Skip to content
Buddy
Holly

Inducted:

1986

Category:

Performer

Inducted By:

John Fogerty

Rock & roll as we know it wouldn’t exist without Buddy Holly. The bespectacled ’50s teen idol roughed up familiar musical influences—rhythm & blues, rockabilly, country & western—with upbeat tempos, a jittery vocal approach, and youthful lyrics filled with edgy declarations of love, lust and heartbreak.

Impact

That voice and guitar came over the PA every night - I went out and bought it the next day.

John Fogerty

1986 Hall of Fame Essay

From an autobiographical high-school essay by Buddy Holly: “My life has been what you might call an uneventful one, and it seems there is not much of interest to tell…I have many hobbies...

Written By Michael Hill

Check It Out

sealed with a signature

This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.

Buddy Holly

More from
the Hall