Buddy Performance Set
BUDDY HOLLY PROBABLY would be proud to know that legendary rocker Chuck Berry will headline the 2000 Crossroads Music Festival — the annual music event that replaced the Buddy Holly Festival last year after city officials couldn’t come to terms with Holly’s widow over compensation for the use of the musician’s name and likeness.
Mr. Holly and Mr. Berry were contemporaries. The rockers toured together in 1957 and 1958. When Mr. Holly died in a plane crash while touring in 1959, many said it was the day the music died. But Mr. Berry has kept the rock ‘n’ roll style of music alive for more than 40 years.
The 73-year-old musician, who was inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame on Jan. 23, 1986, has had many hit songs through the years, including “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man.” Mr. Holly later re-recorded Mr. Berry’s early hit and took it to the charts a second time.
It is fitting that Mr. Berry would return to Mr. Holly’s hometown to celebrate the rock ‘n’ roll style of music they both loved. He is scheduled to headline an evening concert on Sept. 1 on an outdoor stage on Buddy Holly Avenue near 17th Street in the historic Depot District. Admission is free.
It is sad that the festival cannot use Buddy Holly’s name, but we are pleased that Lubbock continues to honor the memory of this pioneer musician by bringing top-quality rockers like Mr. Berry to the Crossroads Music Festival.
