Nobody respects and reveres those old American rock pioneers like the British. That goes for blues, too. I share their love for these guys and could sit and listen to toe-tapping rockabilly, or blues all night long. Maybe that's one reason most of my favorite rock performers are English and Irish. Thankfully, one of those Brits who loves those early rock 'n rollers is Paul McCartney. The former Beatle was not happy with the 1978 movie portrayal of Buddy Holly so he made this documentary.
Frankly, I don't see what was so bad about the Gary Busey '78 film about Holly but if McCartney says there were too many flaws in it, I believe him. Since Holly was my favorite singer from the late '50s, I'm glad to see the ex-Beatle provide us with more insight and performances of the man from Lubbock, Texas. Of real interest was some footage of Buddy, Elvis and Johnny Cash. This is supposedly the earliest clips ever made of Presley and, man, you can see why the girls went crazy over him.
Among the interesting comments in here was by McCartney who commented that fellow Beatle John Lennon never wore his glasses on stage until he saw Holly with his dark-rimmed glasses. Hey, if it was cool enough for Buddy, Lennon said, it's good enough for me and he wore glasses while performing from then on.
That's the one of the many influences Holly had on future music greats, as we hear in this documentary. Fellow Holly band member Sonny Curtis really impressed me with his voice and guitar playing. "The Crickets," Buddy's band, had a lot of talent.
Since this tribute was made over 20 years ago, it's interesting to see how young everyone looks, from McCartney to the Everly Brothers and even Keith Richards! The main thing, though, is that we get a real feel for who Buddy Holly was, where he grew up, the atmosphere, the people and managers who surrounded him (including a very pretty ex-girlfriend) and to hear how driven he was to succeed and do the kind of music he wanted to do. It all makes me sad, recalling how we lost of the greatest rock singers/writers of all time at the tender age of 22.
Thanks to McCartney for this "labor of love."
Frankly, I don't see what was so bad about the Gary Busey '78 film about Holly but if McCartney says there were too many flaws in it, I believe him. Since Holly was my favorite singer from the late '50s, I'm glad to see the ex-Beatle provide us with more insight and performances of the man from Lubbock, Texas. Of real interest was some footage of Buddy, Elvis and Johnny Cash. This is supposedly the earliest clips ever made of Presley and, man, you can see why the girls went crazy over him.
Among the interesting comments in here was by McCartney who commented that fellow Beatle John Lennon never wore his glasses on stage until he saw Holly with his dark-rimmed glasses. Hey, if it was cool enough for Buddy, Lennon said, it's good enough for me and he wore glasses while performing from then on.
That's the one of the many influences Holly had on future music greats, as we hear in this documentary. Fellow Holly band member Sonny Curtis really impressed me with his voice and guitar playing. "The Crickets," Buddy's band, had a lot of talent.
Since this tribute was made over 20 years ago, it's interesting to see how young everyone looks, from McCartney to the Everly Brothers and even Keith Richards! The main thing, though, is that we get a real feel for who Buddy Holly was, where he grew up, the atmosphere, the people and managers who surrounded him (including a very pretty ex-girlfriend) and to hear how driven he was to succeed and do the kind of music he wanted to do. It all makes me sad, recalling how we lost of the greatest rock singers/writers of all time at the tender age of 22.
Thanks to McCartney for this "labor of love."