Buddy Holly

Term Paper # 99637

Music Studies

Buddy Holly

A look at the life and works of Buddy Holly and his influence on American music.

2,079 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how there is a case for calling Buddy Holly the century's most influential musician. It looks at how his skills in songwriting, singing, and playing music went on to influence the musical scene in both America and Europe all the way into the 21st century.

From the Paper:

" In 1955, Buddy heard Elvis Presley perform live for the first time. His country roots were never the same after that. This marks the end of his career as a country singer and the beginning of his life as a rock and roll musician. He was strongly influenced by Presley. This is obvious in the many similarities in their music. However, there were also several major differences. The biggest difference is the source of their music. Holly wrote most of his own music, while Presley is known for his outstanding work with covering songs. Another obvious difference between the two singers has to do with their voices (Carlin 27). Due to his Texan roots, Buddy's vocal inflections had a southwestern twang to them. Elvis's accent, however, was purely a southern one. Holly's voice had a lighter tone than Presley's did, although he was still able to use it demonstrate extreme contrast in his songs. Not only was his sound different from Presley's, but his appearance couldn't have been more so. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Brown, Charles T. The Art of Rock and Roll. Copyright 1983, Prentice-Hall Inc. New Jersey
Carlin, Richard. Rock and Roll: 1955-1970. Copyright 1988, Facts-on-File Publications. New York.
Norman, Philip. The Biography of Buddy Holly. Copyright 1996, Simon & Schuster
Podell, Janet. Rock Music in America. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.