The Crickets?
I’ve been on
a bit of a Buddy Holly kick lately. I
bought a new electric guitar and Buddy’s early stuff is pretty east to play…and
fun. It got me to thinking about “The
Crickets.” Buddy Holly was billed as Buddy
Holly and “The Crickets.” Several years
after Buddy sadly died in a plane crash, I saw “The Crickets” play in Greenwich
Village, NY. I guess they were pretty
good, I was young and with a group that was more interested in booze than in “The
Crickets.”
OK, I am a
follower, not a leader.
Anyway,
Buddy Holly has always been a favorite of mine.
I have heard that “The Beatles” were greatly influenced by Buddy
Holly.
He had about 15 huge hits in only a few years before he was taken from us. All his music seemed to evolve. He was only getting better and better…much like the Beatles.
There is no telling
what music we lost with his death, he was an absolute genius, a title often
thrown around willy-nilly for entertainers, but not for Buddy. He was a true genus.
Anyway, while
trying to wail away at his early music I have thought about “The Crickets.” They were musicians, certainly more than I,
but they were also just locals that happened to be part of Buddy’s early crowd
of friends. Like a local garage band
where one member just happened to be a genius.
It must have
been difficult for “The Crickets” to keep up with Buddy. They were probably happy with a three-chord
progression with a bass, rhythm, lead guitar and drum band, while Buddy heard
different progressions and a variety of back up instruments. Buddy wanted to create and tour the country. “The Crickets” were happy with
local bars and hearing a few of their records on the radio.
What is you
point Cranky?
I guess I just
find it interesting how timing in this world can lead to success.
“The
Crickets,” an average bunch of local musicians will forever be tied with and be
famous because they were lucky enough to get their start with a musical genius.
Mickey
Mantle was a baseball great. What if he
was born 100 years earlier? He might have
ended up a dirt-poor farmer, or lung damaged coal miner. What if Bill Gates was born in Kansas before computers,
or even electricity? He would probably have
been the worst farmer in Kansas and a complete failure.
As the
landing gear on my plane of life is getting ready to drop, I wonder…was I born
at the wrong time? Did I just not meet
the right people? Has the technology that might unlock my hidden pure genius simply
not yet been invented? Could I have been
someone?
I am not that good on guitar, but if I was hanging around Buddy Holly at the right time, I might have been a “Cricket”!
Interesting idea. Now i am wondering what i could have been in another time and place.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those people who don't seem to have anything to offer the world in terms of ability, but I'm happy enough knowing I was here so that my children and grandchildren could be born. All of them are doing more for the world than I ever did.
ReplyDeleteYou coulda been a Cricket! But then you might not have Mrs. C. Your plane of life has taken you where you were meant to go. That doesn't mean you weren't suited to show your hidden genius, only that this was the route most beneficial for you in the long run. For this lifetime, anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf I'd been born in another place and time, I think I might be famous. I could have been the inspiration for the term "fish-wife."
I'm a firm believer God has me exactly where he wants me to be at this point in time. I would have made a lousy pioneer and a lousy woman without the "modern" comforts of a dishwasher, fridge, washer and dryer.
ReplyDeletebetty
Who knows, you might have been a contender to quote Marlon Brando. Loved Buddy Holly. Will never forget once when I broke up with a guy, he played "That'll be the Day" on the jukebox as he walked out the door.
ReplyDeleteI love Buddy Holly. I really enjoyed the movie about his life. I think so much of being famous is timing with a smatter of luck. There are lots of wonderful singers and musicians who just never made it. By the way, you are somebody! What would Mrs. C do without you?!
ReplyDeleteJoeH, you are someone. You are someone very important. I am sure that by being here, on this earth, you have made many people happy in your time. We are all a gift to one another. You are a precious gift to others - think about it and count how many people are lucky to have know you.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Interesting question. I could have been a published poet. I know, I know, that's vanity, maybe, but I came along just at the time when poetry was disappearing from popular magazines (where so many really good poets got their start), little magazines were beginning to fade from glory, and now you pay them to even get read, never mind published.
ReplyDeleteI coulda been a contender. I suddenly understand the angst in that sentence, the sense of loss, the sense of 'never'.
I get what you're saying, Joeh. Wrong place, wrong time. Maybe next time around, we'll get that second shot at it, eh.
The flip side to that thought and this would be me, I have been incredibly lucky being born at a time and a place where just staying healthy makes your more "successful" than 99.99 percent of the world since people first stood erect.
Delete