The Day Buddy Holly, Crickets Played Portland


PORTLAND, OREGON – OCTOBER 22, 1957

Alan Freed Rock-n-Roll Show 1958Buddy Holly and The Crickets arrived in Portland, Oregon to appear live on High Time, a local TV teen dance show, and performed that night at the Paramount Theater along with an all-star cast as part of the Biggest Show of Stars ’57, which included Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lyman, The Drifters.

Read more about that day the Biggest Show of Stars ’57 arrived in Portland in this blog post from Oregon Live (The Oregonian): The Day the Music Died: Buddy Holly played Portland in 1957 (or did he?).

Buddy Holly & Crickets on KPTV Channel 12

Mike Campbell’s 12-string Rickenbacker

Mike Campbell and his 12-string Rickenbacker

The best $150 Mike Campbell ever spent!

Mike Campbell talks about the solid-bodied Rickenbacker 12-string he found shopping through the old “Recycler” advertising newspaper, driving to Anaheim, and later discovering it was built on the assembly line with George Harrison’s guitar in the 1960’s.

Click the link to watch the video.

YouTube Link:  Mike Campbell Tells About His Rickenbacker 12-string

Classic Album: Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Hashtags: #mikecampbell #tompetty #heartbreakers #tpath #rickenbacker #12string #georgeharrison

The Michael Bloomfield Story

The Michael Bloomfield Story

The Story of Electric Blues Guitar Legend Michael Bloomfield

Here is a biographic documentary about the life and music of legendary blues guitarist, Michael Bloomfield. From his early playing days in Chicago, to his first recordings with John Hammond, and then Bob Dylan, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Electric Flag band, to his Super Session with Al Kooper – and his solo career. Here we have provided a complete compilation of The Michael Bloomfield Story, Parts 1 through 10. Special thanks to David Dann and his website Mike Bloomfield: An American Guitarist for providing the following biography.

Introductory notes from @bloomsdisco on YouTube (that is, David Dann, I presume): IN CELEBRATION OF Michael Bloomfield’s 67th birthday anniversary, mikebloomfieldamericanmusic.com offers a video biography of the legendary guitarist, detailing his remarkable career with images, interview clips and music. Created by filmmakers Nick Lerman and Alex Wernquest, and site manager David Dann, this 10-part narrative begins with Bloomfield as a young, up-and-coming guitarist recording for John Hammond Sr., playing with Bob Dylan and joining the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. It then follows Michael as he creates the Electric Flag and performs to standing ovations at Monterey, records “Super Session” with Al Kooper and then pursues a career playing music on his own terms. Included are excerpts from previously unheard Bloomfield recordings as well as rare and seldom-seen photos of the guitarist.

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 1

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 3

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 4

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 5

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 6

Audio track to video deleted by request of copyright holder(s).

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 7

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 8

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 9

The Michael Bloomfield Story – Part 10

Unfortunately this part has been blocked by YouTube by request of copyright holder(s).

 

Buddy Holly – The Last Show

February 2, 1959
The Winter Dance Party Arrives in Clear Lake, Iowa

On this frozen night in 1959 the Winter Dance Party, featuring headliners Buddy Holly and the Crickets, arrived at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The show also included Frankie Sardo, Dion and the Belmonts, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, and new teen sensation Ritchie Valens.

By the time the tour bus pulled into Clear Lake, Buddy Holly was frosted by the bitter Mid-West weather, and frustrated by all the breakdowns along the way. To avoid another long cold bus ride after the show, Holly decided to charter a plane to take himself and the Crickets to the next stop in Moorhead, Minnesota.

The Surf Ballroom had not been a scheduled stop on the tour, but show’s promoters, hoping to fill an open date, called Surf Ballroom manager Carroll Anderson and offered him the show.

The photo above is of Buddy Holly performing his last show on the stage of the Surf Ballroom. Also pictured here are Waylon Jennings on bass guitar and Tommy Allsup on rhythm guitar.

Courtesy: Iowa History Project

Hashtags: #BuddyHolly #Crickets #WinterDanceTour #SurfBallroom #ClearLake #Iowa #BigBopper #RitchieValens

Buddy Holly In Nashville, January 26 1956

Sixty years ago today (Jan. 26, 1956) Buddy Holly recorded his songs for the first time at Decca Records in Nashville Tennessee. The sessions were held in Owen Bradley’s Barn, known as the “Quonset Hut” which is now part of the Sony Building. Performing on the recordings with Buddy were Sonny Curtis on lead guitar and Don Guess on upright bass.

The play list included “Blue Days, Black Nights,” “Rock Around with Ollie Vee,” “Love Me,” “Modern Don Juan,” a cover of “Bo
Diddley,” “Have You Ever Been Lonely,” and many more. Even recorded this day was the first version of “That’ll Be the Day.”

Hashtags: #BuddyHolly #SonnyCurtis #DonGuess #DeccaRecords #Nashville #MusicCity #MusicRow #OwenBradley #BradleysBarn #QuonsetHut

Greetings from Nashville, Buddy Holly

On this day in 1956, Buddy Holly along with Sonny Curtis and Don Guess arrived in Nashville, Tennessee. The next day would be the beginning of Buddy’s short, but highly prolific, professional recording career.

Vintage Greetings from Nashville postcard
Hashtags: #BuddyHolly #SonnyCurtis #DonGuess #Buick #UprightBass #Lubbock #Nashville #DeccaRecords

Buddy Holly History, January 23 1956

On this day 60 years ago, January 23 1956, a 20-year-old Buddy Holly along with guitarist Sonny Curtis and bass player Don Guess loaded their gear into Buddy’s parent’s Buick (strapping the upright bass to the roof of the car!) and left Lubbock for Nashville hoping they might cut a record and become rock and roll stars.

Sonny Curtis, Buddy Holly, Don Guess
Sonny Curtis, Buddy Holly, Don Guess. Photo courtesy of Sonny Curtis.

Hashtags: #BuddyHolly #SonnyCurtis #DonGuess #Buick #UprightBass #Lubbock #Nashville #DeccaRecords

John Lennon’s Gretsch Up for Auction

John Lennons Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120

The guitar John Lennon played on Paperback Writer

Guitar Player magazine (www.guitarplayer.com) is reporting that John Lennon’s Gretsch 6120 will be auctioned in November. This is the same guitar that was played by Lennon in April 1966 while recording The Beatles hit “Paperback Writer.” It is estimated that the guitar might fetch as much as $1 million!

The early 1960′s Gretsch is a Chet Adkins model with a pair of Gretsch FilterTron humbuckers, gold-plated hardware, Space Control bridge, and a Bigsby B6-C.

Here is the link to the article: John Lennon’s ‘Paperback Writer’ Gretsch Could Fetch $1M.

According to the Gretsch Guitar Database maintained at The Gretsch Pages, it is a 1963 Chet Adkins 6120, serial number 53940. Link to database here: 1963 Gretsch 6120: 53940.

The Guitars – Chapter 7 (Part Two of Two)


The Guitars – Chapter 7. The Guitars is a 15-part series of videos featuring the fantastic guitar collection of Mike Campbell, lead guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Here is the continuing story of Mike’s many Rickenbacker guitars, and one very special model built in 1967.

Keywords: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, TPATH, Mike Campbell, George Harrison, The Beatles, Rickenbacker, Guitars.
Hashtags: #TomPettyandtheHeartbreakers, #TPATH, #MikeCampbell, #GeorgeHarrison, #Beatles, #Rickenbacker, #Guitars.

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The Guitars – Chapter 6 (Part One of Two)

The Guitars – Chapter 6

The Guitars, is a 15-part series of videos found on Tom Petty’s website (www.tompetty.com) featuring Mike Campbell’s collection of guitars. Here is Chapter 6, the story of the Rickenbackers…

(Sorry for the advertising. It’s not me; it’s built into video)

The story continues. Click here for Chapter 7.

Keywords: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, TPATH, Mike Campbell, George Harrison, The Beatles, Rickenbacker, Guitars.
Hashtags: #TomPettyandtheHeartbreakers, #TPATH, #MikeCampbell, #GeorgeHarrison, #Beatles, #Rickenbacker, #Guitars.

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