Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley on September 7, 1936. Dropping the “e” during his professional career, Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll.
When Holly perished in a plane crash in February 3, 1959, the famous glasses that he had always worn during his career was found and was to be the most expensive glasses ever sold.
After the plane crash, the glasses were turned over to the sheriff’s office, staying there for around 22 years before being turned over to Holly’s widow and later sold. In May of 1998, Civic Lubbock Inc. bought the pair of glasses for US$80,000. The company then donated the glasses to the city of Lubbock, Texas and the Buddy Holly exhibit.
Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Buddy Holly is described by critics as the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll. Critic Bruce Eder has this to say about Buddy Holly: “Holly was unique, his legendary status and his impact on popular music all the more extraordinary for having been achieved in barely 18 months.” Buddy Holly’s works and musical innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, among which are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello (who even adopted Holly’s famous guitar-and-glasses look). Holly definitely had a profound influence on popular music.
Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and rightfully so. In fact, in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him no. 13 among “The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time”. Now, his famous pair of glasses has also achieved fame by being the world’s most expensive glasses ever sold. Now, if you have money to spare (lots of money, in fact), you could head on to Texas, and talk to the Buddy Holly exhibit organizers and check if they want to sell you the glasses. While you’re at it, buy a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar as well to complete the Holly imagery. That would be really cool.