Buddy Holly can be considered one of the greatest "inventors" of rock music. Holly wrote his own material and even introduced the modern day lineup of two guitars, bass and drums in the recording studio. The skinny white kid wearing the black, wide-rimmed glasses became an inspiration to many musicians, including Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. He did this all before he was 22 years old and then, on a cool February night in 1959 as is aptly stated by singer Don McLean, the music and the musician died.

But while death took Buddy Holly at such a tragic young age, his voice has not been silenced. His pop rock songs like "That'll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue" and "Not Fade Away" are still widely played on radio stations around the country, conjuring up memories of the golden oldies among those who remember Buddy Holly's characteristic voice and his trademark "hiccup" sound. Even for the young folk, Holly provides an insight into the era when rock ‘n' roll was still young.

Holly learned to play the piano, fiddle and guitar at an early age and during high school he formed a small band with some of his close friends. They performed on local radio stations throughout the mid 1950s and eventually produced one of Holly's first hits, "That'll be the Day." In the later part of the decade, Holly and the Crickets began touring, even opening on one occasion for rockstar Elvis Presley. During his time with the Crickets, Holly released a plethora of hits like "Peggy Sue," "Think It Over" and "Maybe Baby." In 1958, he left the Crickets and went on tour with future country star Tommy Allsup. Shortly after take-off his last fateful flight, the plane crashed and Holly died along with Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, turning them into the revered symbols of rock ‘n' roll.