Every once in a while you have to take a break from politics and talk about something else. Today being Buddy Holly's birthday, I thought I would talk a little about him and the enormous influence he had on popular music.

Many people have a vague idea he was an early rock and roll pioneer and wore glasses. But did you know his group, The Crickets, pioneered the standard rock band of two guitars, bass, and drums? Or that the Beatles came up with their name trying to imitate the Crickets, and that Paul McCartney said the first 40 songs they wrote were all attempts at imitating Buddy?

The Beatles first recording (as "The Quarrymen") was a Buddy Holly song, as was the first UK top ten hit and first US single for the Rolling Stones. The Hollies named their group after Buddy Holly. And there is so much more.

I talk about all the influence Buddy Holly had as well as the entertaining but completely fictional movie starring Gary Busey on today's episode of Tom Mullen Talks Freedom. 

There are also links to Buddy's music, some good biographies on Buddy, and my own tribute band, The Holly Days, on the show notes page.

This episode also features some clips from a Holly Days track leading in and out of the commercial break. 

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