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Buddy Holly: anniverary of his death


Published on Tuesday 3 February 2009 11:10

On the 50th anniversary of his death, Buddy Holly's widow talks about the commemorative musical in his name, coming to Northampton next month.

If you remember the golden days of rock 'n' roll when 'doo-wops' and 'ah hey, ah hey heys' rang out from every radio and jukebox, chances are the date of February 3 1959 will send a shiver down the spine.

The "Day the Music Died" will forever be ingrained on the memory of Maria Elena, widow of rock 'n' roll legend Charles Hardin 'Buddy' Holley (the 'e' was dropped after his name was misspelled on a recording contract). Each year she commemorates the passing of her husband, just 22 when he died, in the same way.

"I pray for Buddy, like I do every night," she begins. "I light a candle, I buy flowers, and stay home. If I'm travelling or doing promotion, I just remember him as he was when I met him."

That was June 1958, and the couple had been married less than six months when the small plane carrying Buddy, 17-year-old Ritchie Valens, J.P. 'the Big Bopper' Richardson (28), and pilot Roger Peterson (21), plummeted from the night sky into a frozen Iowa cornfield.

Though the 50 years that have passed have dulled some of the pain, the shattering impact of the accident still remains with Maria Elena.

"When Buddy died it was so sudden," she reflects. "Those kinds of deaths are very, very difficult to deal with because you don't have the chance to say goodbye."

The circumstances surrounding Buddy's inclusion on the fateful Winter Dance Party Tour of 1959, only add to the sense of tragedy. "I mean, he left home against my will, I was pregnant," she says.

"He said 'it will be a short tour – I just can't continue without getting my own money to do what we're planning to do.' We had plans to open record companies and our own publishing company and Buddy also wanted to develop new artists, even at that time."

Folklore has it that Maria Elena had a premonition about the crash before he left for the tour. "Absolutely, as a matter of fact we were both dreaming," she confirms.

"Buddy had a dream about leaving me on top of a building and I dreamt about a comet, this great ball of fire coming down. It came past me and made a hole in the ground. I could see the fire coming out of that hole. The day after (Buddy) was leaving and I was packing for both of us but he said 'I told you, I can't bring you with me, you're pregnant.' I was not feeling well – it was the beginning of the pregnancy and apparently I got sick real fast."

Having discovered news of the crash on television, Maria Elena says she fell into a "catatonic state", unable to digest what had happened. She miscarried soon after.

Maria Elena Santiago was 25 when she and Buddy married in August 1958, less than two months after they first met. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she was a receptionist for a New York music publisher when she met the singer from Lubbock, Texas, whose songs (including "That'll Be The Day", "Peggy Sue", "Not Fade Away" and "Maybe Baby") and unique style quickly made him a worldwide star.

Now in her 70s (or 29 plus as she puts it) Maria Elena has kept the Holly name and describes herself as a "rock 'n' roller at heart" who doesn't dress her age. And managing Buddy's estate keeps her more than busy enough.

It was in the UK on his 1958 tour of England (something Elvis never did) that the Buddy Holly legend first took off and continued to be furtive years after his death, through the subsequent BritBeat invasion of the '60s. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Elton John, have all spoken about Buddy's far-reaching influence and appeal.

"For Buddy and for a lot of American musicians, they had to go out of the U.S. to be recognised, then come back," says Maria Elena.

"Buddy was more recognised in the U.K., even than the United States." More than anywhere else, the U.K. took Buddy – the tall, lanky kid with the glasses – to heart and connected with his image as the everyman of the new music called rock 'n' roll.

"Buddy was as blind as a bat!" laughs Maria Elena of the famous frames. "He wore the metal-rimmed glasses – when he was on stage (if he) took them off he couldn't see anything. He felt self-conscious."

But the glasses came to represent everything Buddy Holly stood for. Elvis he wasn't, with an unconventional look and unique talent. This certainly made an impression on the Brits.

"Buddy loved his fans," says Maria Elena. "He connected with them because he always said 'those people are the ones who are making me, they love my music so why should I be distanced from them?' So he was very approachable and the fans liked that. He was a very giving person."

It's arguably the Beatles, right down to the band name, that Buddy and his band the Crickets' influence is most evident. Paul McCartney once said at least the first 40 songs the Beatles wrote were Buddy Holly-influenced.

"I would say that John Lennon and Buddy would've been the best of friends," suggests Maria Elena. "I know Paul also loved and respected Buddy, but I think John and Buddy would've got together to do a duet."

Natural then, that it was on the London stage that Buddy's legend took on a new life with the first of the big 'jukebox' musicals Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story, in 1989.

A smash hit in the West End, on tour and around the world for the past 20 years, the show has helped to introduce Buddy's music to subsequent generations. Buddy's single-minded determination to push musical boundaries is clear for all to see in the show. Could that happy, smiling, bespectacled face, immortalised in time, really have been such a rebel? "Absolutely, that's very accurate!" Maria Elena enthuses.

"Buddy was a very nice, laidback, relaxed kind of person. When it came to his music, no sir ree! He always had this to say: 'hey, why don't we try it my way first, and if you don't like it and you show me why you don't like it, then I'll do it your way, how's that?' Buddy was so in tune with everything out there and not afraid of trying new things. If you listen to all of his songs none of them are alike. He was a 22-year-old starting his career but his mentality was different. Who would've ever thought of a rock 'n' roller putting violins in anything?"

Over the years, there have been numerous actors presented with the task of filling Buddy's shoes on stage. "I love to come there and see the show," says Maria Elena. "Each Buddy has done a tremendous job in the way they portray him – I'm sure Buddy would've approved."

Fifty years is a long time in anyone's life, let alone to be apart from your first true love. "To me, it doesn't seem like 50 years since he's been gone," reflects Maria Elena. "To me, he's still around – not in person of course, but he's here."

The smash-hit musical Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story will be rocking into Royal & Derngate Northampton from Monday March 2 to Saturday March 7, proving that the music, like Buddy's legacy, lives on. Tickets are priced 15 to 29.50 and can be bought from the box office by calling Northampton 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk


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