Rave On

Buddy Holly (1936–1959)

Truthfully, I never heard this song, one of his greatest, until the ’70s. I loved his music, but never bought any of his albums. What can I say about Buddy Holly? I once had a dream that I was back in 1959 trying to talk him out of taking the plane. In 1960, I also dreamed I was trying to talk Jimmie Rodgers into going into a TB treatment facility. He was in an expensive car and waved me off, just like Holly.

Late in 1958 I was at a newsstand, paging through a Black magazine called Bronze Thrills. There was an illustrated article about Little Richard’s conversion to the church. There were two full-page color photographs, side by side. On the left was the old Little Richard, standing up and pounding at the piano, sweat pouring down his face, which held an expression of ecstasy, while in the foreground a row of lovely ladies in evening gowns looked on with lust-filled eyes. On the opposite page was a close-up of the new Little Richard, kneeling and washing someone’s bare foot. His eyes are closed and his face holds a look of beatific calm. Why didn’t I buy a copy and save it for the ages? What an epic cultural loss. Do these photos still exist?