Monday 10/4/21 7pm ET: History of Rock and Roll (Hour 6)

Monday 9pm ET: In Memory of Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group “Buddy and Bob” with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band’s style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.

Holly’s recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley, who had become famous for producing orchestrated country hits for stars like Patsy Cline. Unhappy with Bradley’s musical style and control in the studio, Holly went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of “That’ll Be the Day”, among other songs. Petty became the band’s manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to “The Crickets”, which became the name of Holly’s band. In September 1957, as the band toured, “That’ll Be the Day” topped the US and UK singles charts. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, “Peggy Sue”.

The album Chirping Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after, toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as “The Day the Music Died”.

During his short career, Holly wrote and recorded several songs. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw (who later played Holly), and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of “100 Greatest Artists”.

History of Rock and Roll 12pm ET

This week on this History of Rock and Roll:  Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Buddy Knox, Everly Brothers, Eddie Cochran and Roy Orbison.

Artist Countdown: Waylon Jennings Top 60 Hits 9am ET @radiomax

Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937–February 13, 2002) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing guitar at 8 and began performing at 12 on KVOW radio. He formed a band, The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J. on KVOW, KDAV, KYTI, and KLLL. In 1958, Buddy Holly arranged Jennings’s first recording session, of “Jole Blon” and “When Sin Stops (Love Begins).” Holly hired him to play bass. During the “Winter Dance Party Tour,” in Clear Lake, Iowa, Holly chartered a plane to arrive at the next venue. Jennings gave up his seat in the plane to J. P. Richardson, who was suffering from a cold. The flight that carried Holly, Richardson, and Ritchie Valens crashed, on the day later known as The Day the Music Died. Following the accident, Jennings worked as a D.J. in Coolidge, Arizona, and Phoenix. He formed a rockabilly club band, The Waylors. He recorded for independent label Trend Records, A&M Records before succeeding with RCA Victor after achieving creative control of his records.

During the 1970s, Jennings joined the Outlaw movement. He released critically acclaimed albums Lonesome, On’ry and Mean and Honky Tonk Heroes, followed by hit albums Dreaming My Dreams and Are You Ready for the Country. In 1976 he released the album Wanted! The Outlaws with Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, and Jessi Colter, the first platinum country music album. The success of the album was followed by Ol’ Waylon, and the hit song “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” By the early 1980s, Jennings was struggling with a cocaine addiction, which he quit in 1984. Later he joined the country supergroup The Highwaymen with Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash. During that period, Jennings released the successful album Will the Wolf Survive. He toured less after 1997, to spend more time with his family. Between 1999 and 2001, his appearances were limited by health problems. On February 13, 2002, Jennings died from complications of diabetes.

Jennings also appeared in movies and television series. He was the narrator for The Dukes of Hazzard; he also composed and sang the show’s theme song. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, which he chose not to attend until later on. In 2007 he was posthumously awarded the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award by the Academy of Country Music.  (Source: Wikipedia)

1	Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
2	Amanda
3	Good Hearted Woman
4	Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys (with Willie Nelson)
5	Wrong
6	Take It to the Limit (with Willie Nelson)
7	Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys)
8	I’m a Ramblin’ Man
9	Just to Satisfy You (with Willie Nelson)
10	Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
11	Can’t You See
12	MacArthur Park
13	The Taker
14	Clyde
15	This Time
16	I’ve Always Been Crazy
17	Come with Me
18	I Ain’t Living Long Like This
19	Rose in Paradise
20	Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line
21	You Can Have Her
22	Brown Eyed Handsome Man
23	Lucille (You Won’t Do Your Daddy’s Will)
24	Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand
25	Shine
26	Pretend I Never Happened
27	I May Be Used (But Baby I Ain’t Used Up)
28	Never Could Toe the Mark
29	Sweet Dream Woman
30	Are You Ready for the Country
31	Women Do Know How to Carry On
32	Will the Wolf Survive
33	Working Without a Net
34	Dreaming My Dreams with You
35	Breakin’ Down
36	What You’ll Do When I’m Gone
37	You Asked Me To
38	Fallin’ Out
39	Mississippi Woman
40	Rainy Day Woman
41	The Devil’s on the Loose
42	Singer of Sad Songs
43	Cedartown, Georgia
44	Waltz Me to Heaven
45	Rough and Rowdy Days
46	Hold On, I’m Comin’ (with Jerry Reed)
47	The Conversation (with Hank Williams, Jr.)
48	Storms Never Last (with Jessi Colter)
49	Drinkin’ and Dreamin’
50	We Had It All
51	(Don’t Let the Sun Set on You) Tulsa
52	America
53	Suspicious Minds (with Jessi Colter)
54	Under Your Spell Again (with Jessi Colter)
55	Put Another Log On The Fire
56	The Weight
57	Do It Again
58	There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang (with Johnny Cash)
59	Gonna Write A Letter
60	I’ll Be Alright