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Song Parodies -> "Say A Prayer For Buddy Holly (2007)"
Original Song Title:
"Deck The Halls"
Original Performer:
Traditional
Parody Song Title:
"Say A Prayer For Buddy Holly (2007)"
Parody Written by:
Tommy Turtle
The Lyrics
Today (if there is a Saturday update) is the anniversary of "The Day The Music Died" referred to in "American Pie" (the song by Don McLean, not the movie): 3 February 1959, when young rockers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J. P. Richardson, a.k.a. The Big Bopper, were killed in a plane crash while traveling from their last gig in Clear Lake, Iowa to their next one in Fargo, North Dakota. Holly had been married less than six months earlier. His wife was pregnant at the time and later miscarried. For younger folks not familiar with Holly, he was a pioneer of early rock, on the order of Ray Charles and Elvis Presley, who helped to bridge the gap between African-American Rhythm & Blues/Soul and White Country/Hillbilly/Pop to help create Rock 'n Roll. Had he not died tragically at the age of 22, he undoubtedly would be even more of a household name. His band "The Crickets" was an inspiration for the band name "The Beatles", who openly credited Holly as a source for their music. Many other performers from the 50s right up to the present day have credited Holly, such as these artists, and his songs have been covered right up to modern times, far too many times by far too many artists to list here. Sheryl Crow is even selling hair color with a Buddy Holly song.... At last year's anniversary of this event, I was a 5-day-old n00b at AmIRight, and didn't post the first version of this parody until six weeks later. Not fishing for repeat votes or comments, just ask to be forgiven for posting a slighty evolved version today to pay tribute to this early superstar in a more timely fashion.
Say a prayer for Buddy Holly
(This is Buddy's song, so sing along)
Style new, an an-o-MA-ly
(Buddy now is gone, and so, we mourn)
Music brought us all together
(R & B, hill-bill-y, rock 'n roll)
Wish they'd flown in better weather...
(Blessings on his soul; such tragic toll)
Crashed on flight, Clear Lake to Fargo
(I-o-wa bound to... North DA-ko-ta )
Left a widow, Santiago [1]
("Widowed bride" Ma-ri...-a E-le-na)
Took poor Buddy, Ritchie, Bopper
(Holly, Va-.. Lenz-uel-a, Rich-ard-son) [2]
Sadly, single sure show-stopper
(Since his plane is down, show can't go on)
Known to Nassau, Nome, and Needles [3]
(Never been to Spain? To Needles, go)
"Crickets" 'spired name for "Beatles"
(John and Paul were fans, at UK show) [4]
Also, for Graham Nash's "Hollies"
(Envy: none; trib-ute done, 'eighty-one) [5]
Passing gave us melancholies
(See his image in... the setting sun)
Beatles' "Words of Love": they pick up [7]
(Quite de-lib-er-ate...-LY make mim-ic)
Holly's sound - the "vocal hiccup" [6]
(Term that critics gave... to his gim-mick)
Fade away, not! Stones saw to that
(Rolling Stones cover "Not.... Fade A-way") [8]
Other covers: Linda Ronstadt
("It's So Easy"; "That... 'LL Be The Day") [9] [10]
Fame forever through space hurtles
(Rave On, Peggy Sue, in True Love Ways) [11] [12] [13]
Influenced The Byrds, The Turtles
(Raining In My Heart, 'most Everyday) [14] [15]
And, among those Turtles, I ---
(Paradise (not for Fools): Buddy's rest) [16]
That'll be the day we di-ie!
(Matters evermore - we're all so bless'd!) [17]
That'll be the day that we all die!
[1] Holly's wife, nee Maria Elena Santiago, the "widowed bride" of "American Pie".
[2] Ritchie Valens' full last name was Valenzuela.
[3] Needles, California, in the desert east of Los Angeles, immortalized by Elvis Presley/Three Dog Night in "Never Been to Spain".
[4] Lennon and McCartney, as teens, were said to have been in the audience for Holly's 1958 UK tour, though other sources indicate that it was actually a friend of McCartney's and George Harrison's who was in the audience, met Holly, and introduced the three of them.
[5] "Buddy Holly", The Hollies, 1981
[6] The "vocal hiccup", as in: "Rave On": "Weh-UH-eh-UH-ell, the little things you say and do". The Beatles emulated this "gimmick" in their version of Holly's "Words Of Love". "vocal hiccup" info © Wikipedia, source of much of the information for this parody/tribute.
More information on Holly is at the Official Buddy Holly website.
"American Pie" and "The day the music died" © 1971 Don McLean.
Buddy Holly songs referenced:
[7] "Words of Love" (1957)
[8] "Not Fade Away" (1957)
[9] "It's So Easy" (1958)
[10] "That'll Be the Day" (1957)
[11] "Rave On" (1958)
[12] "Peggy Sue" (1957)
[13] "True Love Ways" (1960)
[14] "Raining in My Heart" (1959)
[15] "Everyday" (1958)
[16] "Fool's Paradise" (1958)
[17] "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"(1959)
All © CMG Worldwide for the Estate of Buddy Holly.
(This is Buddy's song, so sing along)
Style new, an an-o-MA-ly
(Buddy now is gone, and so, we mourn)
Music brought us all together
(R & B, hill-bill-y, rock 'n roll)
Wish they'd flown in better weather...
(Blessings on his soul; such tragic toll)
Crashed on flight, Clear Lake to Fargo
(I-o-wa bound to... North DA-ko-ta )
Left a widow, Santiago [1]
("Widowed bride" Ma-ri...-a E-le-na)
Took poor Buddy, Ritchie, Bopper
(Holly, Va-.. Lenz-uel-a, Rich-ard-son) [2]
Sadly, single sure show-stopper
(Since his plane is down, show can't go on)
Known to Nassau, Nome, and Needles [3]
(Never been to Spain? To Needles, go)
"Crickets" 'spired name for "Beatles"
(John and Paul were fans, at UK show) [4]
Also, for Graham Nash's "Hollies"
(Envy: none; trib-ute done, 'eighty-one) [5]
Passing gave us melancholies
(See his image in... the setting sun)
Beatles' "Words of Love": they pick up [7]
(Quite de-lib-er-ate...-LY make mim-ic)
Holly's sound - the "vocal hiccup" [6]
(Term that critics gave... to his gim-mick)
Fade away, not! Stones saw to that
(Rolling Stones cover "Not.... Fade A-way") [8]
Other covers: Linda Ronstadt
("It's So Easy"; "That... 'LL Be The Day") [9] [10]
Fame forever through space hurtles
(Rave On, Peggy Sue, in True Love Ways) [11] [12] [13]
Influenced The Byrds, The Turtles
(Raining In My Heart, 'most Everyday) [14] [15]
And, among those Turtles, I ---
(Paradise (not for Fools): Buddy's rest) [16]
That'll be the day we di-ie!
(Matters evermore - we're all so bless'd!) [17]
That'll be the day that we all die!
[1] Holly's wife, nee Maria Elena Santiago, the "widowed bride" of "American Pie".
[2] Ritchie Valens' full last name was Valenzuela.
[3] Needles, California, in the desert east of Los Angeles, immortalized by Elvis Presley/Three Dog Night in "Never Been to Spain".
[4] Lennon and McCartney, as teens, were said to have been in the audience for Holly's 1958 UK tour, though other sources indicate that it was actually a friend of McCartney's and George Harrison's who was in the audience, met Holly, and introduced the three of them.
[5] "Buddy Holly", The Hollies, 1981
[6] The "vocal hiccup", as in: "Rave On": "Weh-UH-eh-UH-ell, the little things you say and do". The Beatles emulated this "gimmick" in their version of Holly's "Words Of Love". "vocal hiccup" info © Wikipedia, source of much of the information for this parody/tribute.
More information on Holly is at the Official Buddy Holly website.
"American Pie" and "The day the music died" © 1971 Don McLean.
Buddy Holly songs referenced:
[7] "Words of Love" (1957)
[8] "Not Fade Away" (1957)
[9] "It's So Easy" (1958)
[10] "That'll Be the Day" (1957)
[11] "Rave On" (1958)
[12] "Peggy Sue" (1957)
[13] "True Love Ways" (1960)
[14] "Raining in My Heart" (1959)
[15] "Everyday" (1958)
[16] "Fool's Paradise" (1958)
[17] "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"(1959)
All © CMG Worldwide for the Estate of Buddy Holly.
All else © 2007 Tommy Turtle.
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User Comments
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Very nice tribute, with extensive references on hand. You did all the work for us! Now how did you write that hiccup? : ) 5's
Tommy - Master of Footnotes, all I can add to Adagio's comment is: Ibid. :-)
Adagio, thanks... it's easy, I was drunk at the time, so it just came out naturally. :)
Meriadoc, [1]
[1] thanks.
Meriadoc, [1]
[1] thanks.
TT's a Foot note master, Yes Meridoc said it. To Adagio's comment he added word Ibid. How do I think this up,I don't know. I guess that it's good.
Wow, TT, you really tie a lot of stuff together and make it work! You should definitely be commended for not relying on repeating lines like the OS does.
Awesome.As an aviation tidbit, the V-tailed Beechcraft Bonanza was in reputation of a death trap amongst professional pilots; all vee-tailed Bonanzas were converted into conventional in Finland in the eighties. Cleared for flight level 555.
"Ann Hammond" (ha ha), thanks... it's ok to comment under your own name, really it is, and not nice to use others' names, but thanks for the comment.
John Jenkins, thanks :)
Susanna Viljanen, thanks. I flew a Bonanza once, in the 80s, but I think it was a sraight-tail (belonged to a client). Just saw that there were structural problems with the V, but it was also known that typically pilots who learned in a C150 would go buy a high-performance craft like the Beech without being qualified. (Typically doctors -- the plane was called "the V-tailed Doctor-killer), although I see that Apple geek Steve Wozniak did the same. The Federal Aviation Administration found that Wozniak was not qualified for the high-performance craft.) FAA report:
h*ttp://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=27749&key=0.
Don't think they ever determined the cause of Holly's crash. Despite what the song says, looks like weather wasn't a factor -- very cold, but clear. Perhaps the tail failed. Wish we knew.
Didn't think VFR was permitted at 55,500 feet, but I'll take the clearance gladly, with much thanks :)
John Jenkins, thanks :)
Susanna Viljanen, thanks. I flew a Bonanza once, in the 80s, but I think it was a sraight-tail (belonged to a client). Just saw that there were structural problems with the V, but it was also known that typically pilots who learned in a C150 would go buy a high-performance craft like the Beech without being qualified. (Typically doctors -- the plane was called "the V-tailed Doctor-killer), although I see that Apple geek Steve Wozniak did the same. The Federal Aviation Administration found that Wozniak was not qualified for the high-performance craft.) FAA report:
h*ttp://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=27749&key=0.
Don't think they ever determined the cause of Holly's crash. Despite what the song says, looks like weather wasn't a factor -- very cold, but clear. Perhaps the tail failed. Wish we knew.
Didn't think VFR was permitted at 55,500 feet, but I'll take the clearance gladly, with much thanks :)
I'm getting too exited TT. I hope Meriadoc or Adagio aren't upset.
All I can say is wow! I'll put you on Flight 555!
Yoidy, thanks!
nice tribute...5s
Thanks, alvin.
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