Name	Weezer
Img width	250
Landscape	Yes
Background	group_or_band
Associated acts	Avant Garde, Lil Wayne, Space Twins, Goat Punishment, The Special Goodness, The Relationship, The Rentals, Ozma| Origin = Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre	Alternative rockPower popPop punkEmoIndie rock
Years active	1992–present
Label	DGC/Interscope (1993-2009)Epitaph (2010-present)
Url	www.weezer.com
Current members	Rivers CuomoBrian BellScott ShrinerPatrick Wilson
Past members	Jason CropperMatt SharpMikey Welsh

Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums, guitar, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). The band has changed lineups several times since its formation in 1992. They have released nine full-length albums, six EPs, and a DVD. Weezer has sold over nine million records in the US to date.

The band is best known for their successful singles "Buddy Holly", "Undone - The Sweater Song", "Island in the Sun", "Beverly Hills" and "Pork and Beans". The band's eighth studio album, Hurley, was released on September 14, 2010 on Epitaph Records. Additionally, a deluxe release of their 1996 album Pinkerton and a compilation of rare and unreleased songs titled Death to False Metal were released on November 2, 2010. They also plan to release a new studio album in 2011.

History

Formation and debut album (1992–1995)

Weezer had their first practice on February 14, 1992, and their first gig was opening for Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar shortly thereafter. Weezer signed with Geffen Records on June 25, 1993 and recorded their debut album with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. During the recording, guitarist Jason Cropper left the band and was replaced by Brian Bell. The band released Weezer (also referred to as "The Blue Album") in May 1994. The record label originally did not wish to release a single, to see what sales could be generated by word-of-mouth alone. Soon after the release of Weezer, DJ Marco Collins of the Seattle radio station The End started playing "Undone - The Sweater Song" after being urged by Chris Swenson (manager of Seattle pop-punk band Flop), leading Geffen to release "Undone - The Sweater Song" as the first official single. The music video was directed by Spike Jonze. Filmed in an unbroken take, it featured Weezer performing on a sound stage with various amusing studio antics, including a pack of dogs swarming the set. The video became an instant hit on MTV.

Jonze also directed the band's second video, for "Buddy Holly". The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV and went on to win Jonze and the band four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards. The clip was also featured on the companion CD for the Microsoft Windows 95 computer operating system. A third single, "Say It Ain't So", followed. Weezer is currently certified triple platinum in the United States, Cuomo traveled back east to his home state of Connecticut, and using an eight-track recorder, he began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped. Three singles were taken from the album: "El Scorcho", "The Good Life", and "Pink Triangle". The album's title sparked a legal challenge. Pinkerton Securities of Encino, Calif., filed a temporary injunction against the band and its Geffen record label for trademark infringement two days before the album was to be released on September 24, 1996. A judge ruled for Weezer, and the album was finally released. This injunction caused Geffen to hold back some of the initial advertising and promotion for the album, possibly contributing to the album's slow initial sales. Due to initial weak sales (it peaked at #19 in the U.S.), the album was, at first, viewed as a commercial failure, especially when viewed in light of the multi-platinum success of their debut album. The album failed to gain traction in the mainstream music world, perhaps due to its darker, more abrasive sound. However, word of mouth kept the trickle of sales going and eventually the record achieved cult status.

On hiatus (1997–2000)

Weezer completed their touring for Pinkerton in the summer of 1997. The members of the band took a break, with drummer Patrick Wilson returning to his home in Portland, Oregon to work on his side project, The Special Goodness; Matt Sharp left to complete the follow-up album for his group The Rentals; The group decided on Mikey Welsh as Sharp's replacement. Weezer continued rehearsing and cut demos until the fall of 1998. Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late fall of 1998, drummer Pat Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo. Rivers Cuomo went into a period of admitted depression, painting the walls of his home black and putting "fiberglass insulation all over the windows and then black sheets of fiberglass so that no light could get through.

The band would not reunite until April 2000, when the Fuji Festival in Japan offered Weezer a high-paying gig to play in August 2000. The festival served as a catalyst for Weezer's productivity, and from April to May 2000, the band rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles. The band returned to live shows in June 2000, playing small unpromoted concerts under the pseudonym Goat Punishment. In June 2000, the band joined the Warped Tour for eight dates.

Renewed popularity and The Green Album (2000–2001)

In the summer of 2000, Weezer (now consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh, Pat Wilson, and Brian Bell) went on tour (including dates on the popular Vans Warped Tour). Weezer's setlist consisted of 14 new songs that fans have labeled the Summer Songs of 2000 (commonly abbreviated, SS2K). When 13 of these songs did not appear on Weezer's next album, fans of the songs started a petition demanding the release of studio versions.

Eventually, the band went back into the studio to produce a third album. They chose the title, Weezer (2001), to repeat the self-titled name of their first release. This album quickly became known as "The Green Album" due to its distinctive bright green coloring. Shortly after the release of the album, Weezer went on another American tour. They attracted a new generation of fans thanks to heavy MTV rotation for the videos of their hit singles "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun".

As reported on August 16, 2001, by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went missing before the filming of the second video for "Island in the Sun". Weezer was prompted to find a temporary replacement for Welsh. Through a mutual friend, Cuomo received Scott Shriner's number and asked if he was interested in filling in for Welsh. Shriner accepted the invitation.

Maladroit (2002–2003)

The band took an experimental approach for the recording process of their fourth album by allowing fans to download demos from their official website in return for feedback. After the release of the album, the band said that this process was somewhat of a failure, as the fans did not supply them with cohesive, constructive advice. Cuomo eventually delegated song selection for the album to the band's original A&R; rep, Todd Sullivan, saying that Weezer fans chose the "wackest songs." Only the song "Slob" was included on the album due to general fan advice.

The recording was also done without input from Weezer's record label, Interscope. Cuomo had recently had what he then described as a "massive falling out" with the label. In early 2002, well before the official release of the album, the label sent out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official, sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shut down Weezer's audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos. Online Weezer fans staged a brief protest, with several websites proclaiming "Free Maladroit".

In April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among several accusations, that he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs. The suit was later settled out of court.

The fourth album, Maladroit, was released on May 14, 2002, only one year after its predecessor. The album served as a harder-edged version of the band's trademark catchy pop-influenced music, and was replete with busy 1980s-style guitar solos. Although met with generally positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for "The Green Album". Two singles were released from the album. The music video for "Dope Nose" featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular rotation. The music video for "Keep Fishin'" combined Weezer with The Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega.

As soon as Maladroit had wrapped up, the band immediately began work on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours (often recording as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. During this break, Bell and Wilson released LPs from their respective side projects Space Twins and The Special Goodness.

Weezer released their much-delayed first DVD on March 23, 2004. The Video Capture Device DVD chronicles the band from its beginnings through Maladroit's Enlightenment Tour. Compiled by Karl Koch, the DVD features home video footage, music videos, commercials, rehearsals, concert performances, television performances, and band commentary. The DVD was certified "gold" on November 8, 2004.

Make Believe (2003–2006)

From December 2003 to the fall of 2004, the members of Weezer recorded a large amount of material intended for a new album to be released in the spring of 2005 with producer Rick Rubin. The band's early recording efforts became available to the public through the band's website. The demos were a big hit, but none of the songs recorded at this time were included on the finished album. That album, entitled Make Believe, was released on May 10, 2005. Despite commercial success, Make Believe got a mixed reception from critics, receiving an average score of 52 on review collator Metacritic. Although some reviews, such as AMG's, compared it favorably to Pinkerton, others, among them Pitchfork Media's score of 0.4 out of 10, panned the album as predictable and lyrically poor.

The album's first single, "Beverly Hills", became a hit in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. It became the first Weezer song to hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. "Beverly Hills" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for the band. The video was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. The second single off Make Believe was "We Are All on Drugs". MTV refused to play the song, so Weezer re-recorded the lyrics by replacing "on drugs" with "in love" and renaming the song "We Are All in Love". In early 2006, it was announced that Make Believe was certified platinum, and "Beverly Hills" was the second most popular song download on iTunes for 2005, finishing just behind "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Make Believe's third single, "Perfect Situation", spent four weeks in a row at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. "This Is Such a Pity" was the band's fourth single from the album, but no music video was made for its release. The Make Believe tour also found the band using additional instruments onstage, adding piano, synthesizers, pseudophones, and guitarist Bobby Schneck.

The band has announced the possible release of a live DVD composed of footage from the 2005 Japan tour. It will consist of a two-day, seven-camera shoot of the shows in Japan, plus material that will be drawn from various behind-the-scenes footage. The DVD was announced in late 2005, but in a 2006 update on the band's website, Karl Koch noted it was "apparently edited, but has been put on hold for now."

The Red Album (2007–2008)

Weezer's Weezer (also referred to as "The Red Album") was released in June 2008. Rick Rubin produced the album and Rich Costey mixed it. The record is being described as "experimental", and according to Cuomo, includes longer and non-traditional songs, TR-808 drum machines, synthesizers, Southern rap, baroque counterpoint, and band members other than Cuomo writing, singing, and switching instruments. Pat Wilson said that the album cost about a million dollars to make, contrasting it with the $150,000 budget of "The Blue Album". The album's singles were produced by Jacknife Lee. Its lead single, "Pork and Beans", topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts for 11 weeks, and its music video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single, "Troublemaker", debuted at #39 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at #2. In October 2008, the group announced that the third single would be "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)".

On May 30, 2008, the Toledo Free Press revealed in an interview with Scott Shriner that Weezer would be unveiling the "Hootenanny Tour", in which fans would be invited to bring their own instruments to play along with the band. Said Shriner: "They can bring whatever they want...Oboes, keyboards, drums, violins, and play the songs with us as opposed to us performing for them."

The band performed five dates in Japan at the beginning of September and then embarked on what was dubbed the 'Troublemaker' tour, consisting of 21 dates around North America, including two in Canada. Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club joined them as support at each show and Brian Bell's 'other' band The Relationship also performed at a handful of dates. Shortly before the encore at each show, the band would bring on fans with various instruments and perform Island in the Sun and Beverly Hills with them. At a show in Austin, after Tokyo Police Club had played their set, Rivers was wheeled out in a box and mimed to a recording of rare Weezer demo, 'My Brain', dressed in pajamas and with puppets on his hands, before being wheeled off again. This bizarre event later surfaced as the climax to a promo video for Cuomo's second demo album, Alone 2.

Rivers Cuomo also wrote a song with pop duo Aly & AJ, and was very pleased with the way the girls worked. It is unknown if the song will be made public on an album.

On December 4, iPhone OS developer Tapulous released the game Christmas With Weezer, featuring gameplay similar to Tap Tap Revenge and six Christmas carols performed by the band. A digital EP featuring the songs, entitled "Christmas with Weezer", was also released on December 16, 2008.

Raditude (2009–2010)

on March 3, 2009.]] Weezer toured with Blink-182 in 2009, including an August 30 stop at the Virgin Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Drummer Josh Freese joined Weezer on a temporary basis to play drums on the Blink-182/Weezer tour while Pat Wilson switched to guitar. Wilson said in an interview for Yahoo! Music that Cuomo wanted "to be active and more free on stage and him having guitar on was an impediment." Freese stated he was a Weezer fan and did not want to pass up the opportunity to play with them.

Raditude's album artwork was revealed on September 11, featuring a National Geographic contest-winning photograph of a jumping dog named Sidney. The record's release was pushed to November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. On December 6, 2009, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was injured when his tour bus crashed in upstate New York due to black ice. Cuomo suffered three broken ribs, and his assistant broke two ribs. His wife, baby daughter, and their nanny were also on the bus; however, they escaped injury. Weezer cancelled tour dates the following day. The band resumed touring on January 20, 2010.

In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that they would still release new material, but they are unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph.

Weezer co-headlined The Bamboozle in May, 2010, and performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June. In August, 2010, Weezer performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival, and performed at the Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans, LA in October 2010.

On June 11, 2010, the band released a new single, "Represent". The song is said to be an "unofficial US anthem" to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Hurley and Death to False Metal (2010–present)

In August 2010, the band announced that their next album would be titled Hurley and was released on September 14, 2010 through Epitaph Records. The name comes from the character Hugo "Hurley" Reyes from the television show Lost. Jorge Garcia, the actor who portrayed Hurley, stated that being featured on the album cover is "one of the biggest honors of [his] career." Cuomo said of the album, "There's definitely going to be more raw rock energy on this one." Weezer used internet streaming service YouTube as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, "going along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes." They have used many of the popular channels to promote themselves, such as Barely Political and Fred Figglehorn. The Gregory Brothers solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its compositions built around speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Barack Obama. Weezer calls the promotion "The YouTube Invasion".

On November 2, Weezer released their 9th album, Death to False Metal (formerly titled Odds and Ends), a compilation of previously unreleased Weezer recordings. Cuomo stated that the album consists of, "songs that didn't make the first seven Weezer records because they were either too weird or too pop or too metal or too punk." In describing the album, Cuomo said, ""With ‘Death to False Metal,’ none of those songs had been heard before. It’s not a standard rarities collection, in that these songs were not actually B-sides or released anywhere. They’re just songs that we had started recording at one point, but for one reason or another couldn’t finish up, or we finished them but they just didn’t belong on a record. So in a sense, it was extremely fun and easy because there’s all this material that I love, and it felt like the bulk of the work was already done. I get to go in now, in some cases, years after having started the songs and with a totally fresh perspective and tons of energy. It’s so easy to figure out — oh, obviously there’s supposed to be a solo here, so I’ll just edit that in. Or that lyric was all wrong. Let me fix that. Or let me put a harmony here, and it very quickly came together and it was quite a lot of fun."

On November 2, 2010, the band released a deluxe version of Pinkerton, which includes "25 demos, outtakes and live tracks." A third volume of Rivers Cuomo's solo series, entitled The Pinkerton Years is also planned for release.

Solo work

Lead singer Rivers Cuomo released a demo-compilation album entitled on December 18, 2007. The album contains demos of Cuomo's that span from 1992 to 2007, including songs from Weezer's abandoned second album, Songs from the Black Hole.

Brian Bell has been working on a solo project called The Relationship, and did not write any songs for Raditude in order to save more material for his solo work.

Cuomo's second demo album, , was released on November 25, 2008. The album includes further tracks from the scrapped Songs from the Black Hole, early versions of songs later released as full-band demos, amongst various other demo tracks.

Many members of Weezer have bands of their own. Brian Bell has collaborated with Space Twins and The Relationship, Mikey Welsh was in Juliana Hatfield, The Kickovers and The Heretix, Patrick Wilson was in The Special Goodness, and Matt Sharp was in The Rentals as well as performing alone under his own name.

Influence

Many modern bands, such as Deftones, The All-American Rejects, Dashboard Confessional, Ash, Emery, Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, Titus Andronicus, Surfer Blood, Cymbals Eat Guitars and The Fall of Troy list Weezer as an influence. Weezer themselves have listed several influences, among them KISS (with direct references in the song "In the Garage"), Nirvana (who were their labelmates at DGC for a very brief time before Kurt Cobain's death), Pixies (especially early on in their career), Sonic Youth, Oasis and Wax. Early Weezer demos, such as "Paperface", have very obvious musical ties to the Pixies and Nirvana. Also, the song "Susanne" originally contained the lyrics, "Even Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose", before being changed to "Even Izzy, Slash, and Axl Rose" after Cobain's death. There is also a direct reference to Nevermind in "Heart Songs", a track found on The Red Album. As a side project, Weezer also briefly played Nirvana and Oasis covers under the stage moniker "Goat Punishment". In 1998, Weezer covered "Velouria" by the Pixies for a Pixies tribute album, and in 2005 briefly got to tour with their idols for a few dates. Green Day has also been said to be an influence (there is a direct lyric about Green Day in the song "El Scorcho"), and it has been acknowledged that the two bands are friends and enjoy each other's music. Weezer contributed the song "Worry Rock" to A Different Shade of Green: Tribute to Green Day. Rivers Cuomo also covered "Brain Stew" in a 2009 AOL Sessions set.

Discography

Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)

Pinkerton (1996)

Weezer (The Green Album) (2001)

Maladroit (2002)

Make Believe (2005)

Weezer (The Red Album) (2008)

Raditude (2009)

Hurley (2010)

*Death to False Metal (2010)

Band members

;Current lineup

Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, harmonica (1992–present)

Brian Bell – guitar, vocals, keyboards, harmonica (1993–present)

Scott Shriner – bass, vocals, keyboards (2001–present)

Pat Wilson – drums, percussion, guitar, vocals, keyboards (1992–present)

;Former members

Jason Cropper – guitar, vocals (1992–1993)

Matt Sharp – bass, vocals (1992–1998)

Mikey Welsh – bass, vocals (1998–2001)

;Touring members

Bobby Schneck – guitar (2005)

Karl Koch – keyboards, percussion (2008, 2010-present)

Josh Freese – drums (2009–present)

References

External links

Weezerpedia

Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:American alternative rock groups Category:American power pop musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical quartets

Name	Buddy Holly| Img = Buddy Holly.jpg
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Charles Hardin Holley
Born	September 07, 1936Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 03, 1959Grant Township, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, fiddle, violin
Genre	Rock and roll, rockabilly
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	1957–59
Label	Decca, Brunswick, Coral
Associated acts	The CricketsRitchie Valens
Notable instruments	Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster

'''Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Elder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll." His works and innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, notably The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, and exerted a profound influence on popular music. Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Holly #13 among "The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time".

Biography

Early life

Charles Hardin Holley was born on September 7, 1936, in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.A. to Lawrence Odell and Ella Pauline (Drake) Holley. Holly was always called "Buddy" by his family. Older brothers Travis and Larry taught their sibling to play a variety of instruments including the guitar, 4-string banjo and lap steel guitar. At the age of five, his young voice and exuberance won him a talent contest singing a then-popular song, "Have You Ever Gone Sailing (Down the River of Memories)." In 1949, still retaining his soprano, he recorded a bluesy solo rendering of Hank Snow's "My Two Timin' Woman" on a wire recorder borrowed by a friend who worked in a music shop.

In 1952, he met Bob Montgomery at Hutchinson Junior High School. They shared an interest in music and teamed up as "Buddy and Bob". Initially influenced by bluegrass music, they sang harmony duets at local clubs and high school talent shows. The duo performed on a local radio station KDAV Sunday broadcast that made them a top local act. Hutchinson Junior High School now has a mural honoring Holly, and Lubbock High School, where he sang in the school choir, also honors the late musician.

The Crickets

Holly saw Elvis Presley sing in Lubbock in 1955 and began to incorporate a rockabilly style, similar to that of Chuck Berry, which had a strong rhythm acoustic and slap bass. Holly's transition to rock continued when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets at a local show organized by Eddie Crandall, the manager for Marty Robbins. However, he chafed under a restrictive atmosphere that allowed him little input. (This initial version of the song played more slowly and about half an octave higher than the later hit version.) Decca released two singles, "Blue Days, Black Nights" and "Modern Don Juan", that failed to make an impression. On January 22, 1957, Decca informed Holly that his contract would not be renewed,

, New Mexico]] Holly then hired Norman Petty as manager, and the band began recording at Petty's studios in Clovis, New Mexico. Petty contacted music publishers and labels, and Brunswick Records, a subsidiary of Decca, signed the Crickets on March 19, 1957. Holly signed as a solo artist with another Decca subsidiary, Coral Records. This put him in the unusual position of having two recording contracts at the same time.

On May 27, 1957, "That'll Be The Day" was released as a single, credited to the Crickets to try to bypass Decca's claimed legal rights. When the song became a hit Decca decided not to press its claim. "That'll Be the Day" topped the US "Best Sellers in Stores" chart on September 23 and was the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in November. The Crickets performed "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 1. The kinescopes of these programs are the only record of their 1957 television appearances.

Holly helped win over an all-black audience to rock and roll/rockabilly when the Crickets were booked at New York's Apollo Theater for August 16–22, 1957. His singles "Peggy Sue" and "Oh Boy!" reached the top ten of United States and United Kingdom charts. Buddy Holly and the Crickets toured Australia in January 1958 and the UK in March. Their third and final album, That'll Be the Day, was put together from early recordings and was released in April.

Marriage

In June 1958, he met Maria Elena Santiago, who worked as a receptionist for Murray Deutch, an executive for New York publisher Peer-Southern Music. Holly managed to have Santiago invited to a luncheon at Howard Johnson's, thanks to Deutch's secretary, Jo Harper. He asked her to have dinner with him that night at P. J. Clarke's. Holly proposed marriage to her on their very first date. "While we were having dinner, he got up and came back with his hands behind his back. He brought out a red rose and said, 'This is for you. Would you marry me?'" He went to her guardian's house the next morning to get her approval. Santiago at first thought he was kidding, but they married in Lubbock on August 15, 1958, less than two months later. The newlyweds honeymooned in Acapulco.

The Hollys frequented many of New York's music venues, including The Village Gate, Blue Note, Village Vanguard, and Johnny Johnson's. Maria Elena reported that Buddy was keen to learn finger-style flamenco guitar and would often visit her aunt's home to play the piano there. He wanted to develop collaborations between soul singers and rock 'n' roll, hoping to make an album with Ray Charles and gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. He also had ambitions to work in film, like Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran, and registered for acting classes with Lee Strasburg's Actors' Studio, where the likes of Marlon Brando and James Dean had trained. Bandmate Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane, causing Holly to jokingly tell Jennings, "I hope your ol' bus freezes up!" Jennings shot back facetiously, "Well, I hope your ol' plane crashes!" It was a statement that would haunt Jennings for decades. Don McLean referred to it as "The Day the Music Died" in his song "American Pie".

Holly's funeral was held on February 7, 1959, at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock. The service was officiated by Ben D. Johnson, who had presided at the Hollys' wedding just months earlier. The pallbearers were Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, Bob Montgomery, Sonny Curtis and Phil Everly. Waylon Jennings was unable to attend due to his commitment to the still touring Winter Dance Party. The body was interred in the City of Lubbock Cemetery in the eastern part of the city. Holly's headstone carries the correct spelling of his surname (Holley) and a carving of his Fender Stratocaster guitar.

Holly's pregnant wife, a widow after barely six months of marriage, miscarried soon after, ending that part of the Holly family tree. María Elena Holly did not attend the funeral and has never visited the grave site. She later told the Avalanche-Journal:

In a way, I blame myself. I was not feeling well when he left. I was two weeks pregnant, and I wanted Buddy to stay with me, but he had scheduled that tour. It was the only time I wasn't with him. And I blame myself because I know that, if only I had gone along, Buddy never would have gotten into that airplane. Lennon and McCartney later cited Holly as a primary influence. (Their band's name, The Beatles, was chosen partly in homage to Holly's Crickets.)

A 17-year-old Bob Dylan attended the January 31, 1959, show, two nights before Holly's death. Dylan referred to this in his 1998 Grammy acceptance speech for his Time out of Mind being named Album of the Year:

}}

Keith Richards attended one of Holly's performances, where he heard "Not Fade Away" for the first time. The Rolling Stones had an early hit covering the song.

Holly influenced many other singers during and after a career that lasted barely two years. Keith Richards once said that Holly had "an influence on everybody." In an August 24, 1978 Rolling Stone interview, Bruce Springsteen told Dave Marsh, "I play Buddy Holly every night before I go on; that keeps me honest."

The Grateful Dead performed "Not Fade Away" 530 times over the course of their career, making it their seventh most-performed song. The song also appears on eight of their official live recording releases.

Various rock and roll histories have asserted that the singing group The Hollies were named in homage to Buddy Holly. According to the band's website, although the group admired Holly (and years later produced an album covering some of his songs), their name was inspired primarily by the sprigs of holly in evidence around Christmas of 1962.

Don McLean's popular 1971 ballad "American Pie" is inspired by Holly and the day of the plane crash. The American Pie album is dedicated to Holly.

Discography

Buddy Holly released only three albums in his lifetime. Nonetheless, he recorded so prolifically that Coral Records was able to release brand-new albums and singles for 10 years after his death, although the technical quality was very mixed, some being studio quality and others home recordings.

Buddy Holly continued to be promoted and sold as an "active" artist, and his records had a loyal following, especially in Europe. The demand for unissued Holly material was so great that Norman Petty resorted to overdubbing whatever he could find: alternate takes of studio recordings, originally rejected masters, "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and the other five 1959 tracks (adding new surf-guitar arrangements), and even Holly's amateur demos from 1954 (where the low-fidelity vocals are often muffled behind the new orchestrations). The last new Buddy Holly album was Giant (featuring the single "Love Is Strange"), issued in 1969. Between the 1959–60 Jack Hansen overdubs, the 1960s Norman Petty overdubs, various alternate takes, and Holly's undubbed originals, collectors can often choose from multiple versions of the same song. There are also many different versions of Holly's "Greatest Hits".

The Picks' overdubs

In February 1984, MCA sent what are known as safety copies of several Buddy Holly master recordings to John Pickering of The Picks who took them to Sound Masters studios in Houston, Texas. There, the reunited group overdubbed their new vocal parts onto at least 60 recordings, and sent them back. The general consensus seems to be that MCA would have issued these "new" recordings as an album,

Downtown Lubbock has a "walk of fame" with plaques to various area artists such as Glenna Goodacre, Mac Davis, Maines Brothers Band, and Waylon Jennings, with a larger than life-size statue of Buddy Holly by sculptor Grant Speed (1980) playing his Fender guitar as its centerpiece. As of September 2010 the statue has been taken down for cleaning. The statue, along with the West Texas Walk of Fame, will be relocated to the Buddy & Maria Elena Holly Park directly west of the Buddy Holly Center at a later date. Downtown Lubbock also features Buddy Holly Avenue and the Buddy Holly Center, which is a museum dedicated to Texas art and music.

References

Further reading

Amburn, Ellis (1996). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0312145576.

Bustard, Anne (2005). Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1422393024.

Dawson, Jim; Leigh, Spencer (1996). Memories of Buddy Holly. Big Nickel Publications. ISBN 978-0936433202.

Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?. Togi Entertainment. ISBN 978-0980008500.

Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80715-7.

Goldrosen, John (1975). Buddy Holly: His Life and Music. Popular Press. ISBN 0859470180

Gribbin, John (2009). Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly. London: Icon Books. ISBN 978-1848310346

Dave Laing, Professor. Buddy Holly (Icons of Pop Music). Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-22168-4.

Lehmer, Larry (1997). The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. Schirmer Trade Books. ISBN 0028647416 or 978-0028647418.

Mann, Alan (1996). The A-Z of Buddy Holly. Aurum Press (2nd edition). ISBN 1854104330 or 978-1854104335.

McFadden, Hugh (2005). Elegy for Charles Hardin Holley, in Elegies & Epiphanies. Belfast: Lagan Press.

Norman, Philip (1996). Rave On: The Biography of Buddy Holly. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684800829 or 978-0684800820.

Peer, Elizabeth and Ralph II (1972). Buddy Holly: A Biography in Words, Photographs and Music Australia: Peer International. ASIN B000W24DZO.

Peters, Richard (1990). The Legend That Is Buddy Holly. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0285630059 or 978-0285630055.

Rabin, Stanton (2009). OH BOY! The Life and Music of Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer Buddy Holly. Van Winkle Publishing (Kindle). ASIN B0010QBLLG.

Tobler, John (1979). The Buddy Holly Story. Beaufort Books.

^ VH1's Behind the Music "The Day the Music Died" interview with Waylon Jennings

External links

Buddy Holly And The Crickets.com

Buddy Holly Lives.info

Buddy Holly at Find A Grave

peermusic presents Maria Elena: My Life with Buddy

Buddy Holly - sessions, tribute and cover songs

Telegraph article on the last songs written by Buddy Holly

Category:1936 births Category:1959 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in Iowa Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1959 Category:Baptists from the United States Category:American people of English descent Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Lubbock High School alumni Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Lubbock, Texas Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:The Crickets members Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Category:Coral Records artists

Name	Spike Jonze
Caption	Jonze holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in October 2004
Birth name	Adam Spiegel
Birth date	October 22, 1969
Birth place	Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Spouse	Sofia Coppola (1999-2003) (divorced)
Partner	Michelle Williams (2008-2009)

Spike Jonze (born October 22, 1969) is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Charlie Kaufman, which include the 1999 film Being John Malkovich and the 2002 film Adaptation., and for his work as director of the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. He was also a co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Jackass. He is currently the creative director of VBS.tv. He is also part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with riders Rick Howard and Mike Carroll.

He also co-founded Directors Label with Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry.

Early life

Jonze was born in Rockville, Maryland, and raised in Bethesda, Maryland and in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania. His father, Arthur Spiegel III, was a distant relation of the Spiegel catalog family and founded APM Management Consultants. His mother, Sandy Granzow, is a writer, communications consultant in developing countries, and artist. His brother Sam (aka Squeak E. Clean) is a producer and DJ. Jonze attended The Field School in Washington, D.C., and Walt Whitman High School.

When he was in junior high and high school, Jonze worked at Browns convenient store, where his friend Mike Henderson gave him his nickname "Spike Jonze". The three also created the youth culture magazines Homeboy and Dirt (the latter of which was described as "Sassy Magazine for boys," being published by the same company and distributed in cellophane bags with the landmark magazine for young women).

Career

In 2006, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005." He was nominated for a body of work that included Hello Tomorrow for Adidas, Lamp for IKEA, and Pardon Our Dust for The Gap. He was a producer and co-creator of MTV television series Jackass and , also directing some of the segments.

Jonze has many alter egos, including Richard Koufey (alternately spelled Coufey or Couffe), the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, an urban troupe that performs in public spaces. The Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's "Rockafeller Skank" as it played on a boom box in a public area. Spike showed the video to Slim, who loved it. Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You" outside a Westwood, California movie theater and taped the performance. The resulting clip was a huge success, and "Koufey" and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography, which Jonze accepted, still in character. Jonze made a mockumentary about the experience called Torrance Rises.

Since 2007, he has been the creative director at VBS.tv, an online television network supplied by Vice and funded by MTV. which opened in the United States on October 16, 2009. It was arguably his most anticipated film to date, the product of an almost decade long collaboration with author Maurice Sendak. The film received generally favorable reviews, and appeared on many critics' end-of-the-year top ten lists.

In July 2009, Jonze acquired the rights to make a film adaptation of the Shane Jones novel, Light Boxes. However, Jonze, in an interview with Times Online, said that Ray was no longer a director for that project. In an interview with Interview Magazine in June 2010, Jones said the film option had been dropped.

In 2010, Jonze directed the video for Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs'.

Spike is good friends with Björk and frequently works with her. He directed three videos for her and she contributed with the theme song for Spike's Being John Malkovich film.

Personal life

On June 26, 1999, Jonze married director Sofia Coppola, whom he had known for nearly ten years. On December 5, 2003, the couple filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences." The character of John, a career-driven photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) in Coppola's Lost In Translation (2003), was rumored to be based on Jonze, though Coppola has vehemently denied this.

He was known to be dating the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' lead singer, Karen O.

He dated Michelle Williams from July 2008 to September 2009. In 2010, it is reported that he is dating Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi.

Recurring collaborators

Spike Jonze has worked with certain actors and key crew members in more than one of his films.

Filmography

Director

Feature films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Budget ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | US Gross ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Awards |- | rowspan="1" | 1999 | Being John Malkovich | $13 million | $22,863,596 | 3 Oscar nominations; 4 GG nominations |- | rowspan="1" | 2002 | Adaptation. | $19 million | $22,498,520 | 1 Oscar win, 3 nominations; 2 GG wins |- | rowspan="1" | 2009 | Where the Wild Things Are | $100 million | $100,086,793 | 1 GG nomination |}

Short films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 1997 | How They Get There | Writer, Director |- | rowspan="1" | 1998 | Amarillo by Morning | Director |- | 1999 | Torrance Rises | Director, Choreographer, Actor |- | 2009 | We Were Once a Fairytale | Director |- | 2010 | I'm Here | Writer, Director |- | 2010 | Scenes from the Suburbs | Director |}

Music videos

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Song ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Artist ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan="2"|1992 | "High in High School" | Chainsaw Kittens | |- | "100%" | Sonic Youth | |- |rowspan="5"|1993 | "Cannonball" | The Breeders | Co-directed by Kim Gordon Produced by Steve Reiss |- | "Country at War" | X | |- | "Daughters of the Kaos" | Luscious Jackson |- | "Hang On" | Teenage Fanclub | |- | "Time for Livin'" | Beastie Boys | |- |rowspan="12"|1994 | "All About Eve" | Marxman | |- | "Buddy Holly" | Weezer | |- | "Ditch Digger" | Rocket from the Crypt | |- | "Divine Hammer" | The Breeders | |- | "Feel the Pain" | Dinosaur Jr. | |- | "I Can't Stop Smiling" | Velocity Girl | |- | "If I Only Had a Brain" | MC 900 Ft. Jesus | |- | "Old Timer" | that dog. | |- | "Ricky's Theme" | rowspan="3"|Beastie Boys | |- | "Sabotage" | Also writer |- | "Sure Shot" | |- | "Undone - The Sweater Song" | Weezer | |- |rowspan="7"|1995 | "California" | Wax | |- | "Car Song" | Elastica | |- | "Crush with Eyeliner" | R.E.M. | |- | "Freedom of '76" | Ween | |- | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Björk | |- | "The Diamond Sea" | Sonic Youth | |- | "Who Is Next?" | Wax | |- | 1996 | "Drop" | The Pharcyde | |- | rowspan="7"|1997 | "Da Funk" | Daft Punk | |- | "Electrolite" | R.E.M. | |- | "Elektrobank" | The Chemical Brothers | |- | "It's All About the Benjamins" (Rock Remix) | Puff Daddy | |- | "Liberty Calls" | Mike Watt | |- | "Shady Lane" | Pavement | |- | "Sky's the Limit" | The Notorious B.I.G. | |- | rowspan="3"|1998 | "Home" | Sean Lennon | |- | "Praise You" | Fatboy Slim | A Torrance Public Film Production |- | "Root Down" version 2 | Beastie Boys | |- | rowspan="3"|2000 | "Weapon of Choice" | Fatboy Slim |- | "What's Up, Fatlip?" | Fatlip | |- | "Wonderboy" | Tenacious D | As Marcus Von Bueler |- | rowspan="3"|2002 | "Island in the Sun" (version 2) | Weezer | |- | "Guess I'm Doing Fine" | Beck | |- | "It's in Our Hands" | Björk | |- | 2003 | "Big Brat" | Phantom Planet | |- |rowspan="2"|2004 | "Get Back" | Ludacris | |- | "Y Control" | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | |- | rowspan="1"|2005 | "Triumph of a Heart" | Björk | |- | rowspan="1"|2008 | "Flashing Lights" | Kanye West | Co-directed with West |- | rowspan="2"|2009 | "Heaven" | UNKLE | Co-directed with Ty Evans |- | "25" | AsDSSka | Co-directed with Crysal Moselle |- |rowspan="2"|2010 | "Drunk Girls" | LCD Soundsystem | Co-directed with James Murphy |- | "The Suburbs" | Arcade Fire |- |}

Video

Ciao L.A. (director) (1994)

An Intimate Look Inside the Acting Process with Ice Cube (director) (1999)

What's Up, Fatlip? (director) (2003)

(director) (2003)

The Mystery of Dalarö (director) (2004)

Corporate Ghost (actor, director) (2004)

Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow (cinematographer) (2004)

Skateboard videos

"Rubbish Heap" for SMA World Industries (1989)

"Two World Industries Men" for SMA World Industries (1989)

"Video Days" for Blind (1991)

Goldfish (1993)

Mouse (1996)

The Chocolate Tour (1999)

Yeah Right! (2003)

Hot Chocolate! (2004)

The Krooked Chronicles (2006)

"Fully Flared" for Lakai (2007)

Other filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 1993 | Mi Vida Loca | rowspan="3"|Actor |- | 1996 | Pig! |- | rowspan="3" | 1997 | The Game |- | Free Tibet | Cinematographer |- | Three Kings | Actor |- | rowspan="2" | 2001 | Human Nature | Producer |- | Keep Your Eyes Open | Actor |- |''2002 | | Producer, Featured |- | 2006 | | Producer, Featured |- | rowspan="2"|2008 | Synecdoche, New York | rowspan="2" | Producer |- | Heavy Metal in Baghdad |- | rowspan="1" | 2009 | The 1 Second Film | Producer, Appearing |- | 2010 |Jackass 3D | Producer, Appearing |- | 2010 |Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life | Producer, Appearing |}

Television

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Title ! Position |- | 2000 | Jackass | Creator, Executive Producer |- | 2004 | Sonic Youth Video Dose | Actor |- | 2010 | The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Actor - Doug Whitney |- |}

References

External links

Spike Jonze Producer Profile on The 1 Second Film website

Allmovie entry for Spike Jonze

Commercials at MJZ

Spike Jonze unmasked

DirectorsLabel.com, co-founded with Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry

KCRW's The Treatment: Spike Jonze

"Spike Jonze Unmasked" article from New York Magazine

Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen. Bielefeld 2007, p. 175ff., p. 182ff., p. 232ff., p. 277ff.

The New York Times Magazine profile

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Advertising directors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American music video directors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:People from Rockville, Maryland