Buddy Holly
& The Crickets
1958-01-26
Ed Sullivan Show
CBS-TV Studio 50
New York, NY
TV Soundboard Recording
320 kbps
Video Link Below
01. Oh Boy
The late, great Buddy Holly was part of the inugural class of the Rock & Roll Hall oF fame, inducted alongside Chuck Berry, Elvis Presely, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, and Sam Cooke. Talk about star power. What's truly incredible is Holly's career lasted just about 3 years, as he was taken from us far too soon in a plane crash of February 3, 1959, a moment immortalized in the song American Pie as "the day the msuic died." Yet Holly's influence was enormous. The Beatles (beetles) name was inspired in part by Crickets, Holly's backing band. Holly wrote his own songs, something few artists did at the time. The tune Not Fade Away may be among the most covered in rock history, especially by bands playing it live. Who knows what his legacy might have been if fate hadn't intervened.
This TV soundboard recording captures Holly & The Crickets during their 2nd appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, on January 26, 1958, 64 years ago today. Long before Sullivan had issues with rockers like the Rolling Stones and The Doors, he had a run in with Buddy Holly. About a day before this appearance, Sullivan decided he didn't want Holly to perform Oh Boy, feeling the song was too raucous. Holly refused to make the change, telling Sullivan he already alerted his hometown friends that he was performing Oh Boy. To spite Holly, Sullivan cut his peformance from two songs to one. He also mispronounced Holly’s name when he introduced the band, calling them “Buddy Hollet and his Crickets.” In addition, he had the line feed for Holly’s electric guitar turned off. Despite all that, Holly and the Crickets earned a tremendous reception from the crowd, which resulted in Sullivan inviting them back for a thrid show. Holly declined, telling Sullivan that he didn’t have enough money to ever make them return.
