Remembering the Day the Music Changed Forever

On the 3rd of February 1959, a small aircraft carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson crashed shortly after takeoff, claiming the lives of all on board. The three musicians were en route to Fargo, North Dakota, for the next date on the Winter Dance Party Tour. After repeated bus breakdowns in sub-zero conditions, Holly made the fateful decision to charter a plane so he could rest before the next show. Just a week later, he was laid to rest in Lubbock, Texas, his headstone bearing the correct spelling of his family name, 'Holley,' alongside an image of his guitar.

Immortalised by Don McLean as 'The Day the Music Died,' the events sent shockwaves through popular culture. Now, 67 years on, the loss of Buddy Holly still resonates deeply. In a career that lasted little more than four years, and a life cut short at just 22, Holly reshaped the sound and structure of rock ’n’ roll — as a songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and studio innovator — leaving a legacy that continues to define modern music.

Genesis Publications is honoured to have published Buddy Holly: Words of Love, created in partnership with María Elena Holly and the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. While working on this edition, we have been struck time and again by the sheer breadth of artists who credit Holly as a foundational influence: Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Emmylou Harris, Brian May, Van Morrison, Dolly Parton, Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend — and countless others.

'I would daydream to his music and, later, mourn his death… My love of Buddy Holly was there from the beginning and it never wavered.' — Don McLean

Today, we remember and celebrate Buddy Holly’s short but extraordinary life — and the enduring influence of an artist without whom so much music might never have existed.

Now shipping worldwide, Buddy Holly: Words of Love is available at TheBuddyHollyBook.com.