What do you think?


The Buddy Holly Story
An in-depth profile of the life and career of the rock star examines his impact on the world of rock and roll in its infancy and as a cult hero after his untimely death in 1959
257 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1979
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 16, 2018
The copy I read was published in 1979, so it was obviously not the most current or possibly most accurate for present day, nearly 40 years after its publication and nearly 60 years since Buddy Holly died. Nevertheless, this book is well-researched and thorough in telling Buddy Holly’s story, from his childhood in Lubbock to his struggles and successes as a musician. The last few chapters made my heart heavy, reading of all his plans and ideas for the future, of his wife expecting their first child, and the premonitions Buddy and María Elena had just before he left on the Winter Dance Party tour. While there are more recent biographies out about Buddy Holly, I would still highly recommend this one. Despite the sadness I felt as I reached the end of the book, it still left me with a smile. ❤️
June 14, 2016
This was my first Biography I ever read in my life and I have to say it was pretty good.I love listening to Buddy Holly's music and such usually it doesn't take me that long to finish a book.Great Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 11, 2016
I loved this book and I also like Buddy Holly's music and such I think this was just a great book about Buddy Holly's real Biography.
June 26, 2025
The Buddy Holly Story by John Goldrosen is included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you may wish to take the challenge and see how many have you seen, this cinephile has over 700 and many of them, along with books, are reviewed on my blog, the pug here is for the best short film I have made, which is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...
8 out of 10
As mentioned at the top of this note, The Buddy Holy Story is part of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made compilation, and that is just as prestigious as it gets, only part of the problem with this motion picture is…
- Gary Busey
He is the thespian who has the leading role here, he is Buddy Holly, and there are two sides to this thing, on the one hand, having heard bad things about the actor, one could be positively impressed, because the performance is not bad
On the other hand, however, this man has been declining severely – when you google, at least from this realm, you get buttered sausage, and them some grim articles, from the look of the headlines, I did not have the interest to read them
It gets worse:
- It seems that this actor is a fan of Orange Woland
Which is the ultimate litmus test for the under signed, if you are MAGA then you are…gaga, at least in my book, and obviously, the reverse is true, as in I am anathema, the devil opposing your Chosen angel from heaven
Indeed, I have had some conversations on Goodreads, paradoxically, not initiated by yours truly, but alleged fans of my (thousands of) reviews, and when I try and see where we are in the galaxy, it turns out that
- They are part of MAGA
Not the majority, clearly, but an unacceptable, ridiculous percentage, I mean, this is the site of readers, elevated people, and to have them plead the cause of a monster, even now, after all the scandals, invasion threats, attacks against universities, allies, mocking the law, how could anyone still be in that cult?
- And furthermore, on Goodreads
Granted, they have a reading list that is short, probably Dan Brwon and such low hanging fruit, I am not sure, have not really ‘investigated’, as in took a glimpse, and then now, a few of those MAGA are no longer ‘friends’…
Well, they have never been, obviously, as Thomas Mann explains https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... so well, and they have ejected me!
Think about it, they seem to prove the point that this group of people are really flawed, first, my reviews are full of anti-Orange Woland rhetoric, so how could they go your Goodreads reviews are absolutely amazing, each one feels like a little love letter to literature, and I adore the way you bring books to life with your words…’ – really, we have two options, one, they believe this, ergo their idol is a calamity, or they just talk nonsense (like him, in my view)
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
8 out of 10
As mentioned at the top of this note, The Buddy Holy Story is part of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made compilation, and that is just as prestigious as it gets, only part of the problem with this motion picture is…
- Gary Busey
He is the thespian who has the leading role here, he is Buddy Holly, and there are two sides to this thing, on the one hand, having heard bad things about the actor, one could be positively impressed, because the performance is not bad
On the other hand, however, this man has been declining severely – when you google, at least from this realm, you get buttered sausage, and them some grim articles, from the look of the headlines, I did not have the interest to read them
It gets worse:
- It seems that this actor is a fan of Orange Woland
Which is the ultimate litmus test for the under signed, if you are MAGA then you are…gaga, at least in my book, and obviously, the reverse is true, as in I am anathema, the devil opposing your Chosen angel from heaven
Indeed, I have had some conversations on Goodreads, paradoxically, not initiated by yours truly, but alleged fans of my (thousands of) reviews, and when I try and see where we are in the galaxy, it turns out that
- They are part of MAGA
Not the majority, clearly, but an unacceptable, ridiculous percentage, I mean, this is the site of readers, elevated people, and to have them plead the cause of a monster, even now, after all the scandals, invasion threats, attacks against universities, allies, mocking the law, how could anyone still be in that cult?
- And furthermore, on Goodreads
Granted, they have a reading list that is short, probably Dan Brwon and such low hanging fruit, I am not sure, have not really ‘investigated’, as in took a glimpse, and then now, a few of those MAGA are no longer ‘friends’…
Well, they have never been, obviously, as Thomas Mann explains https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... so well, and they have ejected me!
Think about it, they seem to prove the point that this group of people are really flawed, first, my reviews are full of anti-Orange Woland rhetoric, so how could they go your Goodreads reviews are absolutely amazing, each one feels like a little love letter to literature, and I adore the way you bring books to life with your words…’ – really, we have two options, one, they believe this, ergo their idol is a calamity, or they just talk nonsense (like him, in my view)
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
April 27, 2021
When I saw the film "The Buddy Holly Story" on HBO during the summer of 1979, I fell in love with the Rock 'n' Roll singer-songwriter's music. An article in "Rolling Stone" pointed out the historical inaccuracies of the movie, piquing my curiosity about the "real" story. John Goldrosen's impeccably researched biography filled in the gaps and debunked much of the Hollywood hokum written into the Gary Busey film.
Since Buddy Holly had such a short life and musical career, it was fairly easy for me to become something of an "authority" on the pioneering rocker. This book, and the less-credible biography by Ellis Amburn, gave me enough information to co-produce a two-hour radio program on Buddy Holly in 2020.
Since Buddy Holly had such a short life and musical career, it was fairly easy for me to become something of an "authority" on the pioneering rocker. This book, and the less-credible biography by Ellis Amburn, gave me enough information to co-produce a two-hour radio program on Buddy Holly in 2020.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews




