February 3 'The Day The Music Died' - Buddy Holly remembered

February 3 is – according to Don McLean's 'American Pie' - "the day the music died", as it marks the anniversary of the plane crash with claimed the life of Buddy Holly.

The rock 'n' roll pioneer was killed 50 years ago today when the small plane he was travelling in - along with Ritchie Valens, and J. P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson - was brought down in bad weather near Clear Lake in Iowa.

Holly was just 22 years old when he died, but had already made an unforgettable impression on the new music called rock 'n' roll, but went on to influence several generations of artists.

Here is what some of the biggest names in rock n roll have to say about Buddy Holly over the years:


Bob Dylan
"When I was 16 or 17, I went to see Buddy Holly play and I was three feet away from him... and he LOOKED at me... Buddy Holly was a poet - way ahead of his time."

Paul McCartney
"At least the first 40 songs we (The Beatles) wrote were Buddy Holly-influenced."

Bruce Springsteen
"I play Buddy Holly every night before going onstage. It keeps me honest."

John Lennon
"He made it OK to wear glasses. I was Buddy Holly."

Mick Jagger
"You could learn from Buddy Holly how to write songs, the way he put them together. He was a beautiful writer."

Elton John
"I only needed specs for reading, but as a result of wearing them all the time to try to look like Buddy Holly, I became genuinely nearsighted."

Keith Richards
"By about 1958, it was either Elvis or Buddy Holly. It was split into two camps. The Elvis fans were the heavy leather boys and the Buddy Holly ones all somehow looked like him."

Eric Clapton
"Of all the music heroes of the time, Buddy Holly was the most accessible, and he was the real thing... He was one of us."

To mark the anniversary of Holly's death a new CD collection ('The Very Best Of Buddy Holly And The Crickets') and a DVD )'The Music Of Buddy Holly And The Crickets, The Definitive Story') were released yesterday (February 2).

Have your say about Buddy Holly and his legacy by commenting below.