Live Vote

Buddy Holly left a significant footprint on rock and roll.

Fifty years ago, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash along with Ritchie Valens and J.P. "the Big Bopper" Richardson. Assessing the importance of Holly is a difficult task. If you chart his career as a major force in rock from the time he signed his first record contract, he had only been working as a serious professional for three years. However, his presence in music history has spawned so many tributaries that sometimes the source has been take for granted.

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Results with 54 short comments
Total of 6,542 votes - click on the "Display Comments" bar below to sort comments

87.4%
Strongly Agree
5,720 votes
10.1%
Agree
664 votes
1.2%
Neutral
76 votes
0.7%
Disagree
43 votes
0.6%
Strongly Disagree
39 votes
Display Comments:
Strongly Agree

You bet it died for awhile. Then came the "teen bobbers" would could not write a note of music or lyrics.

{"commentId":5134752,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"maxwilly"}
  • 1 vote
#1
 - janeintexas
 - 4:33 pm EST on Mon Feb 2, 2009
Agree

How can I strongly agree with a question? Does this site have an editor? Buddy Holly was the real deal. We can only imagine what we misse

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  • 1 vote
#2
 - michael-857922
 - 7:04 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
Strongly Agree

His influence is heard throughout the rock and roll industry

{"commentId":5142348,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"taw1957"}
    #3
     - TAW57
     - 7:50 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
    Strongly Agree

    I remember the tremendous loss I felt when I heard the interruption on the radio, that three legends of a fledgling art form had died.

    {"commentId":5142636,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"dhuff12"}
      #4
       - dhuff4508
       - 8:23 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
      Disagree

      I think it was more a conglomerate of artists performing at that time, of which Buddy was card-carrying member...

      {"commentId":5142900,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"pcm44"}
        #5
         - P.C. Moblee
         - 8:49 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
        Neutral

        To deny Buddy Holly's huge impact on Rock n roll is ludicrous. If dying young is the rationale, than Mozart had no influence on music eithe

        {"commentId":5143299,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"spenser23"}
        • 1 vote
        #6
         - MSmithnyc
         - 9:16 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
        Agree

        Buddy Holly, no doubt, helped to make pop music what it is today: a big business. Also, he would have contribute more if he lived longer.

        {"commentId":5143514,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"nm11928"}
          #7
           - n. zayas m
           - 9:31 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
          Strongly Agree

          Buddy will Not Fade Away

          {"commentId":5143688,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"befriendz"}
            #8
             - Anna-364355
             - 9:43 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
            Strongly Agree

            Strains of Buddy can be heard in innumerable songs, even today... He was/is awesome!!! He created pure Rock and Roll by mixing C&W and Pop

            {"commentId":5144217,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"donald-fraser"}
              #9
               - skidecho
               - 10:10 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
              Strongly Agree

              I was 16, and how I loved Buyddy Holly's music. We all did at Haverford High.

              {"commentId":5144358,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"3realtors"}
                #10
                 - J & G
                 - 10:19 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                Strongly Agree

                Buddy Holly was a true founder of Rock n Roll and his influence is still seen. A giant of the genre now and forever.

                {"commentId":5144852,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"jud-1"}
                  #11
                   - excentic
                   - 10:45 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                  Strongly Agree

                  Buddy Holly cast a giant shadow across the landscape of rock 'n roll. He was a true musical pioneer. Rave on!

                  {"commentId":5144854,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"seattlepainter"}
                  • 1 vote
                  #12
                   - seattlepainter
                   - 10:45 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                  Strongly Agree

                  Holly's music was admired and copied by the Beatles, the Stones. The Hollies, a group that never got its due, named themselves after him.

                  {"commentId":5145153,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"wshofner"}
                    #13
                     - BILLO, NOT THAT ONE
                     - 10:57 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                    Strongly Agree

                    I was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas. The influence Buddy Holly had on music impacted not only local musicians but music lovers worldwid

                    {"commentId":5145384,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"wowktv2004a"}
                    • 1 vote
                    #14
                     - Craig-401334
                     - 11:06 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                    Strongly Agree

                    His songs really stood out versus the rest of the pack whether they were with the Crickets or alone. The key was the beat and the rhythm.

                    {"commentId":5145559,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"dscarsdale"}
                      #15
                       - Richard K-410479
                       - 11:13 am EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                      Agree

                      The music died for about five years. Elvis was in the army, etc., and it took the English to teach the Americans how to rock again.

                      {"commentId":5147478,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"dlawson871"}
                        #16
                         - dlawson871
                         - 12:33 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        Your Damn Right He Did ~!~ The Junk They Call Music Today Is Nothing But Trash Garbage ~!~

                        {"commentId":5147723,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"CornerCubical"}
                        • 2 votes
                        #17
                         - Corner Cubical
                         - 12:43 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        In a time when uniformity ruled the day, Buddy Holly brought a much needed injection of energy into the music of the day. He Rocked!

                        {"commentId":5147726,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"bnb998"}
                        • 1 vote
                        #18
                         - Curlybird
                         - 12:43 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        You can see his influence on McCartney (along with Chuck Berry's influence, of course) and many others. We lost so much that night in '59.

                        {"commentId":5147831,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"profluigi"}
                        • 1 vote
                        #19
                         - Lewis C Taishoff
                         - 12:47 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        A former reporter in Lubbock, I got to interview his friend who used to play music with him. He said he was getting bigger than Elvis. Agre

                        {"commentId":5148175,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"aschumann"}
                        • 1 vote
                        #20
                         - texastech34
                         - 12:57 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        You know your getting old when you vividly remember something from 50 years ago! Thaks for everything you did, Buddy

                        {"commentId":5148220,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"wpc543"}
                        • 1 vote
                        #21
                         - Pat-732766
                         - 12:59 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                        Strongly Agree

                        A true pioneer in music. Buddy Holly was one of the first musicians to use multitracking.

                        {"commentId":5148356,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"dalgleish-1"}
                          #22
                           - gdalglei
                           - 1:04 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                          Strongly Agree

                          buddy holly was an important icon of the fifties-the last age of innnocense.......

                          {"commentId":5148581,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"pvp2"}
                            #23
                             - pvp2
                             - 1:12 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                            Strongly Agree

                            No Buddy Holly? No Beatles. No everybody after

                            {"commentId":5148734,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"mitligg"}
                              #24
                               - TGGILL
                               - 1:17 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
                              Strongly Agree

                              You wouldn't even be asking this question if Buddy Holly had not been the significant musical influence that he IS.

                              {"commentId":5148923,"threadId":"488915","contentId":"2385072","authorDomain":"rrnxtl"}
                                #25
                                 - lizzardkng
                                 - 1:23 pm EST on Tue Feb 3, 2009
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