To mark the 50th Anniversary of Buddy’s death, Sky Arts tonight ran an hour long documentary. I was expecting the usual painting by numbers type of programme, “oh yeah I met who guy who once kissed a girl that had been on a greyhound bus that went through Lubbock”. But kudos to Barry Barnes who got to the heart of the music and story thanks to a host of guest slots from former band members and assorted folks from the Lubbock and Clovis days.
Narrated by music aficionado Paul Gambaccini, this documentary focuses on the music and its here that the Crickets really add spice to the show. Jerry Allison, Joe B Mauldin and Sonny Curtis are so unassuming and have a wonderful laid back humour. Sonny tells of the history behind Rock Around With Ollie Vee and the way he portrays the joy of seeing his name on the label (as songwriter) is still with genuine delight. I could watch and listen to JI all night long, he must be the worlds most lovable musician. Tommy Allsup always comes across as another nice guy and Carl Bunch was another treasure. He talked about Ritchie Valens almost in awe and when he fought back the tears at the end, it was a touching moment – not camera tears but the tears of a man who has lived half a century with this painful memory.
So, congrats and thanks to Sky Arts for this worthy piece of work – the sort of thing the BBC used to do years ago. Do you remember the Arena series that once upon a time treated our music with a bit of respect.
Narrated by music aficionado Paul Gambaccini, this documentary focuses on the music and its here that the Crickets really add spice to the show. Jerry Allison, Joe B Mauldin and Sonny Curtis are so unassuming and have a wonderful laid back humour. Sonny tells of the history behind Rock Around With Ollie Vee and the way he portrays the joy of seeing his name on the label (as songwriter) is still with genuine delight. I could watch and listen to JI all night long, he must be the worlds most lovable musician. Tommy Allsup always comes across as another nice guy and Carl Bunch was another treasure. He talked about Ritchie Valens almost in awe and when he fought back the tears at the end, it was a touching moment – not camera tears but the tears of a man who has lived half a century with this painful memory.
So, congrats and thanks to Sky Arts for this worthy piece of work – the sort of thing the BBC used to do years ago. Do you remember the Arena series that once upon a time treated our music with a bit of respect.
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