Buddy Holly and Elvis

Elvis Presley’s image as one of the greatest musicians in the world and extraordinarily gifted stage talent has often been likened to Buddy Holly. He was described as the single most influential force of early rock and roll. Moreover like Elvis his legacy and fame was emphasized through his death. His works and innovations inspired artists and later musicians such as Bob Dylan and the Rolling stones. Like Presley he is also in the rock and roll hall of fame and beats Presley in the rolling stone rankings at 13. Buddy Holly released three albums in his lifetime. However, he recorded so prolifically that Coral Records was able to release brand new albums and singles for 10 years after his death. Holly had an incredibly large target audience. The demand for unissued Holly material was so great that Norman petty resorted to overdubbing whatever he could find to keep selling his music. The very last album that was released with music by buddy holly was released in 1969. Holly was one of the first in the genre of rock to produce, write and perform his own songs. Holly’s music was also inspired by rhythm and blues and country music. This was more popular among a white audience.

The aspect that made these two artists very similar is that fact that they both had incredible stage personas where they were able to captivate the audience very easily. Elvis came to fame through a series of television shows which were broadcasted throughout the nation. Similarly Holly was presented on TV shows which boosted his image incredibly. They were both headliners of rock and roll for their age and time in the music business.