Not Fade Away

Hit Play, Then Read!

May 29, 1957 was my dad's 10th birthday, and I believe he was living in Tahoka, Texas on a dry land cotton farm.  He was picking cotton on that day, probably.  I don't think they got the day off for their birthday, but you'd have to ask him.

Anyway, the point is, my 10 year old dad, living in Tahoka,  TX, was 33 miles away from where Buddy Holly grew up.  On my dad's birthday in 1957, while he was picking cotton in Tahoka, TX, Buddy Holly and his band members recorded "Not Fade Away" in a recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico.  Holly had already recorded "That'll Be The Day" in February of that year.  According to the Buddy Holly Center, Holly wasn't allowed to use any of the songs he had recorded under his contract with Decca and needed a new name so they could release the new song, "Not Fade Away".  That's when they became Buddy Holly and The Crickets.  Instrumentation used in the recording included a cardboard box, knee slaps, and a celeste.

The version above, Florence & The Machine's, was recorded here in New Orleans while in town for her appearance at VooDoo Fest in 2010.  Instrumentation used in the recording include a brass band, tuba goodness, and some MoJo soul thrown in.  This track is part of the compilation cover album "Rave On Buddy Holly", which will be released on June 28.  You can have a listen to all the tracks on the cd at NPR's Website.

It's funny to me that Buddy Holly recorded a song called "Not Fade Away" 54 years ago and that song has spanned the musical globe ever since.  "Not Fade Away" has been recorded by The Rolling Stones (1964), The Byrds (1965), Rush (1973), Bruce Springsteen (1978), and The Grateful Dead recorded the song and performed it over 530 times during their touring days.  Numerous other artists have covered this song, as it is a classic.  Without Buddy and his Crickets, there would have been no Beatles and there would have been no Stones.  There is even a version of "Not Fade Away" on YouTube that features Bob Livingston performing the song in different countries all over the globe.

So, even though Buddy passed too soon at the age of 22, he has definitely not faded away.  I doubt Buddy Holly, who grew up 33 miles away from my dad, would have thought his music would still be influencing others half a century later.  I don't know about you, but I grew up knowing all of Buddy Holly's songs.  It was just part of growing up in West Texas - you knew who Buddy Holly was and where he came from.

I actually ended up in Lubbock, TX for my undergraduate degree.  Home of Buddy Holly.  He's kind of in my bones like New Orleans is in my bones, if you really think about it.  Now, Florence and The Machine has recorded the same song, in the same town in which I reside.  Coincidence?  Maybe Buddy is stalking me from the grave...