Review of The Real Buddy Holly Story (1985) by Marissa & — 17 Oct 2008

Great movie to bad buddy holly died of young age and he had a short life he had great music to and he was born where I was! well Both musicians and those interested in the social history of 1950s rock 'n' roll will enjoy this documentary on the great Buddy Holly.

Slickly produced it's not, but the slightly amateurish feel goes well with the raw, pure sound of Holly and the Crickets---before he moved to New York and added strings and harp to his music. It's fun to imagine the touring days when the Crickets, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers, Dion and the Belmonts, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Little Richard, and other now-legends traveled from town to town on buses, sitting in with each other's acts when somebody was sick or otherwise unable to play.

Scenes with Holly's family, schoolmates, and girlfriends not only reveal his small-town background but demonstrate that he knew early on what he wanted to do, and show his determination to do it. Despite the drive that took him to stardom, those around him unanimously say he kept his down-home nice-guy personality to the end.

Nobody who's played rock music can deny what Paul McCartney and Keith Richards make clear: We all owe what we play in large part to Buddy Holly. As Richards says, "Not bad for a guy from Lubbock, right?".