Buddy Holly’s meteoric music career only spanned 18 months while he was alive, but its legacy has lasted more than half a century — and shows no signs of waning.
A fun-filled tribute show, The Buddy Holly Story in Concert, will be performed on Saturday, June 25, at Red Deer’s Memorial Centre, centring on the Lubbock, Tex., singer’s last concert at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.
It was after this 1959 concert that Holly was killed at the age of 22, along with two other artists, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, when their plane crashed into a nearby farmer’s field shortly after takeoff on Feb. 3.
But The Buddy Holly Story in Concert doesn’t dwell on this tragedy, which has been immortalized in songs like Don McLean’s 1971 ballad American Pie. Rather, it celebrates Holly’s infectious music with a show that’s left audiences singing and dancing in the aisles.
The bespectacled rockabilly singer was best known for the tunes That’ll Be the Day, Peggy Sue and Oh Boy!, which made Holly and his band, The Crickets, one of the few white acts at the time that crossed over to become popular with black audiences across the U.S.
Holly’s song Not Fade Away was later covered by the Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead, among others.
Zachary Stevenson, as Holly, has been praised for his spot-on impersonation of the “nerdy Texan” who made it cool to wear glasses while performing, influencing later artists, including John Lennon and Elton John.
Stevenson has Holly’s guitar licks down pat, as well as his energetic dance style. Vocally, he has the trademark Holly “hiccup” and the range to deliver both his rockabilly songs and sweet ballads in a style that’s brought listeners to their feet.
Holly’s set is actually the second half of the concert, after an opening set by Bill Culp as The Big Bopper and Ben Kunder as Ritchie Valens.
Tickets to the 8 p.m. concert are $35 from Ticket Central at 403-347-0800.