Bobby Vee

Bobby Vee got his first experience as a Buddy substitute when pressed into service as his replacement in the Winter Dance
Party tour. During the early sixties, he released many BH-esque tunes and covers, including the albums "Bobby Vee Meets the
Crickets" and "I Remember Buddy Holly". One highlight of the Crickets/Bobby Vee collaboration, IMHO, is the emotionally
arrested (and ironically titled) "He's Old Enough to Know Better" ("If he shows at her place, I'm gonna hit him in the face").

Bobby Vee is a little *too* much like Buddy. In his attempt to imitate the Great Myopic One down to the last detail, he
ultimately loses...because, sadly, there can be only one Buddy. However, the zenith in Holly-style recording is without a doubt
his "Rubber Ball," which in 1961 reached #6 on the American charts. I love this song, but the concept of a guy comparing
himself to elastomeric objects hurts my head if I think about it for too long.

Adam Faith

Aided by John Barry's (of James Bond theme fame) excellent string arrangements, Adam Faith inhabited the British pop charts
quite frequently from 1959-1962. His first #1 hit, "What Do You Want" (done in the U.S. by Bobby Vee in 1960), is a classic
exercise in Holly stuttering. Many of his other hits have a similar cast, including "Someone Else's Baby," "How About That?,"
"The Time Has Come," and the neurosis-ridden "Who Am I?"

Mike Berry

The British Buddy Holly. Mike Berry could look like Arnold Schwartzenegger in person for all I know, but on tape he sounds
just like Our Hero. In fact, the Crickets enlisted Berry as their lead singer for a 1963 U. K. tour. His "My Baby Doll" is the best
Buddy knockoff track ever recorded, in my opinion. "Set Me Free" is a close second: Hank Williams lyrics; Buddy Holly
vocals. Wow! "What's The Matter" and the mildly suggestive "Don't You Think It's Time" (true Holly overdubbing, true Joe
Meek low-fi engineering) are also clearly Buddy-inspired. Berry also recorded "Tribute to Buddy Holly," which hit #24 in the
British charts in 1961.

Joe Meek

Say what you will about maverick British record producer Joe Meek: He was, by the standards of the day, a sexual pervert. He
was tone-deaf. He was a space alien fanatic. He blew away his landlady with a twelve-gauge shotgun. But damn it, he loved
Buddy Holly.

Meek, a most truly unique individual, was the genius behind Mike Berry. His legendary obsession with the Great Myopic One
prompted him (in addition to a number of more bizarre acts of devotion, such as regular seances to seek Buddy's advice on
recordings) to cobble Berry into his own personal Holly impersonator. How'd you think Mike got the name of BERRY,
anyway?

Meek's obsession is apparent as well in the Dead Boyfriend (and Girlfriend) theme which sums up, oh, about ninety per cent of
his releases. Pamela Blue's "My Friend Bobby," which Meek produced, is a classic example (about ten seconds into this song,
it's obvious that we're supposed to sing "my friend Buddy" instead). He also produced the Honeycombs' most excellent "Have I
The Right," which hit #5 in the states in 1964. Although not a Holly Impersonator tune in the least, somehow the lyrics to this
little gem (not to mention the gratuitous stair-stomping) just fit right in.

The Crickets

After Buddy's death, the Crickets continued to play and record in spite of what Alan V. Karr described as a "revolving door" of
personnel changes. It is natural that their later releases would be sort of Buddy-esque, especially since they continued to write
and record with producer Norman Petty. Through the revolving door passed some pretty good lead singers, such as David
Box, Earl Sinks and Jerry Naylor.

Earl Sinks fronted the Crickets on "I Fought the Law," "A Sweet Love," and an excellent remake of "Love's Made a Fool of
You." His "Someone, Someone" (written by Vi Petty), is quite moving. My all-time favorite Earl Sinks song, however, is "When
You Ask About Love," which has always struck me as the appearance of Buddy's asshole alterego.

Jerry Naylor's vocals come a little closer to Buddy imitation, especially on "My Little Girl," which has Jerry Allison reprising the
drum solo from "Peggy Sue" and some of the goofiest lyrics I've ever heard (his little girl must be pretty damned incredible, if
when she goes to the movies, nobody looks at the screen). "Teardrops Fall Like Rain" is a very good track in the true Love
Victim Buddy tradition.

Random Stuff

Although I know little about their respective careers, here are some other singers who in at least one tune do the Buddy Thing:

The Searchers: Don't Cha Know. Wonder if they took their name from that John Wayne movie where he says, "That'll be the
day"?

Ricky Wayne and the Offbeats: Goodness Knows. Uh-oh, nice guitar reverb!

Lee Diamond and the Cherokees : I'll Step Down. Serious Voice Thing, but a very un-Buddy like lack of determination.

Billy Fury: Halfway to Paradise. True cheese, but still...

Tommy Roe: Sheila. A classic Buddy knockoff (#1 in the Billboard charts in '62), but come on. Her name drives him insane?
Would someone please get Tommy some Ritalin?

Shane Fenton and the Fentones: Walk Away. What hiccupping...*sigh*

Cliff Richard and the Shadows: Please Don't Tease

Steve Marriott: Give Her My Regards. Steve's got a true Voice Thing going here, and the harpsichord recalls the celeste line
from "Everyday." Four stars.

The Nighthawks: When Sin Stops Love Begins. Eddie Reeves should have no problem getting either love or sin, with his voice.
Buddy himself plays the guitar solo. Double *sigh*

The Five Chesternuts: Teenage Love. I'm compelled to offer this insipid tune by virtue of its vocal style. Somehow, though, I
can't imagine ole Buddy singing the line, "a boy and a girl and a seat for two, a paradise with nothing else to do" with a straight
face.

Recent Buddy Impersonators

While most of the gratuitous Buddy wannabes flourished before 1966, the Great Myopic One's vocal style still pops up
occasionally in the form of influence or tribute. While some would disagree, I would name Dave Edmunds as a minor BH
impersonator ("The Watch On My Wrist" is a good example). Young Texans should recall The Judys' David Bean uh-uh-ing his
way through "She's Got The Beat" and the very un-Buddylike "Guyana Punch." No one would ever mistake C&W pretty-boy
Dwight Yoakam for Our Hero, but "Near You" from his CD Gone is a great Buddy-esque song (listen closely to the title track
as well). And let's not even talk about Marshall Crenshaw.

Blasphemy

This has little relevance to the subject of Buddy Impersonators, but somehow Nirvana's "Lithium" seems vaguely Buddy-like to
me (to-DAY, ah-FOUND, m'-FRIEND...) Similarly, I think that the Ramones' "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" is the ideological
grandchild of "Peggy Sue." Go ahead, flame me.