Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography Of Buddy Holly [Paperback]

John Goldrosen (Author), John Beecher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

Buddy Holly was a rock pioneer. In an era when almost all stars were manufactured by the music industry, he wrote his own material, led his own group, played a Fender Strat, and recorded classic songs like “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue,” “Not Fade Away,” and “It’s So Easy,” in the process influencing everyone from the Beatles to Elvis Costello. Remembering Buddy Holly traces in consumate detail Holly’s life from his birth in Lubbock, Texas in 1936 to his tragic death in a plane crash twenty-three years later. In celebration of Holly’s sixtieth birthday, this definitive biography was once again made available.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The authors trace the career of Buddy Holly, the West Texas rock 'n' roller in great detailhis youth in Lubbock, early performances, the formation of his group the Crickets, the fame that followed the hit song "That'll Be the Day" (based on a line spoken by John Wayne in The Searchers) and the plane crash that killed him in 1959. Holly's "hold on his fans is to be explained by his very humanity," the authors maintain, and, appropriately, they take pains to separate fact from legend. The book concludes with a look at the current "Holly Renaissance." A superb collection of 160 illustrations (photos, maps, clippings, ads, etc.) is spoiled in part because they are reproduced in miniature to fit within the pages' outer margins. Nevertheless, this is indeed the "definitive biography," based on years of obsessive research, including 22,000 miles on the road logged by Goldrosen while interviewing friends and acquaintances of Holly. Complete discography.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Remembering Buddy updates Goldrosen's excellent Buddy Holly: his life and music. It explores Holly's early years in Lubbock, Texas; his rise to prominence; the chart successes with the Crickets in 1957 and 1958 ("Peggy Sue," etc.; and his death in a 1959 plane crash. It also details the resurgence of interest in Holly which began during the 1970s. Well-written and exhaustively researched, the book includes hundreds of rare and interesting photos and a complete discography chart file and list of tour dates. One of the best rock biographies. David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807157
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807152
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,614,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rave On!, October 24, 2000

By 

JMAC "JMAC" (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography Of Buddy Holly (Paperback)

This is, hands down, the best biography of Buddy Holly available. I have read them all and though others have their moments (mainly rare photos) they are spoiled with proven factual errors and unsubstantiated rumors. John Goldrosen's book is the standard by which all others are judged.

Goldrosen is a stickler for accuracy and his research is meticulous. He also keeps close to all things Buddy Holly. I first met him at the dedication of the Buddy Holly statue in Lubbock in 1986. Bill Griggs (founder of the sadly discontinued Buddy Holly Memorical Society) thinks highly of Goldrosen and there is no higher compliment for a historian of Buddy Holly.

The updates keep making the book better (and more accurate) but I will always keep my first copy which I've had signed by Buddy's parents, his brothers, Jerry Allison, Niki Sullivan, Joe Mauldin, and, of course, the author John Goldrosen. If you only read one biography of Buddy Holly, this should be the one. If you have read others and would like to know what Buddy was really like, get the latest edition of this book. You will not be disappointed.

Update 2005: Sad to note that this book is out of print. So is the earlier version titled "The Buddy Holly Story" by the same authors. It's still worth reading if you can find a copy. Check your local library or used book store. Hopefully another publisher will pick up the book and it will be available again.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the definitive Buddy Holly biography, November 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography Of Buddy Holly (Paperback)

This is a detailed and complete biography of Buddy Holly's life and career. It is accurate and has a good index. The more recent Ellis Amburn biography has an impressive bibliography, but unfortunately numerous errors have been found in it. This makes the Amburn book useless as a reference as the reader cannot trust it. Not so with the Goldrosen and Beecher book: it is accurate and is still the definitive reference for Buddy Holly fans. I strongly recommend the Goldrosen and Beecher book over the other more recent biographies for its completeness, accuracy and ease of use. If you want to own only one book about Buddy Holly, this is the one to get.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best biography of Buddy...and best balanced..., December 30, 2001

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography Of Buddy Holly (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Buddy's since he was still alive. This is the best biography available. The authors do not deal in sensationalism and wacko explorations of Buddy's sex life or possible contributions to the crash of the plane. He died at 22, and was only famous for two years, and never was wealthy. He can be expected to have had moments of immaturity, and to have made mistakes in judgement. But the overwhelming evidence is that he was a nice, normal young adult with abnormal talent for singing, songwriting, guitar-playing and record-producing. He's been gone for more than 40 years, and he left about 80 recordings behind. Those performances are still wonderful, and this book tells you a lot about how they were created and captured and preserved. Who needs anything else?