Buddy Holly Archives

Buddy Holly, the legend, meet Buddy Holly, the person.

With the opening of the Buddy Holly Center Friday, in conjunction with the Crossroads of Texas Music Festival, Lubbock residents will have the chance to see details from the life of one of its most famous sons.

”We’re trying to put Buddy Holly and his music into context,” said Connie Gibbons, director of cultural arts for the City of Lubbock. ”Here you get to deal with the individual at a lot of levels.”

As visitors enter the Holly exhibit, they are greeted by a large black and white photo of the musician doing what he loved Ð playing his guitar.

Then comes the opportunity to learn about the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music from its early roots in the 1920s to a turning point with Holly’s death in 1959.

A second timeline features details of Holly’s life such as when he began playing guitar and when he signed his first record deal.

Guests also a treated to a glimpse of two famous Holly icons Ð the unique glasses, recovered from the crash site in Iowa, and his last guitar which traveled on the bus while he took the ill-fated flight.

Further into the guitar-shaped room, visitors are treated to glimpses of Holly’s evolution as a person and a performer through graphic panels featuring quotes from the artist and those who knew him combined with display cases filled with pieces of his life.

The progression begins with a glimpse into his early life with a Boy Scout uniform and a fishing pole. Visitors even get to see that Holly was artistic in more ways than one by viewing old drawings he did as a child.

”The family has been so wonderful to work with,” Gibbons said. ”They’ve made so much available to us. We’re presenting a lot of items the public has never seen before.”

Those items also include an old report card and a miniature copy of Holly’s high school diploma and his senior ring from Lubbock High School.

”It’s interesting to look and see how he did,” Gibbons said. ”You get a sense of the creative essence of the individual.”

Visitors also get a sense of those who influenced Holly by seeing his own record collection Ð featuring everything from Buddy Knox to Bo Diddley Ð and by learning more about the effect Elvis had on Holly’s life and his music.

”Elvis had a huge influence on Buddy,” Gibbons said. ”He was listening to bluegrass and rhythm and blues, but after he met Elvis his music took on its own unique sound.”

They also get a glimpse of how his popularity began to grow with early letters from area high schools such as Nazareth High School requesting a performance at a dance.

Items related to Holly’s career as a performer occupy a large portion of the exhibit as they did in his life. The center has obtained items including a leisure suit he wore on stage, a copy of the cover letter to his first record contract with The Crickets, old amplifiers and even Holly’s first Les Paul guitar.

Many of the items the center has obtained are on loan from various Holly family members and friends including former Cricket J.I. Allison.

Such items include the original acetate copies of ”That’ll Be the Day,” and ”Maybe Baby.”

The loaned items are promised to the center for at least three months and most are there for at least six, Gibbons said. The remainder of the collection is comprised of a collection the City bought in 1994 and items that people have donated to the center.

As the exhibit progresses through Holly’s life, visitors can see a copy of his order to report for an military physical and a receipt for his union dues.

Gibbons said some of the highlights of his later life come from items donated by Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly. These items include their wedding photo, her headpiece from the wedding, a St. Christopher’s medal she gave him and, as a closing piece to the exhibit, a Lifetime Achievement award presented to Holly posthumously by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The exhibit closes with a sampling of photos, other awards and Holly’s records.

As visitors leave the exhibit, they enter the Texas Musicians Hall of Fame, an exhibit designed to feature local and area artists. Currently, the room highlights the life and accomplishments of The Crickets, a natural accompaniment for the center’s grand opening.

The exhibit features hundreds of photos, from baby pictures of members to present-day shots of performances. It also features many of the plaques and awards the different members of the group have received.

The other end of the building features an art gallery currently displaying Retrospection 15, an exhibit celebrating 15 years of cultural arts programs, exhibitions and education by the Fine Arts Center.

The retrospective features 36 artists using a variety of mediums, from oil paintings to quilting to wire sculptures.

While organizers at the center want to highlight and promote the art gallery, they understand the early focus will be on the Holly exhibit which adds extra pressure to make it wonderful, Gibbons said.

”We’re getting a little nervous about how people will respond,” she said. ”The people that have come through so far, their reaction has been so positive. I think people will be really excited about what we’ve done.”

And, Gibbons said, organizers hope everyone will walk away with a new appreciation for Buddy Holly.

”We feel really good about this space. I think when you see these individual artifacts next to the information panels, it elevates him to a whole new level if importance and it puts his life into perspective.”

By ANDREA BROYLES
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal