Buddy Holly Archives

Buddy Holly’s rock ‘n’ roll spirit is going to party like it’s 1959.

“We’re expecting 2,100,” said Jeff Nicholas, president of the historic Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, site of the “Winter Dance Party,” the Feb. 2, 1959 concert that was Holly’s last, and current host to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-sponsored “50 Winters Later,” a week long commemoration of his life and legacy.

The event features tribute concerts, dance lessons, symposiums, and art exhibits of 50s-era icons, including photographs of Holly’s iconic glasses, which were found after the plane carrying Holly and fellow rock ‘n’ rollers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson crashed in the nearby cornfield that Nicholas’ family now owns.

“There’s something in the air here,” said Nicholas, 50, a stream-lined pair of horn-rimmed glasses on his face, a cheap plastic pair from the museum’s gift-shop in his hands. “I truly believe that Buddy and Ritchie and the Bopper are watching over us. We started the event off with a ceremony… The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has landmarked the Surf as a significant venue in the history of rock ‘n’ roll and jazz and blues and other kinds of music. But the real reason we were landmarked is because of Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper.”

“50 Winters Later” attendees will also have the opportunity to meet rock ‘n’ roll royalty, including members of the Valens family, J.P. “Big Bopper Jr.” Richardson, and Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly.

One of the few luminaries of the Holly legacy not attending is Lubbock’s own Peggy Sue Gerron, the inspiration behind “Peggy Sue,” one of Holly’s biggest hits.

Gerron, now 67, will mark the 50th anniversary of her friend’s death at the premiere of the Australian revival of “BUDDY! The Buddy Holly Story,” a musical based on the musician’s life, playing in Sydney.

“I’m an antique, I guess,” Gerron said, laughing. “I’m very humbled to be part of rock ‘n’ roll. I get the opportunity to do these things and I’m really grateful for that. The young man that plays Buddy in the musical even talks like him, Scott Cameron.”

Cameron, who, at 22, is the same age Holly was when he died, was also born on the day Holly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“Buddy is a very big deal in Australia, oh yes,” said Gerron, who will follow the performance with a tour promoting her recently published memoir “Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?” “Buddy’s not an icon to me, he was a real person. I’m just glad to celebrate the music for a change.”

Other cities celebrating the music include Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, which will mourn the loss and remember the life of its favorite son with panel discussions and receptions during “Not Fade Away,” a two-day event at the Buddy Holly Center, 1801 Crickets Ave.

“50 Winters Later” is arguably the premiere event marking the day the music died due to its emotional and geographical proximity to what most consider to be the greatest tragedy in rock ‘n’ roll history.

Jeff Nicholas plans to enjoy it with as little irony as possible.

“It is what it is,” he said of the moment that earned Clear Lake its tragic rank and appeal. “It’s obviously something we didn’t ask for and we wish never would have happened… it wasn’t Clear Lake’s finest hour, when the guys’ perished. I think for a long time, people just wanted to put it out of their minds and not think about it. But our complete emphasis here at the Surf is on the lives of Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper. Like I said, the music didn’t do a very good job of dying.”

Local Buddy Holly events

•The Buddy Holly Center at 1801 Crickets Avenue in Lubbock is hosting two days of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the rock ‘n’ roll icon’s death.
Monday Center open from 1-6 p.m. with free admission

4-5 p.m. – Southwest Collection Panel Discussion
Entitled “Keeping the Music Alive,” this panel will include Rita Box Peek and Brian McRae who will feature the music of David Box, one of the lead singers for the Crickets after Buddy Holly’s death. Curtis Peoples, archivist, and Andy Wilkinson, artist in residence, of the Southwest Collection’s at Texas Tech University and Michael Hall, editor for Texas Monthly Magazine, will discuss preserving our music heritage. A special exhibit from the Southwest Collection’s Crossroads of Music Archive will be on display.

5-6 p.m. – Reception
Reception will follow immediately following the panel and will include a meet and greet with the panelists.
Tuesday
Center will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. with free Admission and children’s activities all day

10:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. – Screening of The Real Buddy Holly Story

4 p.m. – Guided tour of the Buddy Holly Gallery and The Last Tour exhibition

5:30p.m.-6:30p.m. – Panel Discussion
The tragic plane crash of February 3, 1959 changed the face of rock ‘n’ roll music history. This panel delves in to the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) with stories about how fate changes history and what could have been. Panelists will speak on conditions of the Winter Dance Party tour and how the remaining artists were expected to go on and continue the tour. They will also discuss where these artists would be today, had they lived, and why legacies of these three have continued on, 50 years later. Moderator: Bill Griggs, rock ‘n’ roll historian

6:30 p.m. - “The Day the Music Died” Reception
Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served immediately following the panel discussion.