Editing Buddy Holly (section)

===Early life and career (1936–1955)===
Charles Hardin Holley (spelled "-ey") was born in [[Lubbock, Texas]], on September 7, 1936, the youngest of four children of Lawrence Odell "L.O." Holley (1901–1985) and Ella Pauline Drake (1902–1990). His elder siblings were Larry (1925–2022),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Driggars |first=Alex |date=April 8, 2022 |title=Larry Holley, Eldest Brother of Buddy Holly, Dies at 96 |work=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]] |url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/2022/04/08/larry-holley-eldest-brother-buddy-holly-dies-96/9516263002/}}</ref> Travis (1927–2016),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Travis Holley, One of Buddy's Brothers, Dies Thursday (Playbill by Kerns Blog) |url=http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/william-kerns/2016-12-02/travis-holley-one-buddys-brothers-passes-away-thursday |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806180712/http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/william-kerns/2016-12-02/travis-holley-one-buddys-brothers-passes-away-thursday |archive-date=August 6, 2017 |access-date=December 30, 2016 |website=lubbockonline.com}}</ref> and Patricia Lou (1929–2008).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patricia Holley Obituary (2008) - Surrey Advertiser |url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/surreyad/107400302 |website=www.legacy.com}}</ref> Holly was of mostly [[English Americans|English]] and Welsh descent and had small amounts of Native American ancestry as well.<ref>Buddy Holly: A Biography By Ellis Amburn pg. 10</ref> From early childhood, Holly was nicknamed "Buddy."{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=12}} During the Great Depression, the Holleys frequently moved residence within Lubbock; L.O. changed jobs several times. Buddy Holly was baptized a Baptist, and the family were members of the Tabernacle Baptist Church.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=12}}

The Holleys had an interest in music; all the family members except L.O. were able to play an instrument or sing. The elder Holley brothers performed in local talent shows; on one occasion, Buddy joined them on violin. Since he could not play it, his brother Larry greased the bow so it would not make any sound. The brothers won the contest.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=13}} During World War II, Larry and Travis were called to military service. Upon his return, Larry brought with him a guitar he had bought from a shipmate while serving in the Pacific. At age 11, at his mother's urging, Buddy took piano lessons but abandoned them after nine months. He switched to the guitar after he saw a classmate playing and singing on the school bus. Buddy's parents initially bought him a [[steel guitar]], but he insisted that he wanted a guitar like his brother's. His parents bought him an acoustic guitar from a local pawnshop, and he learned how to play it from Travis.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=14}}

During his early childhood, Holly was influenced by the music of [[Hank Williams]], [[Jimmie Rodgers]], [[Moon Mullican]], [[Bill Monroe]], [[Hank Snow]], [[Bob Wills]], and the [[Carter Family]]. At Roscoe Wilson Elementary, Holly became friends with [[Bob Montgomery (songwriter)|Bob Montgomery]], and the two played together, practicing with songs by [[The Louvin Brothers]] and [[Johnnie & Jack]].{{sfn|Norman|2011|p=34}} They both listened to the radio programs ''[[Grand Ole Opry]]'' on [[WSM (AM)|WSM]], ''[[Louisiana Hayride]]'' on [[KWKH]], and ''[[Big D Jamboree]]''. At the same time, Holly played with other musicians he met in high school, including [[Sonny Curtis]] and [[Jerry Allison]].{{sfn|Schinder|Schwartz|p=80|2007}} In 1952 Holly and Jack Neal participated as a duo billed as Buddy and Jack in a talent contest on a local television show. After Neal left, he was replaced by Bob Montgomery, and they were billed as Buddy and Bob. They soon started performing on the ''Sunday Party'' show on [[KDAV]] in 1953 and performed live gigs in Lubbock.{{sfn|Lehmer|p=6|2003}} At that time, Holly was influenced by late-night radio stations that played blues and rhythm and blues (R&B). He would sit in his car with Curtis and tune to distant radio stations that could only be received at night, when local transmissions ceased.{{sfn|Lehmer|p=7|2003}} Holly then modified his music by blending his earlier [[country and western]] influence with R&B.{{sfn|Wishart|p=540|2004}} 

By 1955, after graduating from [[Lubbock High School]], Holly decided to pursue a full-time career in music. He was further encouraged after seeing Elvis Presley perform live in Lubbock, whose act was booked by Pappy Dave Stone of KDAV. In February, Holly opened for Presley at the Fair Park Coliseum, in April at the Cotton Club, and again in June at the Coliseum. By that time, Holly had incorporated into his band Larry Welborn on the stand-up bass and Allison on drums, as his style shifted from country and western to [[rock and roll]] due to seeing Presley's performances and hearing his music.{{sfn|Lehmer|p=7|2003}} In October, Stone booked Bill Haley & His Comets and placed Holley as the opening act to be seen by [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] scout Eddie Crandall. Impressed, Crandall persuaded [[Grand Ole Opry]] manager Jim Denny to seek a recording contract for Holley. Stone sent a demo tape, which Denny forwarded to [[Paul Cohen (record producer)|Paul Cohen]], who signed the band to [[Decca Records]] in February 1956.{{sfn|Carr, Joseph|Munde, Alan|p=130|1997}} In the contract, Decca misspelled Holly's surname as "Holly", and from then on he was known as Buddy Holly, instead of his real name Holley.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

On January 26, 1956, Holly attended his first formal recording session, which was produced by [[Owen Bradley]].{{sfn|Schinder|Schwartz|2007|p=97}} He attended two more sessions in Nashville, but with the producer selecting the session musicians and arrangements, Holly became increasingly frustrated by his lack of creative control.{{sfn|Carr, Joseph|Munde, Alan|1997|p=130}} In April 1956, Decca released "[[Blue Days, Black Nights]]" as a single, with "Love Me" on the B-side. Denny included Holly on a tour as the opening act for [[Faron Young]]. During the tour, they were promoted as Buddy Holly and the Two Tones, while later Decca called them Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes.{{sfn|Carr, Joseph|Munde, Alan|1997|p=130}} The label later released Holly's second single "Modern Don Juan", [[b-side|backed with]] "You Are My One Desire". Neither single made an impression. On January 22, 1957, Decca informed Holly his contract would not be renewed, but insisted he could not record the same songs for anyone else for five years.{{sfn|Uslan|Solomon|1981|p=49}}