 26, 1957.
February 24-25, 1957 - Buddy travels to the Norman Petty Studio in Clovis, New Mexico and records I'm Looking For Someone To Love and the hit version of That'll Be The Day. Buddy sings and plays lead guitar; Larry Welborn plays bass; J.I. Allison plays drums; and Niki Sullivan, Gary Tollett and Ramona Tollett sing background vocals on That'll Be The Day.
February/March, 1957 - Buddy is restricted from recording any of the songs that were done under his contract with Decca. A name is needed in order to release the new version of That'll Be The Day. J.I. Allison searches through an encyclopedia under "Insects" in order to find a name for the band. They consider briefly, then discard "The Beetles" before selecting "The Crickets". Over the next month, the band members of The Crickets come together: Buddy Holly, vocals and lead guitar; J.I. Allison, drums; Joe B. Mauldin, bass; and Niki Sullivan, rhythm guitar. (Niki will leave the band in December at the end of the Biggest Show of Stars for 1957.)
March 12, 1957 - Last Night and a cha-cha version of Maybe Baby are recorded in Clovis.
March 19, 1957 - The Crickets sign a contract with Bob Thiele in which Coral, a subsidiary of Decca, agrees to purchase masters for That'll Be The Day and I'm Looking For Someone To Love. This will be the working contract for The Crickets, and their songs will be released under the Brunswick label.
April 8, 1957 - Mailman Bring Me No More Blues and Words Of Love are recorded in Clovis, as Buddy makes his first attempt at overdubbing.
May 16, 1957 - Buddy signs an agreement with Bob Thiele for Coral to sell the masters of Words Of Love and Mailman Bring Me No More Blues. There are two separate recording contracts involving Buddy Holly. The first contract is for records issued under The Crickets' name. These records appear on the Brunswick label. The second contract is for records issued under the Buddy Holly name. These records appear on the Coral label.
May 20, 1957 - Mercury Records releases The Diamonds recording of Words Of Love written by Buddy Holly.
May 27, 1957 - Brunswick releases The Crickets' single, That'll Be The Day/I'm Looking For Someone To Love.
May 29, 1957 - Not Fade Away and Everyday are recorded in Clovis. Instrumentation includes use of a cardboard box, knee slaps, and a celeste.
June 20, 1957 - Coral releases the Buddy Holly single, Words Of Love/Mailman Bring Me No More Blues.
July 1, 1957 - Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Listen To Me, and I'm Gonna Love You Too are recorded in Clovis.
July 11, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets are billed on the front page of the Carlsbad Current Argus newspaper under the headline: "Buddy Holly and his popular rock 'n roll band from Lubbock". They perform at the Elks Ballroom on July 13th.
July 12, 1957 - It's Too Late and Send Me Some Lovin' are recorded in Clovis.
July 16, 1957 - From Bob Thiele, Buddy learns That'll Be The Day has sold 50,000 records, and an additional 28,000 have been pressed. That evening, Buddy goes to see Little Richard perform at Lubbock's Cotton Club.
July 23, 1957 - Bob Thiele sends a registered letter to inform The Crickets that Coral will renew their recording contract.
July 24, 1957 - Buddy signs contracts for The Crickets to perform during the month of August at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.; the Royal Theater in Baltimore, Maryland; and the Apollo Theater in New York City.
July 30, 1957 - Buddy signs a contract for a 67-day tour package beginning in September.
August 2-8, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets begin their first major tour at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. where That'll Be The Day is number two on the charts. Other acts featured on the tour include Clyde McPhatter, The Cadillacs, Edna McGriff, Otis Rush, Lee Andrews & The Hearts, and Oscar & Oscar.
August 9-16, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform at the Royal Theater in Baltimore, Maryland.
August 12, 1957 - The Decca version of That'll Be The Day with Rock Around With Ollie Vee is released, and sales are poor. The song on the Brunswick label, however, is listed as No. 26 in Cash Box's Top 60 chart and is listed as an R&B Sure Shot.
August 16-22, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform at the Apollo Theater in New York City.
August 26, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform That'll Be The Day on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
August 27, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets appear on the Ted Steele Show in New York City.
August 30-September 8, 1957 - The Alan Freed Holiday Show at the Paramount Theater in New York features Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Other performers included Little Richard, The Del Vikings, The Diamonds, Mickey & Sylvia, The Moonglows, The Five Keys, Larry Williams, and King Curtis.
September 9-November 24, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets join the Biggest Show of Stars for 1957 in Norfolk, Virginia. The tour is already in progress and will travel throughout the United States and Canada over the next three months. Other artists include: Paul Williams, Chuck Berry, Paul Anka, The Drifters, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, Laverne Baker, the Everly Brothers, Jimmie Bowen, Clyde McPhatter, The Spaniels, Johnnie and Joe, Tommy Brown, Bobettes, and Sam "The Man" Taylor.
September 10, 1957 - Coral in England releases The Crickets single That'll Be The Day/I'm Looking For Someone To Love.
September 20, 1957 - Coral releases the Buddy Holly single Peggy Sue/Everyday.
September 21, 1957 - Cash Box features a cover photograph of Buddy Holly and The Crickets pointing to a circled date of October 1, 1957. That'll Be The Day is expected to pass the one million mark in sales on this date. Two days later Billboard lists That'll Be The Day as the No. 1 Best Seller in Stores.
September 23-29, 1957 - While waiting for the tour Biggest Show of Stars for 1957 to wind its way through the Southern states without them, Buddy, J.I., Joe B. and Niki visit their families in Lubbock. They then meet Norman Petty at Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City where they record four songs: An Empty Cup, Rock Me My Baby, You've Got Love, and Maybe Baby.
October 11, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets are featured in the British magazine the New Musical Express, which states: "If someone asks you where the hit records come from these days, you won't be far wrong if you reply Deep In The Heart Of Texas."
October 27, 1957 - Brunswick releases The Crickets' single, Oh Boy/Not Fade Away.
November 15-16, 1957 - Coral in England releases Peggy Sue/Everyday.
November 24, 1957 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal carries an article under the headline "Lubbock Combo on Network Show Next Sunday". This article refers to a scheduled appearance by Buddy Holly and The Crickets on The Ed Sullivan Show.
November 27, 1957 - Brunswick releases the album, The Chirping Crickets with songs, That'll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Not Fade Away, You've Got Love, Maybe Baby, It's Too Late, Tell Me How, I'm Looking For Someone To Love, An Empty Cup, Send Me Some Lovin', Last Night, and Rock Me My Baby.
November 29, 1957 -Sid Varnes, Cash Box's editor-in-chief, sends a telegram to The Crickets informing them that the Juke Box Operators of America have voted them "Most Promising Vocal Group of 1957".
December 1, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform That'll Be The Day and Peggy Sue on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sullivan calls Buddy back on stage after the second song for an impromptu interview and to solicit another "very nice hand for these Texas youngsters."
December 4-5, 1957 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets return to Lubbock. Niki Sullivan leaves the group, citing the harsh tour schedule as his reason. Norman Petty signs contracts for Buddy Holly and The Crickets to participate in three tours, including the Paramount Theater in New York, the America's Greatest Teenage Recording Stars, and a short Florida tour.
December 17 and 19, 1957 - Little Baby, Look At Me, and (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care are recorded in Clovis.
December 22, 1957 - Coral in England releases Oh Boy/Not Fade Away.
December 23-January 5, 1957/58 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets are billed separately during the 12-day Alan Freed's Christmas Jubilee Show (also billed as the Holiday of Stars) at the Paramount Theater in New York City. The show is headlined by Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Everly Brothers.
January 2, 1958 - Norman Petty signs a contract for Buddy Holly and The Crickets to perform on tour and in radio promotions in Australia, beginning January 30.
January 3, 1958 - The New Musical Express features an article stating that Buddy is fast gaining recognition as a solo artist while continuing to work with The Crickets, and that one of the group's ambitions is to set up a music publishing house.
January 6, 1958 - Decca releases the Buddy Holly single Love Me/You Are My One Desire.
January 8-24, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets join America's Greatest Teenage Recording Stars tour in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other artists on the tour include the Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Eddie Cochran, The Rays, Danny and The Juniors, Jimmy Rodgers Snow, Margie Rayburn, the Hollywood Flames, Shepherd Sisters, the Mello-Kings, the Tuneweavers, Billy Brown, Al Jones, and Jimmy Edwards.
January 25, 1958 - Bob Thiele of Coral presents Buddy Holly and Norman Petty with the gold record for Peggy Sue. Rave On and That's My Desire are recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York.
January 26, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform Oh Boy on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York City.
January 27, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets and Norman Petty fly from New York to Honolulu. The same evening, they perform two shows with Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka, and Jodie Sands.
January 28-29, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets travel from Hawaii to Sydney, Australia for a six-day tour. Others on the tour include Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka, and Jodie Sands. Variety runs an article about the Honolulu show under the headline: "Rock n' Roll Reaches Hawaii & Makes Good", and describes "turn-away crowds".
January 31, 1958 - In Newcastle, Australia, Pat Barton, a local deejay, interviews Buddy. During the interview, Buddy denies that The Crickets, or any group, will fill Elvis Presley's shoes while he is in the Army.
February 1, 1958 - A review of the Newcastle performance appears in the local newspaper under the headline, "Rock Show Quiet", an apparent comparative reference to the wild audience behavior at the Little Richard concert the year before.
February 4, 1958 - A review in the Courier-Mall newspaper of Brisbane, Australia, describes The Big Show as "frenzied vocal showmanship over a steadily slugging rhythm...heard by groups of enthusiastic teenagers squealing and screaming like 50 untrained fife bands".
February 5, 1958 - Coral releases Buddy's single I'm Gonna Love You Too/Listen To Me. A review of The Big Show appears in the Melbourne Herald with the headline, "Stadium Shook to Big Show" and names Buddy Holly as the "undoubted star" with his "clever display of guitar technique".
February 9, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets return to Hawaii after the Australian tour and perform at Scofield Barracks.
February 12, 1958 - Well...All Right recorded in Clovis. Brunswick releases The Crickets' single Maybe Baby/Tell Me How.
February 13, 1958 - Think It Over and Fool's Paradise are recorded in Clovis.
February 15, 1958 - J.I. records Real Wild Child and Oh You Beautiful Doll. The song is released under J.I.'s middle name Ivan.
February 20-25, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets join The Big Gold Records Stars tour (informally known as The Florida Tour). The tour also stars the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley and The Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Royalteens. Tour stops in Florida include Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. Coral releases the album, Buddy Holly, which includes the songs: I'm Gonna Love You Too, Peggy Sue, Look At Me, Listen To Me, Valley Of Tears, Ready Teddy, Everyday, Mailman Bring Me No More Blues, Words Of Love, (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care, Rave On, and Little Baby.
February 28, 1958 - Coral in England releases Listen To Me/I'm Gonna Love You Too, and Maybe Baby/Tell Me How. Buddy Holly and The Crickets and Norman and Vi Petty arrive in London to begin the 25-day tour of the United Kingdom. London, Hampshire, Yorkshire, Manchester, Leicester, and Liverpool are among the tour stops. On the day of their arrival, Buddy Holly and The Crickets lip-synch That'll Be The Day on Cool For Cats on AR-TV Independent Television. Afterward, they attend a press reception and a photography shoot at Whisky-A-Go-Go in Soho, London.
March 8, 1958 - Bill Haden's review of the performances of Buddy Holly and The Crickets at the Trocadero in London appears in Melody Maker under the headline, "4,500 Disc Fans Pack Troc -- Despite Elvis," referring to a large crowd appearing at the concert despite an Elvis Presley movie playing at a theater across the street.
March 11, 1958 - Following a performance in Birmingham, a review reads: "Buddy Holly, leader of the group, is a studious-looking young man who totes his electric guitar like a sawn-off shot-gun and carries around a giant-sized amplifier which even made the Town Hall organ pipes flinch. Mr. Holly is 70 per cent of the act. He plays and sings with brash exuberance, and adds a few Presley-like wiggles which had the teenage audience squealing with delight. The rest of the group consists of a bass player whose ability was lost in the noise and a drummer who plays with sledge-hammer precision."
March 14, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets perform Maybe Baby, which is broadcast live over the BBC's Off The Record TV show, and I'm Gonna Love You Too for a promotional advertisement for the show. During one of the group's evening performances at the Granada Theatre in Woolwich, London, Mick Jagger is reportedly among the members of the audience.
March 25, 1958 - Before the second show scheduled in Hammersmith, London, the last performance of the English tour, Joe B. Mauldin knocks the caps off of Buddy's two front teeth during a scuffle. Buddy repairs the damage with chewing gum and performs the second show with the gum spread over his front teeth.
March 27-May 10, 1958 - Buddy Holly and the Crickets join Alan Freed's Big Beat Show in Brooklyn, New York. The hectic 44-day tour includes up to three shows per performance date. Other artists on the tour include Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon, Danny and The Juniors, The Diamonds, "Screamin'" Jay Hawkins, Billie and Lillie, The Chantels, Larry Williams, Billy Velours, The Shirelles, The Twin Tones, and The Alan Freed Orchestra with Sam "The Man" Taylor.
April 14, 1958 - Decca releases the album, That'll Be The Day, with the songs: You Are My One Desire, Blue Days Black Nights, Modern Don Juan, Rock Around With Ollie Vee, Ting-A-Ling, Girl On My Mind, That'll Be The Day, Love Me, I'm Changing All Those Changes, Don't Come Back Knockin' and Midnight Shift.
April 20, 1958 - Coral releases the Buddy Holly single Rave On/Take Your Time.
May 3, 1958 - During shows for the Big Beat tour at the Boston Arena, a Navy sailor is stabbed, others are injured, and arrests are made outside of the concert hall. Alan Freed, the tour's promoter, is charged with inciting a riot, but the charges are later dropped. The incident, which becomes know as the "Boston riot", results in the cancellation of scheduled shows in Troy, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; New Haven, Connecticut; and Newark, New Jersey.
May 27, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets record It's So Easy, and Lonesome Tears in Clovis. They are joined by Tommy Allsup on lead guitar. The next day, Heartbeat is recorded, and Allsup again plays lead guitar while another session musician, George Atwood, plays bass. Brunswick releases the single Think It Over/Fool's Paradise.
June 9-18, 1958 - Buddy Holly, Joe B. Mauldin, and Norman Petty fly to Los Angeles for a promotional tour, and are photographed at Southern Music Publishing in Hollywood. In San Francisco, Buddy is interviewed on the Ted Randal Show at KPIX television. As Mauldin and Petty return to Lubbock, Buddy flies to New York City where he meets Maria Elena Santiago at Peer Southern Music. He proposes marriage the first day they meet, and they are wed within two months.
June 19, 1958 - Buddy records Early In The Morning and Now We're One at Pythian Temple in New York City.
June 23, 1958 - Decca releases the Buddy Holly single, Girl On My Mind/Ting-A-Ling from the Decca album That'll Be The Day.
July 4-13, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets, accompanied by Tommy Allsup and his dance band, perform for the Summer Dance Party tour. Venues include stops in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
July 5, 1958 - Coral releases The Crickets' single, Think It Over/Fool's Paradise.
July 8, 1958 - During a performance at Electric Park in Waterloo, Iowa, a photographer asks Buddy to remove his glasses for a picture. Buddy replies: "I never have pictures made without my glasses."
July 18, 1958 - An article by Keith Goodwin in England's New Musical Express is headlined: "Buddy Holly Is Getting Into The Presley-Donegan-Boone Disc Class," and focuses on Buddy's consistency in generating excitement on records and in personal appearances, a trait which the article claims gives him an edge over his recording contemporaries.
July 21-22, 1958 - J.I. Allison and Peggy Sue Gerron apply for a marriage license from the county courthouse in Lubbock. They are married the next day in Honey Grove, Texas.
August 8, 1958 - Coral in England releases the Buddy Holly single Early In The Morning/Now We're One. The New Musical Express reports that The Crickets are on the brink of becoming the only recording group with its first four releases placed in Britain's Top Ten Best Sellers list. These songs include That'll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Maybe Baby, and Think It Over.
August 11, 1958 - Lubbock property records list "Charles Buddy Holley" in an agreement with his father, L.O. Holley, for a six-room, four-bath, brick-veneer house to be built on Buddy's property in Bobalet Heights.
August 15, 1958 - Buddy and Maria Elena Santiago are married at the Holley home in Lubbock. Parents L.O. and Ella Holley, brothers Larry and Travis, sister Patricia and the spouses of his brothers and sister are in attendance along with J.I. and Peggy Sue Allison and Joe B. Mauldin. Buddy's record, Now We're One, is played at the ceremony. The Hollys and the Allisons honeymoon for two weeks in Acapulco, Mexico.
August 17, 1958 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal features an article under the headline, "Rock-a-billy Holding Own Among Music Followers", with the subhead, "Lubbock Youths Share In Spotlight". The article focuses on local talent Buddy Holly and The Chirpin' Crickets, Sonny Curtis, Terry Nolan, Niki Sullivan, and Jerry Clement and The Jokers. The article indicates that these performers represent "the new type of rhythm and song". A Lubbock record store owner is quoted as saying, "Lubbock can actually be considered the capital of the rock-a-billy type of music".
September 10, 1958 - A session for Waylon Jennings is produced by Buddy for his newly founded company, Prism Records. The recording session in Clovis produces Jole Blon and When Sin Stops, with Buddy on rhythm guitar, George Atwood on bass, Bo Clark on drums, and King Curtis on saxophone. Buddy Holly and The Crickets record Reminiscing and Come Back Baby with King Curtis on saxophone.
September 12, 1958 - Brunswick releases The Crickets' single It's So Easy/Lonesome Tears, and Ivan's Real Wild Child/Oh You Beautiful Doll.
September 30, 1958 - Phil Everly and Buddy co-produce a recording session for Lou Giordano at the Beltone Studios in New York City. Giordano sings Buddy's composition Stay Close To Me and Don't Cha Know. Buddy plays guitar on both of the songs and accompanies Everly in the falsetto backup chorus on Don't Cha Know.
October 2, 1958 - Buddy appears on the Alan Freed Dance Party show on WNEW-TV in New York City where he lip-synchs It's So Easy and is interviewed before a live audience by Freed.
October 3-19, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets head for the Biggest Show of Stars for 1958 Fall Edition. Tommy Allsup also accompanies the group as guitarist, and The Roses provide backup vocals. Other artists on the tour include Dion and The Belmonts, Jimmy Clanton, Frankie Avalon, Clyde McPhatter, Bobby Darin, Jack Scott, The Coasters, Bobby Freeman, The Danleers, The Olympics, The Elegants, and Little Anthony & The Imperials. Tour stops are scheduled in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Canada.
October 21, 1958 - Buddy Holly records the "string session" at Pythian Temple in New York City producing True Love Ways, It Doesn't Matter Anymore, Raining In My Heart, and Moondreams. Paul Anka, who wrote It Doesn't Matter Anymore, is present along with J.I. Allison and Joe B. Mauldin.
October 28, 1958 - Buddy Holly and The Crickets appear on Dick Clark's American Bandstand on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Introducing Buddy, Clark calls him, "...a man who creates songs, performs them, and has a great deal to do with the activities of our music world, and he's still a very young man and a successful one at that." Buddy lip-synchs Heartbeat and It's So Easy.
November 3, 1958 - Buddy ends his business partnership with Norman Petty. J.I. Allison and Joe B. Mauldin decide to remain under Petty's management.
November 5, 1958 - Coral releases the Buddy Holly single Heartbeat/Well...All Right.
November 21, 1958 - Coral in England releases the Buddy Holly single Heartbeat/Well...All Right.
December 3-17, 1958 - On an Ampex tape recorder, Buddy records That's What They Say, What To Do, Peggy Sue Got Married, That Makes It Tough, Crying, Waiting, Hoping and Learning The Game in his Greenwich Village apartment.
December 11, 1958 - In a letter to his parents, Buddy relates: "I've been writing a few songs. Some of them are fairly good. The best one to date is a 'top secret' one titled Peggy Sue Got Married. Please don't mention it to anyone either. I want it to be a complete surprise."
December 14, 1958 - Buddy writes to Terry Noland in Lubbock that he has written a couple of tunes that he thinks might be good for Noland to record, which he hopes to have arranged by Jesse Stone, Ray Charles' arranger. He also writes: "I'm leaving on tour Jan. 23rd so I hope you'll be here then as I would like to be at your next session. However that tour doesn't last but 3 weeks and I'll be back in New York by the middle of February."
December 25, 1958 - Buddy and Maria Elena spend Christmas with Buddy's family in Lubbock.
December 27, 1958 - While at KLLL radio station in Lubbock, Buddy is prompted by a bet to write a song in less than 30 minutes. Buddy composes You're The One, which is recorded on the station's acetate machine. Buddy sings and plays guitar, while Waylon Jennings and Ray "Slim" Corbin, the station's deejays, provide percussion with hand-claps.
January 1959 - It is believed Buddy records three more songs, Slippin' And Slidin', Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Wait 'Till The Sun Shines Nellie, at the Greenwich Village apartment in January 1959. Buddy has recruited Tommy Allsup (guitar), Waylon Jennings (bass), and Carl Bunch (drums) for the Winter Dance Party, and they begin rehearsing for the upcoming tour.
January 5, 1959 - Coral releases the Buddy Holly single It Doesn't Matter Anymore/Raining In My Heart.
January 20-22, 1959 - Buddy, Tommy Allsup, Waylon Jennings, and Carl Bunch leave New York City and travel by train to Chicago to rendezvous with the other artists on the Winter Dance Party tour. From Chicago, the artists are scheduled to travel by bus on the tour route. Other performers include: Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Dion and The Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo.
January 23, 1959 - The Winter Dance Party starts the tour with performances in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tour will continue through February 15 with scheduled stops in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.
February 1, 1959 - The Winter Dance Party is stranded en route to Appleton, Wisconsin, when the bus breaks down. With temperatures at minus-30-degrees and no source of heat, the passengers burn newspapers in the aisles to keep warm. Sheriffs' cars pick up the freezing entertainers, and Carl Bunch is admitted to the hospital suffering from frostbite. With one performance cancelled, the Winter Dance Party continues and performs at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
February 2, 1959 - Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, and Tommy Allsup perform and serve as back-up musicians during the performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
February 3, 1959 - Shortly after the performance in Clear Lake, Buddy Holly, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens board a small aircraft chartered to take them to their next performance. Soon after take-off, the plane crashes killing all aboard.
Credits:
Created with images by Dick Cole, The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, and the Buddy Holly Center Collection