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Buddy Holly

National Portrait Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Lew Allen, born 1939
Sitter
Buddy Holly, 7 Sep 1936 - 3 Feb 1959
Exhibition Label
Born Lubbock, Texas
Killed in a plane crash just as he attained stardom, Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly is one of the most influential and mythic figures in American music. Raised in a musical family and steeped in a crossroads of musical genres that included gospel, country, and rhythm and blues, Holly formed his own band out of high school. Soon he was opening for Elvis Presley in Lubbock, Texas (1955). By 1957, Holly had a new record contract and a new band, and his career took off nationally and internationally; his first hit was “That’ll Be the Day.” Tragically, Holly and performers Ritchie Valens and J. P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) were killed in a plane crash in Iowa in January 1959. Memorialized later as “The Day the Music Died,” the myth of Buddy Holly has overshadowed his influence as a performer and guitarist in the history of rock and roll.
Nacido en Lubbock, Texas
Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly, fallecido en un accidente aéreo cuando apenas alcanzaba el estrellato, es una de las figuras más influyentes y míticas de la música estadounidense. Holly creció en el seno de una familia musical absorbiendo una confluencia de géneros como el góspel, el country y el rhythm and blues, y al terminar la escuela superior formó su propia banda. Poco después ya había logrado presentarse como primer acto en un concierto de Elvis Presley en Lubbock, Texas (1955). Para 1957 tenía contrato nuevo y banda nueva, y su carrera despegó a nivel nacional e internacional. Su primer hit fue “That’ll Be the Day”. Trágicamente, Holly y los músicos Ricthie Valens y J. P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) perecieron en un accidente de avión en Iowa en enero de 1959. El mito de su muerte, conmemorado como “El día que murió la música”, ha opacado la influencia de Holly como cantante y guitarrista en la historia del rock and roll.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
1958 (printed later)
Object number
NPG.2015.60
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Lew Allen
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 25.5 × 33.2 cm (10 1/16 × 13 1/16")
Sheet: 27.9 × 35.4 cm (11 × 13 15/16")
Mat: 40.6 × 55.9 cm (16 × 22")
Place
United States\New York\Monroe\Rochester
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses
Interior\Performing Arts\Theatrical\Stage
Music\Musical instrument\Guitar
Music\Musical instrument\Trumpet
Music\Musical instrument\Trombone
Music\Musical instrument\Drum
Buddy Holly: Male
Buddy Holly: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.2015.60
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4cfc03abc-6e8e-4441-b5c7-3dca97cee09b

Related Content

  • American Music

    Smithsonian Music
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  • Treasures of Rock and Roll: Iconic Music Artifacts

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