Has anyone on the board been to Lubbock and or Clear Lake? If so, what did you think of it, and what was it like? I mean, I'd love to go down there, and I think it would be even more amazing to talk to some of his bandmates (specifically J.I. Allison and Joe B. Maudlin) but anyone that knew Buddy personally I'd be content to talk to.. So, for those of you who have been lucky enough to visit Buddy Holly's birth and death site, what was it like?

Last I heard, Jerry Allison was living on a ranch somewhere in Tennessee, and Joe Mauldin lives in Oklahoma (I think, don't quote me), so it would be unlikely that you'd run into them in Lubbock---unless they were there for some very special event, such as a Buddy Holly convention.

I've been to Lubbock a few times, specifically to breathe the same air that Buddy Holly did... But I've gotta tell you, if you're expecting to sense some sort of electricity in the air, some kind of magic, you're going to be disappointed with Lubbock.

Totally unlike the cozy little town nestled in a mountain valley as depicted in "The Buddy Holly Story," Lubbock is arguably the flattest place on earth. The Texas panhandle, by and large, is a vast, flat plain with very few trees, some hardy shrubs, and cotton fields for as far as the eye can see. During cotton harvest, there's so many leftover cotton bolls on the ground and along the roads that you would swear you were looking at fresh snowfall... For miles and miles and miles.

The town itself has grown and modernized considerably, of course, since Buddy Holly's day---I would guess that Buddy wouldn't recognize it. Lubbock, at one time the "Buckle in the Bible Belt," is a lot more liberal these days, due in no small part to local tourism promoters who have tried to fashion some sort of facade of progressive culture---kind of like Austin, but without the hills or scenery. Lot of coffee shops, music stores and live performance venues, like any college town. But you don't see much in the way of references to Buddy Holly, as you might expect.

In fact, the one thing you will sense when touring Lubbock is its emptiness... That's what I always sensed, anyway. It's like a void, a vacuum. Maybe because I expected it to be brimming over with evidence of Buddy's passing, you know? Maybe because I expected to hear "Rave On" blaring from speakers mounted at every intersection. Maybe because I expected to see a towering 500 ft monument of Buddy with his Strat, and crowds of fans, young and old, bowing before it. But there was nothing like that.

The very last time I was there, many years ago, I visited the little Buddy Holly roadside park erected by the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce... It was dismal, I can tell you. Yes, there was a statue of Buddy on a pedestal, not nearly monumental enough, and utterly uninspiring. Lifeless. There were weeds growing up in the park, and litter. It just deflated me. I came away from Lubbock so depressed, I wanted to pretend that I had visited the wrong town.

Since then, I've heard that the Chamber of Commerce finally cleaned up Buddy's little park and is maintaining it properly, but I wouldn't know. I never went back after that last visit.

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Originally posted by Charles Austin:


Totally unlike the cozy little town nestled in a mountain valley as depicted in "The Buddy Holly Story,"

In fact, the one thing you _will_ sense when touring Lubbock is its _emptiness_... That's what I always sensed, anyway. It's like a void, a vacuum.

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Did you know that the Buddy Holly Story was actually filmed all in Los Angles and that they didn't go on location for any part of the movie? About the only thought that can comfort me when it comes to this movie is that I hope to see the REAL Buddy Holly Story (done by Paul Macarteny) sometime soon, and also that the thought of the movie Not Fade Away, which was terminated and why the Buddy Holly Story was created, would have been much better than the movie that Gary Busey starred in.

Just a thought, but about the emptiness in Lubbock.....it's the hole that Buddy left in our music world.

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Originally posted by buddy_blue:
...the movie Not Fade Away, which was terminated and why the Buddy Holly Story was created, would have been much better than the movie that Gary Busey starred in.

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Actually, Gary Busey was first cast as Jerry Allison in the ill-fated screenplay of "Not Fade Away"... Busey had toured with Leon Russel in the mid-70s, playing drums under the name "Teddy Jack Eddy," which is how he landed the part of Jerry Allison---but Busey wasn't particularly well-versed in electric guitar. Fortunately for him, Buddy Holly's music was perfect beginner material, and he managed to play much of the guitar when he was re-cast in the title role of "The Buddy Holly Story"... After his Oscar-nominated performance in that film, Busey tried moonlighting on the tavern circuit with his newly-acquired guitar skills, tearing up songs such as "Oh Boy" and "Rave On" in beerhalls full of drunk bikers and surfers... But he ended up almost killing himself with booze, drugs and crazy living. Ah, the price of celebrity.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charles Austin,

I agree about Lubbock being empty. My great-grandparents lived there, and I never really saw very much of it until my great-grandfathers death.(Actually my great-grandfather and his sons knew Buddy Holly, he went to their church apparently. But that's another story.) It does not have much in the way of Buddy. It seems like a void town. But I remember it fondly as the site of some of my childhood memories, so I can't speak too badly about it. I don't know if it's changed much, its been over 7 years since I was last there.