Buddy Holly Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holly, On September 7, 1936. A Texan by birth, he was a very popular singer and songwriter at the peak of his short career, when he tragically died in an airplane crash in 1959.

While the brief year and a half he was in the public eye was shorter than nearly all famous singers in history, Buddy Holly’s career became the inspiration for dozens of soloists and bands in the years to follow. Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, and the Beatles all profess to have been influenced by the innovative music of Buddy Holly.

Buddy was one of the first artists inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, 27 years after his death. Buddy was also listed as number 13 in Rolling Stone’s 2004 “Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time.”

A budding artist from the start, Buddy was so-named by his family because he was such a friend to everyone. His older brothers, Larry and Travis, helped him learn how to play the guitar and other similar string instruments.

Buddy won a singing contest at age 5 singing “Have You Ever Gone Sailing.” And at age 13, he sang a soprano version of “My Two-Timin’ Woman into a wire recorder his friend helped him borrow from the music shop.

Just 3 years later, Buddy befriended Bob Montgomery at Hutchinson Junior High School. They became a bluegrass duet and sang in local talent shows and clubs. When Buddy saw Elvis perform in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas in 1955, he quickly began performing in a more rockabilly style. When he opened for Elvis later that year, a talent scout saw him and signed him up to a contract.

Buddy began recording hits, performing in concerts, and even appearing on TV. But, after a performance in Iowa, on February 3, 1959, his small plane crashed killing him, two of his crew, Valens and Richardson, and the pilot. Waylon Jennings, another member of the crew, had given up his seat on the plane to Buddy and rode the bus instead. Buddy Holly had been in the climax of his career when he passed away and, as such, was frozen in time as a rock and roll legend.