5 Things I Learned After Watching the Buddy Holly Musical

I recently saw the Broadway musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story at the Plaza Theatre and I discovered the following five things about Buddy and his life that blew my mind.

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story musical paired up two of my favorite things; music and theatre.  The cast was overall stellar but the actor portraying Holly (Michael Perrie Jr.) sincerely sealed it for me. It was as if Buddy Holly had come back to life; there were even portions of the show were I felt like I really was watching the real Holly singing on that stage in a mini-concert. The show was not only fantastic but I also learned quite a few interesting things about the life of Buddy Holly that I’d thought I’d share with you.

A Country Star

With the help of music scout, Eddie Crandall, Buddy Holly got originally signed to Decca Records but they wanted him to play country music. Holly did play and perform country music but that’s not what he wanted to record. He only wanted to play rock n’ roll and wanted complete control over his own sound and music so he moved to New Mexico and began working with producer Norman Petty producing hits such as Peggy Sue, and That’ll Be The Day.

Not A Push Over

Despite his lanky and goofy frame, Buddy Holly was not a push over. He was a young man who at the age of 17-18 just wanted to play rock n’ roll and he didn’t let anyone stop his vision. At one point he was even told that he shouldn’t wear his glasses because it wasn’t cool and instead of obliging he went out and got thicker frames because he knew that his glasses were going to become part of his signature look and that helped set him apart from the rest. Had he not stood his ground, he would never have been one of the early legends of rock n’ roll.

Proposed To His Future Wife 5 Hours After Meeting Her

Yes, five hours after meeting his future wife, Holly proposed to Maria Elena Santiago who was of Puerto Rican descent. The two fell in love, married and soon after she got pregnant; sadly, after receiving the news of his death she lost the baby.

His Wife Had A Precognitive Dream Before His Death

Just like Richie Valens' mother, Elena too had a dream that something tragic was going to happen if he went on tour. Despite all her pleading he skipped taking the bus and instead boarded the plane along with the Big Bopper and Richie Valens and perished moments after take-off in the early morning of February 3, 1959.

First All-White Band to Perform At The Apollo Theatre

Buddy Holly and The Crickets were in fact the first all-white musical group that first performed at the famous Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY back in 1957. It was actually a mistake, the promoter who booked the show thought that Buddy Holly and The Crickets were an all-black group.

The Song Peggy Sue Was Almost Named Cindy Lou

Buddy Holly wrote Cindy Lou for his niece but after the insistence from The Crickets drummer, Jerry Allison, they recorded the song with the name of Peggy Sue. Peggy Sue was Allison’s girlfriend at the time and they had broken up and to try and win her back, Allison got Holly to change the song's name to Peggy Sue.

Broadway in El Paso continues with Disney’s The Lion King with a two-week run beginning May 30 – June 10, 2018 at the Plaza Theatre, so get your tickets today!