Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly had a connection that went way beyond their respective music careers. When Buddy started in the music business, Elvis’s kindness helped the teenage musician during his first big gig. What did the king of rock and roll do that helped get Buddy’s professional career out of the starting gate? His goodwill made quite an impression on the Lubbock, TX native.
Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly’s professional careers began within one year of each other
In 1954, just one year out of high school, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis, TN. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor, and by 1956, he was an international sensation.
Buddy considered a professional career two years before Elvis, in 1952, while still a high school student. He made his first appearance on local television that same year. The following year, he and pal Bob Montgomery formed the group, Buddy and Bob. In 1955, after being spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, Buddy was signed to Decca Records.
Elvis and Buddy’s paths would cross three times in 1955, and the king of rock and roll’s kindness helped Buddy as he and Bob performed during their first big gig in their native Texas.
Elvis Presley gave Buddy Holly a helping hand during his first big gig
According to the website Elvis Presley Music, Buddy opened for Elvis three times in 1955. Buddy was at the bottom of the bill for his first show with the king of rock and roll, performing as half of the country-and-western duo Buddy and Bob.
Buddy and Elvis shared a bill at the Lubbock, TX, Fair Park Coliseum for the 4 p.m. matinee show. It was ahead of this performance that Elvis gave Buddy a helping hand. This legendary kindness is how many remembered the king of rock and roll throughout his career.
He reportedly lent Buddy his Martin acoustic guitar to use during the show. Photographs from the evening show featured on the website cited above show the two men playing the same instrument in different images. There is also a video, which is said to be the earliest footage of them together.
Buddy would share a bill with Elvis two more times that year. These experiences cemented his idea to venture into the music business full-time. However, he shifted his interest from country music to rock and roll. By 1957, he fronted Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
Buddy and Elvis were friendly, but their personal relationship remains unknown
The Elvis History Blog reported he and Buddy were friendly. Per Buddy’s brother Larry. “Buddy and Elvis got along pretty good,” Larry claimed. However, the extent of their personal relationship beyond that remains unknown.
He continued, “When Elvis came to town, Buddy found him a girl. She was not anyone you’d find on this side of town.” As for Buddy, during his Australian tour in 1958, he told a DJ that he’d once known Elvis “quite well.”
In Ellis Amburn’s 1995 Buddy Holly: A Biography, he wrote that Colonel Tom Parker, who would famously manage Elvis, was “intrigued” by both performers. However, he directed his energies toward Elvis but recommended Buddy to Eddie, who would later manage the “True Love Ways” singer and songwriter.
By the time “That’ll Be the Day” became Buddy’s first hit record, Elvis already had five number-one singles and eight gold records. However, Buddy’s following two songs, recorded in 1957, could chart in the top 10 later that same year: “Peggy Sue” and “Oh Boy,” followed by “That’ll Be the Day.”
Buddy Holly died in a plane crash along with Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson, in Iowa on Feb. 3, 1959. Elvis Presley died in 1977 of a heart attack at his Memphis, TN, home, Graceland.
