While most would probably expect someone of my age to be more fond of modern forms of music, anyone who knows me well would tell you that I'm quite the old soul. It's not unusual for me to have the Andrews Sisters playing on my computer while I'm typing. Of course, the type of music I listen to depends on my mood and what I'm thinking about but if I had to pick out one particular musician who's music is more associated with me than any other, it would have to be Buddy Holly. I seem to relate better to him than I do a lot of musicians and when I started learning how to play the guitar, Buddy was my primary inspiration. If it's a Buddy Holly song, I probably know every word and how to play it for you.
While it is somber task for me, I recently decided to do a little research into the plane crash that brought Buddy's life to an premature end on February 3rd, 1959. This is the same crash that killed J.P. Richardson, better known as the "Big Bopper" and of course Richie Valens, who's life is outlined in the movie La Bamba. The weather seems to be the main contributor to the accident as heavy snow had moved into the area and would have obscured the pilot's visibility. But after reading through the details of the investigation, I found something that I didn't expect.
Buddy had talked to Dion Dimucci about a gun he had and why he carried it with him on tour. He had said that no one was going to be robbing him. And surely enough, a pistol was found by a farmer at the crash site a few months after the initial investigation and was handed over to the police. It was confirmed to have belonged to Buddy Holly. He was carrying this gun with him while on the Winter Dance Party tour and even had a secret compartment in the bottom of his overnight bag in which to store the gun. Apparently, since the gun was found out of the bag and laying out on the ground somewhere, Buddy must have kept the gun tucked away somewhere on his person.
So, who would have guessed that Buddy Holly was packin'? Buddy was, afterall, a Texas-raised Southerner so I suppose I can't be too surprised that he would have a gun. I guess it's just nice to know that I have yet another thing in common with him. What I can't help but wonder is what sort of gun it was. I haven't been able to dig up anything about the pistol that was found other than it belonged to him and somewhere I read that the gun apparently had a couple bullets missing. This had caused a bit of controversy about what had happened on the plane, but nothing has ever been found to suggest that anyone was ever shot.
In any case, it would certainly be very valuable today, wherever it is. I'd imagine it would have gotten quite rusty laying out in an open field for a few months so perhaps the police simply disposed of it. I guess we may never know. But, if you do find some information on Buddy Holly's gun, do let me know. You can even give me your best guess as to what sort of gun you think Buddy would have carried. There's nothing wrong with a little imagination to fill in history's gaps. In any case, thanks for taking the time to read this! I hope you found it interesting!
While most would probably expect someone of my age to be more fond of modern forms of music, anyone who knows me well would tell you that I'm quite the old soul. It's not unusual for me to have the Andrews Sisters playing on my computer while I'm typing. Of course, the type of music I listen to depends on my mood and what I'm thinking about but if I had to pick out one particular musician who's music is more associated with me than any other, it would have to be Buddy Holly. I seem to relate better to him than I do a lot of musicians and when I started learning how to play the guitar, Buddy was my primary inspiration. If it's a Buddy Holly song, I probably know every word and how to play it for you.
While it is somber task for me, I recently decided to do a little research into the plane crash that brought Buddy's life to an premature end on February 3rd, 1959. This is the same crash that killed J.P. Richardson, better known as the "Big Bopper" and of course Richie Valens, who's life is outlined in the movie La Bamba. The weather seems to be the main contributor to the accident as heavy snow have moved into the area and would have obscured the pilot's visibility. But after reading through the details of the investigation, I found something that I didn't expect.
Buddy had talked to Dion Dimucci about a gun he had and why he carried it with him on tour. He had said that no one was going to be robbing him. And surely enough, a pistol was found by a farmer at the crash site a few months after the initial investigation and was handed over to the police. It was confirmed to have belonged to Buddy Holly. Apparently, he kept this gun with him while on the Winter Dance Party tour and even had a secret compartment in the bottom of his overnight bag in which to store the gun. Apparently, since the gun was found out of the bag and laying out on the ground somewhere, Buddy must have kept the gun tucked away somewhere on his person.
So, who would have guessed that Buddy Holly was packin'? Buddy was, afterall, a Texas-raised Southerner so I suppose I can't be too surprised that he would have a gun. I guess it's just nice to know that I have yet another thing in common with him. What I can't help but wonder is what sort of gun it was. I haven't been able to dig up anything about the pistol that was found other than it belonged to him and somewhere I read that the gun apparently had a couple bullets missing. This had caused a bit of controversy about what had happened on the plane, but nothing has ever been found to suggest that anyone was ever shot.
In any case, it would certainly be very valuable today, wherever it is. I'd imagine it would have gotten quite rusty laying out in an open field for a few months so perhaps the police simply disposed of it. I guess we may never know. But, if you do find some information on Buddy Holly's gun, do let me know. You can even give me your best guess as to what sort of gun you think Buddy would have carried. There's nothing wrong with a little imagination to fill in history's gaps. In any case, thanks for taking the time to read this! I hope you found it interesting!
-Agent006
Very interesting! He would have a heck of a time getting it on a commercial flight now!
__________________
USAF 62-66
WE HAVE BEEN AND STILL ARE BEING SOLD OUT!
Thanks for the link! I've actually ran across that article before when I was doing my research on this. But after looking at this time, I notice something. It implies that the false bottom was for holding a pistol. Do they know this because a pistol was actually found in it or because they just know what it was used for? If a pistol was found in that bag, then it would indicate that there were actually TWO guns. But so far, I've only heard about one gun being found at the crash site. This was the gun found by a farmer a few months after the crash which was said to have been missing a couple of bullets. Actually, I've seen it worded that it actually had been fired.
Part of the reason why I'm so interested in what sort of gun it was, is that it makes a big difference. If the gun was a revolver and there were two empty chambers, then it would simply mean that someone didn't load all the chambers for some odd reason, or that the cylinder somehow came open on impact and two of the bullets slipped out. I find either of these possibilities rather unlikely. However, a couple empty shells would have been very indicative of the gun having actually been fired. Likewise, had the gun been an automatic, then this would imply that the magazine was missing a couple rounds. It's not unusual for some people to leave out a bullet or two for reliability's sake, particularly in guns that are more prone to jamming.
Now, if this gun was laying out on the ground then it definitely wasn't in his overnight bag and since he wasn't wearing a holster, he must have been toting the gun in his pocket. This would tend to favor a rather small gun. He was wearing a leather coat when he died which was torn up pretty bad, so it it would make sense that the gun was tucked away in this jacket and was thrown out during the crash.
I starting thinking about all this after I looked over the article Romey linked me and decided to do a search for "Buddy Holly pistol." One of the first things that came up was a rather odd website that had this very detailed description of Buddy with all of his strengths and weaknesses, almost as if it were a profile used for a role-playing game. It was mentioned in this description that he carried a .22 "Vest Pocket" with him on tour and while on business because he always paid in cash. Whoever compiled this information had certainly researched Buddy pretty thoroughly so I had to give it some credibility. Then I found another article a little later which referred to the pistol being found as being "Buddy Holly's .22 pistol." We might be onto something here!
So the question is, what sort of "Vest Pocket" was it? The gun has been consistently referred to as a "pistol" although many people do have the habit of referring to even a revolver as a pistol. When I think of a "Vest Pocket," I think of those little Baby Browning pocket pistols. Trouble is, these are usually .25's. I have also found that there are some old pocket revolvers out there in .22 caliber which were often called a "Vest Pocket." As you can see, the information online is so vague, that I can't even determine for certain whether it was a revolver or an automatic.
I too love the older music. The new stuff is not as well engineered and doesn't have a unique sonic quality as the older stuff. I dare to think what Hank Williams would sound like if he were recorded today with the soulless, flat, digital, equipment that is used now.
__________________ Never take a handgun to a rifle fight - Grandma Shlitz
Yeah, music doesn't have the same soul it used to have. It's not to say that there isn't any good music these days. There's just so much talent (and indecency) to choose from nowadays, that it's overwhelming. These days, stars are made more often than they are born. My respect for the founding fathers of rock-n-roll is made stronger by the fact that they produced such a great sound with such primitive equipment. Recording equipment today is far superior to what was used back then. It's not so much that the equipment has lost it's soul, it's just that the characteristic flaws of classic music gave it a unique character. It was more human and natural whereas today's music is so clean and spotless. Even back then, stereo recording was coming along pretty well in 1959 and a lot of Buddy's later songs are recorded in such great quality, that you wouldn't think they were recorded so long ago.
Now, about Buddy's gun.... I FINALLY found the information I was looking for. In a book about the "Day the Music Died" by Larry Lehmer I found had several pages about the gun and the conspiracy that sprung up as a result. Some people got the idea that the Big Bopper had been shot because he was lying so much further from the wreck than the others. Some had the idea that the Bopper was trying to get help and someone shot him to cover up the alleged murder of Buddy Holly. One guy even said that a cartel was wanting Buddy dead because he was going to start his own record company. Really, all of this was just the type of conspiracy theories that people start dreaming up when something shocking like this happens. I mean, who would have shot the Big Bopper? They were ALL killed instantly, as was proven recently when the Bopper's body was exhumed. No gunshot wounds were found and the man's skeleton was fractured head to toe. There's no way that he walked or even crawled away from that crash.
In the pages I read of this book, a farmer named Albert Juhl found a six-shot german-made revolver with 4 unfired shots in it. He said he fired the shots into the air and all went off without a hitch and the other 2 chambers were simply empty. Newspapers made it very clear that the gun had not been fired while on the plane. But some inconsistencies came up later when Juhl's son said his father didn't shoot the revolver and one officer said he thought that Juhl hadn't fired but one shot before turning it over to the police. Honestly, I would have to go with the first and probably most accurate story. Years of questions and conspiracies can cloud people's memory about such a seemingly small event.
On another page one of Buddy's friend and band member Tommy Allsup said he gave Buddy such a revolver, recalling that it was a small 22-like target pistol. I imagine a target pistol having a longer barrel whereas I would think Buddy would carry something smaller, but perhaps Allsup was indeed talking about the same gun. In any case, that would narrow it down to Buddy's gun being some sort of small .22 german-made six-shooter. I can't help but think of those cheap old Rohm and Burgo revolvers. I suppose the only thing that would be valuable about such a gun nowadays would be if it really was Buddy's gun!
Even more interesting, Buddy Holly's drummer from the original Crickets recalled a time when Buddy actually pulled out the pistol while on his Midwestern tour in the summer of 1958. He said, "Somebody pulled up, a bunch of local hoodlums or thugs... and blocked the driveway. (of where they were playing) Buddy got that gun out... the car was like twenty feet away... and he pointed it right at the guy's face and said, 'Just sit there... one... two...' and the guy moved!"
In regards to how the pistol ended up laying out in the open field, it was found that the bottom of Buddy's overnight back was ripped open in the crash. Now it all makes sense! There was indeed just one gun and it flung out of the case in which it was being carried when the bottom tore open. I still am not quite sure while Buddy would leave two empty cylinders empty, especially in a .22 where you would need all the help you could get. I can only think that either the bullets fell out, assuming the cylinder might have been opened on impact... or that Buddy was trying to avoid an accidental discharge by leaving the chamber in line with the barrel and the one next to it empty. Of course, he could have unloaded it at some point and accidently lost a couple of the small .22 bullets while on tour and simply hadn't bothered with it past that. We may never know for sure. In any case, I think we can finally put the conspiracies to rest and let Buddy, Ritchie, the Bopper, and Peterson rest with them.
