Tuesday, October 24, 2000:

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From Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Tuesday, February 3, 1998

Iowa town to celebrate the life, death of Holly

By WILLIAM KERNS
A-J Entertainment Editor

Today marks the 39th anniversary of the death of Lubbock-born rock 'n' roll singer-songwriter and innovator Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holly.

Holly died at age 22 in the crash of a private plane near Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 3, 1959. Also killed in the crash were pilot Roger Peterson and fellow pop stars J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens.

While the city of Lubbock chooses to celebrate the birthday of Holly (Sept. 7), the date of his death has been marked since 1979 by a concert and dance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

This year's Buddy Holly Tribute '98 Winter Dance Party will be held Thursday through Saturday in Clear Lake. The major concert on Saturday will feature performances by The Crickets, Bobby Vee, Frankie Ford, Tommy Roe, Jason D. Williams and The Diamonds.

Call (515) 357-6822 for more information.

Also, the 86-minute documentary "The Real Buddy Holly Story," produced by Paul McCartney, has been released on White Star Video.

Telephone orders for the video can be made by calling (800) 458-5887.

McCartney said, "I've always loved Buddy Holly's music and he's been a big influence on me, so I wanted to make a film that would allow his family and friends to share their memories of him with us."

Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones' lead guitarist, said, "Elvis hardly wrote a song in his life and Jerry Lee Lewis has written one. All the other guys didn't do it. It was in that respect that Buddy was streaks ahead of his time. It wasn't until after he was well dead and buried that other people started to manage to get it together in that way. Not just to play together and do other people' songs, but to make a totally self-contained unit out of a band. It's not easy, believe me."

"The Real Buddy Holly Story" includes many rare performance clips, including Holly's appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."