Buddy Holly

September 7, 1936 Charles Hardin Holley is born to Ella and Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley on Labor Day at the family's Sixth Street home in Lubbock, Texas.

1941

Five-year-old Buddy enters a talent contest along with his older brothers Larry and Travis. Though his brothers grease his toy violin to keep him from interrupting their performance, he won the $5 first-place prize singing "Down the River Of Memories."

1953

September 1953 Radio station KDAV in Lubbock begins broadcasting what is considered the first all-country music format in the United States. The Sunday Party aired by Hipockets Duncan, a disc jockey and talent scout, gives local musicians an opportunity to perform live. Buddy teams with Jack Neal to form the duo Buddy and Jack, and their show is broadcast live from KDAV during The Sunday Party.

1954

February 19, 1954 Holley, Bob Montgomery, and Larry Welborn perform "Flower Of My Heart," a song written by Bob, for a contest at Lubbock High School. The song wins the competition and is chosen as the 1954 Senior Class Song.

After Jack Neal marries, Holley teams up with Bob Montgomery to form Buddy and Bob, who advertise themselves as Western and Bop performers. The Buddy and Jack Show is replaced by the Buddy and Bob Show on The Sunday Party.

1955

February 13, 1955 Fair Park Coliseum, Lubbock, TX (with Bob Montgomery, supporting Elvis Presley)

October 14, 1955 Fair Park Coliseum, Lubbock, TX (with Bob Montgomery & Larry Welborn, supporting Bill Haley and The Comets & Jimmy Rodgers Snow)

October 28, 1955 Fair Park Coliseum, Lubbock, TX (with Bob Montgomery & Larry Welborn, supporting Marty Robbins)

1956

May 6-10, 1956 Buddy joins Faron Young's Grand Ole Opry Show on its Oklahoma tour. Other performers included Ray Price, Carl Perkins, Tommy Collins, Jimmy & Johnny, Tom Pritchard, Red Sovine, and Joe Vincent.

November 22, 1956 American Legion Youth Center, Lubbock, TX

1957

April 1957 Village Theater, Lubbock, TX (The first concert by the Crickets was a Battle of the Bands against Tinker Carlen and the Cats)

August 2-8, 1957 Howard Theater, Washington, DC (with Clyde McPhatter, The Cadillacs, Edna McGriff, Otis Rush, Lee Andrews and The Hearts & Oscar and Oscar)

August 9-16, 1957 Royal Theater, Baltimore, MD

August 16-22, 1957 Apollo Theater, New York City, NY

August 26, 1957 Philadelphia, PA (US TV "Dick Clark's American Bandstand" performing "That'll Be The Day")

August 30-September 8, 1957 Paramount Theater, New York City, NY (The Alan Freed Holiday Show with Little Richard, The Del Vikings, The Diamonds, Mickey & Sylvia, The Moonglows, The Five Keys, Larry Williams & King Curtis)

September 1, 1957 The Crickets begin the Biggest Show of Stars for 1957, which takes them to 80 cities over the next three months.

December 1, 1957 New York City, NY (US TV "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing "That'll Be the Day" & "Peggy Sue")

December 4-5, 1957 Buddy Holly & The Crickets return to Lubbock. Niki Sullivan leaves the group, citing the harsh tour schedule as his reason. Norman Petty signs contracts for Buddy Holly & The Crickets to participate in three tours, including the Paramount Theater in New York, the America's Greatest Teenage Recording Stars, and a short Florida tour.

1958

January 8, 1958 Buddy joins America's Greatest Teenage Recording Stars tour.

January 26, 1958 New York City, NY (US TV "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing "Oh, Boy!)

January 27, 1958 Honolulu, HI (2 shows with Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka & Jodie Sands)

January 30, 1958 Sydney, AUS (Beginning of a six-day tour Down Under. Others on the tour include Jerry Lee Lewis, Paul Anka & Jodie Sands)

February 20-25, 1958 Buddy Holly & The Crickets join The Big Gold Records Stars tour (informally known as The Florida Tour). The tour also stars the Everly Brothers, Bill Haley and The Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Royalteens.

Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Gary Miller, Tanner Sisters, Ronnie Keene's Orchestra, (compere) Des O'Connor)

Buddy Holly (Guitar) Joe B Mauldin (Bass) Jerry Allison (Drums)

UK Package Tour with Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Gary Miller, Tanner Sisters, Ronnie Keene's Orchestra & (compere) Des O'Connor

March 1, 1958 Elephant & Castle Trocadero, London, ENG

March 2, 1958 London Palladium, London, ENG (UK TV "Sunday Night At The London Palladium". Special Gala Show to celebrate the 100th performance with Bob Hope top of the bill. Also appearing was the ballerina Dame Alicia Markova and compere Robert Morley)

March 2, 1958 Kilburn Gaumont State, London, ENG March 3, 1958 Gaumont, Southampton, ENG March 4, 1958 City Hall, Sheffield, ENG March 5, 1958 Globe, Stockton, ENG March 6, 1958 City Hall, Newcastle, ENG March 7, 1958 Gaumont, Wolverhampton, ENG March 8, 1958 Odeon, Nottingham, ENG March 9, 1958 Gaumont, Bradford, ENG March 10, 1958 Town Hall, Birmingham, ENG March 11, 1958 Paramount, Worcester, ENG March 12, 1958 Croydon Davis, London, ENG March 13, 1958 East Ham Granada, London, ENG March 14, 1958 Woolwich Granada, London, ENG March 15, 1958 Gaumont, Ipswich, ENG March 16, 1958 De Montfort Hall, Leicester, ENG March 17, 1958 Gaumont, Doncaster, ENG March 18, 1958 Ritz, Wigan, ENG March 19, 1958 Regal, Hull, ENG March 20, 1958 Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, ENG (2 shows 6.15 & 8.30) March 21, 1958 Walthamstow Granada, London, ENG March 22, 1958 Gaumont, Salisbury, ENG March 23, 1958 Colston Hall, Bristol, ENG (2 shows 5.30 & 7.45) March 24, 1958 Capitol, Cardiff, WAL March 25, 1958 Hammersmith Gaumont, London, ENG (Before the second show, Joe B Mauldin knocks the caps off of Holly's two front teeth during a scuffle. Buddy repairs the damage with chewing gum and performs the second show with the gum spread over his front teeth)

Upon their return to the United States, Holly and the Crickets joined Alan Freed's Big Beat Show tour for 41 dates.

April 11, 1958 Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, ON (The Big Beat Show)

May 3, 1958 During shows for the Big Beat tour at the Boston Arena, a Navy sailor is stabbed, others are injured, and arrests are made outside of the concert hall. Alan Freed, the tour's promoter, is charged with inciting a riot, but the charges are later dropped. The incident, which becomes know as the "Boston riot," results in the cancellation of scheduled shows in Troy, N.Y.; Providence, R.I.; New Haven, Conn.; and Newark, N.J.

July 8, 1958 Electric Park, Waterloo, IA

October 3, 1958 Worcester Auditorium, Worcester, MA (start of "The Biggest Show Of Stars 1958 Tour" with Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon, Dion and The Belmonts, Bobby Freeman, Clyde McPhatter & the Coasters.

The night before the Worcester gig, Holly and the other acts rehearsed for the tour at Nola Studios on West 57th Street in New York.

While in New York, Holly appeared on the Alan Freed TV show on WNEW-TV, where he was interviewed and lip-synched a performance of "It's So Easy."

Following the Worcester concert The Biggest Show Of Stars 1958 Tour had been slated to stop in Hartford for a show at the State Theater, where Holly had performed almost a year earlier. The Hartford show was canceled and the tour instead played the Arcadia Ballroom in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, before traveling to Canada.

October 28, 1958 Philadelphia, PA (US TV "Dick Clark's American Bandstand" lip-synching to "Heartbeat" & "It's So Easy.")

November 1, 1958 Buddy calls it quits with the Crickets and gives the group name to Jerry Allison and Joe B Mauldin.

1959

January 23, 1959 The Winter Dance Party tour starts with performances in Milwaukee. The tour will continue through Feb. 15 with scheduled stops in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio. Other performers include: Ritchie Valens, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Dion and The Belmonts, and Frankie Sardo.

January 23, 1959 George Divine’s Million Dollar Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI January 24, 1959 Eagles Ballroom, Kenosha, WI (Debbie Stevens also performed) January 25, 1959 Kato Ballroom, Mankato, MN January 26, 1959 Fournier’s Ballroom, Eau Claire, WI January 27, 1959 Fiesta Ballroom, Montevideo, MN January 28, 1959 Prom Ballroom, St. Paul, MN January 29, 1959 Capitol Theater, Davenport, IA January 30, 1959 Laramar Ballroom, Fort Dodge, IA January 31, 1959 National Guard Armory, Duluth, MN February 1, 1959 Appleton (cancelled) February 1, 1959 Riverside Ballroom, Green Bay, WI (The Winter Dance Party is stranded en route to Appleton, WI, when the bus breaks down. With temperatures at 30 degrees below zero and no source of heat, the passengers burn newspapers in the aisles to keep warm. The Sheriffs' cars pick up the freezing entertainers and Carl Bunch is admitted to the hospital suffering from frostbite. With one performance cancelled, the Winter Dance Party continues and performs in Green Bay)

February 2, 1959 Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, IA (Buddy, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup perform and serve as back-up musicians during the performance. Shortly after the performance Buddy, J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson & Ritchie Valens board a small aircraft chartered to take them to their next performance. Soon after take-off, the plane crashes, killing all aboard)

February 3, 1959 Moorhead Armory (15-year-old Robert Velline of Fargo, and his band (named at the last minute the Shadows) filled in at the show. Velline late became Bobby Vee)