You are probably trying to guess which music pioneer influenced these two and many other rock titans. Elvis? Chuck Berry? Nope. Try Charles Hardin Holley, better known as Buddy Holly. Even through he tragically lost his life in a plane crash in 1959 at the age of just 22, he was already a virtuoso who rewrote the nascent rock and roll genre. Holly upped his own and everybody's game exponentially. He couldn't possibly have imagined during his brief lifetime what a pivotal figure he would become to so many renowned artists generations later.
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Per musicradar.com, some of the famous singers who looked to Buddy Holly for inspiration were Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant, Dolly Parton, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, McCartney, and Jagger. That is quite a list of luminaries!
His monumental stature in the music industry cannot be overstated. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Per the Hall's web site, "Rock & roll as we know it wouldn't exist without Buddy Holly."
Buddy Holly Is The Subject Of A New Book
The idea for the volume about Holly originated with another rock legend - Roger Daltrey of The Who. Per the outlet, he said, "Words Of Love is a perfect title for this stunning and definitive history of Buddy Holly. As well as being one of the great rock 'n' roll pioneers, Buddy wrote and sang some of the most beautiful and enduring ballads about love."
Paul McCartney Looked Up To Holly
Paul McCartney was similarly dazzled and reverent about Holly, his cultural legacy, and even his sweetly nerdy appearance. Dig those glasses! "The first time I ever heard Buddy Holly was when the record That'll Be The Day came out. It sounded energetic. I thought it was a black band and we couldn't figure out how they did it."
The fabled ex-Beatle added, "It was Buddy Holly and the Crickets . He was playing the lead guitar, which we loved, but he was also singing it, which we loved, and he'd written it, which we loved. So on a number of levels he was very inspirational . He became a hero for us and gave us the idea to go and do it ourselves. He was a great hero to all of us, and because he wore glasses this even allowed John Lennon to wear his in public and not have to whip them off if there was a girl passing by!"
Mick Jagger Admired His Songwriting Style
The Rolling Stones' frontman reportedly loved Holly's songwriting. "To English people Buddy Holly was an enormous inspiration. He was a songwriter, which Elvis wasn't. And he wrote very simple songs, sort of lesson one in songwriting. Great songs, which had simple changes and nice melodies and changes of tempo and all that. You could learn from Buddy Holly how to write songs. He was a beautiful writer."
