Claim: Buddy Holly is a guitarist.

Buddy Holly -LRB- born Charles Hardin Holley ; September 7 , 1936 -- February 3 , 1959 -RRB- was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll . Holley was born in Lubbock , Texas , to a musical family during the Great Depression ; he learned to play guitar and to sing alongside his siblings . His style was influenced by gospel music , country music , and rhythm and blues acts , and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school . He made his first appearance on local television in 1952 , and the following year he formed the group `` Buddy and Bob '' with his friend Bob Montgomery . In 1955 , after opening for Elvis Presley , Holly decided to pursue a career in music . He opened for Presley three times that year ; his band 's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll . In October that year , when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets , Holly was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall , who helped him get a contract with Decca Records .   Holly 's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley . Unhappy with Bradley 's control in the studio and with the sound he achieved there , Holly went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis , New Mexico , and recorded a demo of `` That 'll Be the Day '' , among other songs . Petty became the band 's manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records , which released it as a single credited to `` The Crickets '' , which became the name of Holly 's band . In September 1957 , as the band toured , `` That 'll Be the Day '' topped the US `` Best Sellers in Stores '' chart and the UK Singles Chart . Its success was followed in October by another major hit , `` Peggy Sue '' .   The album Chirping Crickets , released in November 1957 , reached number five on the UK Albums Chart . Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after , toured Australia and then the UK . In early 1959 , Holly assembled a new band , consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings -LRB- bass -RRB- , famed session musician Tommy Allsup -LRB- guitar -RRB- , and Carl Bunch -LRB- drums -RRB- , and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. . After a show in Clear Lake , Iowa , Holly chartered an airplane to travel to his next show , in Moorhead , Minnesota . Soon after takeoff , the plane crashed , killing Holly , Ritchie Valens , The Big Bopper , and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as `` The Day the Music Died '' .   During his short career , Holly wrote , recorded , and produced his own material . He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars , bass , and drums . Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists , including The Beatles , The Rolling Stones , Eric Clapton , and Elton John . He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , in 1986 . Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of `` 100 Greatest Artists '' .