FINALIST FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION, 2011, THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS
FINALIST FOR MEMOIRS (HISTORICAL/LEGACY/CAREER), 2011, THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS
He was just a kid from Lubbock, Texas, sporting black horn-rimmed glasses, blue jeans, a white T-shirt, white socks, and loafers. And he changed the course of music history. Today, more than five decades after his tragic death, Buddy Holly still affects lives around the world.
Critically acclaimed author Gary W. Moore was not a fan of rock music. He was familiar with Buddy’s name and thought he was dead, but couldn’t name even a single song Buddy had written or performed. In a single evening all that changed when the late great Buddy Holly reached out from a stage in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and seized Gary’s heart and soul through a song—not a song written or performed by Buddy, but a song about Buddy performed by musician John Mueller. Even Buddy’s closest friends say John is Buddy reincarnated, and his resemblance and music will take your breath away.
Hey Buddy is a warm and intimate chronicle of the author’s personal journey to discover more about the young man from Lubbock, his music, his influence, and the times in which he lived. Join Gary as he meets Buddy’s personal friends, celebrities, and everyday Buddy enthusiasts. Their unique stories will make you laugh, smile, cry, and think all the while “What if?” What if Buddy had lived instead of perishing in that terrible plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, on that winter night in 1959? What if Buddy had continued to write music into the 1960s and 70s? What if . . .
Along the way Gary discovers the darker side behind Buddy’s last hours. The doomed Dwyer Flying Service charter flight took off in deteriorating weather with an inexperienced 21-year-old pilot who was not instrument-rated. The Dwyers claim they have the plane wreckage in which Buddy, Ritchie Valens, “Big Bopper” Richardson, and the pilot died, and told Gary “the truth has never been told about what happened on that flight.” With the help of a retired National Transportation Safety Board aviation crash expert, Gary recreates the short flight and reaches an intriguing conclusion about what really happened during the plane’s final moments.
A rollercoaster ride of emotion, Hey Buddy offers a surprising examination of our culture and how the young man from Lubbock brought us from where we were five decades ago to where we are today. His dramatic and enduring legacy influenced everyone from The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Don McLean to writers, fans, and . . . John Mueller, who took the stage in Iowa one cold night not long ago to recreate The Winter Dance Party of 1959 and, in doing so, influenced an author to pick up his pen and explore a legacy that still affects us today.
About the Author: Gary W. Moore is a motivational speaker, accomplished musician, and the award-winning author of Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home (Savas Beatie, 2006; Penguin, 2008), the story of his father’s secret life in baseball and war. Playing with the Enemy has inspired readers worldwide and will soon be a major motion picture. Gary has contributed to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and has been featured in national publications, on syndicated radio, and on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox.
