| Subject: Bill Griggs Tribute In New Buddy Holly Book |
Author:
Randy Steele
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Date Posted: Thu May 01, 2025 14:35:08
There has been a lot of talk regarding the newly released Buddy Holly book from the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation.
This is not another biography on Buddy Holly, it is a tribute book with many people contributing. There are several versions of the book, ranging from VIP to less expensive. I chose the less expensive version and received a wonderful surprise---the book is VERY WELL DONE---a great hardcover, with beautiful photos (some previously unseen)printed on great quality paper.
The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation wanted to recognize the contributions of the late, great Bill Griggs to the Buddy Holly Story and asked me to be the author of it. I was deeply honored to participate in such an incredible project and to have the opportunity to recognize Bill. Below is what I submitted.
Bill Griggs Tribute By Randy Steele
It has been almost 70 years since a group of teenage boys from Lubbock, Texas made their way to the local “picture show” to see actor John Wayne starring in a new western movie called “The Searchers.” In the film, “Ethan,” the character played by John Wayne, utters the phrase “That’ll Be The Day” multiple times. That simple phrase would later inspire a couple of aspiring musicians named Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison to write a song called That’ll Be The Day. It was a song that would propel their band The Crickets to superstardom and change the course of rock-n-roll music, influencing countless musicians who would soon follow.
The career of Buddy Holly would end tragically less than two years after the song’s release. However, his legacy continues to burn brightly with no signs of slowing down, in part because the fans of Buddy Holly and The Crickets remain deeply passionate. It is the late, great William (Bill) Griggs who is responsible for a large part of that passion.
Bill Griggs was born in Connecticut in 1941 to musician parents. The Griggs household was always filled with music. Rock-n-roll was born in the 1950s and for Bill Griggs, it was love at first listen. During his teen years, Bill frequented the State Theater in Hartford, Connecticut, where various rock-n-roll concerts took place, providing Bill with the opportunity to have a close-up view of the hitmakers of the era. As a result, Bill was a self-taught music historian and a superfan of Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
After graduating high school in 1959, Bill Griggs began a career as an auto mechanic. In his spare time, he participated in drag racing, becoming a champion driver in the process and winning over two hundred trophies. As his interest in drag racing was winding down, Bill began researching the history of early rock-n-roll, particularly Buddy Holly and The Crickets. In 1968, Bill visited Buddy Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas for the first time and instantly fell in love with the people and the area. In 1975, Bill Griggs founded the Buddy Holly Memorial Society (BHMS) and began publishing the Reminiscing Newsletter, which eventually evolved into the Rockin50s magazine and organization.
Bill visited Lubbock multiple times through the years, and he eventually moved there in 1981 to become a full-time music historian and researcher. He began publishing newsletters, each of them filled with information. Every issue contained comments and questions from the readers. The issues also contained book reviews, music charts, newly discovered photos, any news regarding music releases, and a featured interview with an artist or event related to music and events of the era. Bill quickly established himself as a “go to guy” when it came to 1950’s rock-n-roll, especially if it pertained to Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Decades before music fans had the convenience of clicking a computer mouse to access the internet, Bill Griggs dedicated himself to music history and research. He researched the lives and careers of Buddy Holly and The Crickets the old-fashioned way, by traveling thousands and thousands of miles, visiting cities and towns, libraries, newspapers, attending concerts, venues, or getting an interview with an artist, all in hopes of discovering new information or a new photo of Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Bill Griggs not only documented the facts of various musical events, but he also captured the emotions of the people who were “there” when music history was being made. He then published his research in his publications for the paid members of BHMS or sold copies of it to individuals. When Bill made the difficult decision in 1991 to end the BHMS, the organization had grown to almost 6,000 members from all fifty states and thirty-four foreign countries. Along the way, Bill Griggs cemented his reputation as a trusted source, and he became known worldwide as THE authority on Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Bill’s attention to detail was unmatched. In example, Bill Griggs and Bill Kerns, a former writer for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper, enjoyed a fun-loving debate over Bill Griggs’ on-going request that the newspaper print a correction in the paper admitting their mistake in their September 7, 1936, edition, which had stated incorrectly that Mrs. Ella Holley had given birth to a daughter, when in reality, it was a boy named Charles Hardin Holley.
Bill Griggs’ efforts to educate fans, collectors, and others didn’t stop with his publications. He hosted fans in his home on a near-weekly basis. He served as an unpaid tour guide during special events at the Buddy Holly Center and as a tour guide on bus tours around the Lubbock area. Bill spent hours on the telephone with fans from around the world on a nightly basis. If someone was producing a movie, a book, or a television special that contained anything related to Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Bill Griggs was the person who verified or validated the information it contained. In all, Bill Griggs made over fifty television appearances and had over thirty book credits to his name.
In 1978, Bill hosted the inaugural BHMS convention. It was the first time that Buddy Holly and The Crickets fans met in one place. The highlight of the event was Bill Griggs persuading all the remaining members of The Crickets to reunite and perform together onstage for the first time since 1957. Bill Griggs also emceed several rock-n-roll shows across the country. In 1986, he co-founded Lubbock’s “Budfest” concert and the Clovis Music Festival in 1987.
Years before The Buddy Holly Story was released in 1978, Bill Griggs dedicated himself to researching, preserving, and promoting Buddy Holly and The Crickets so that fans all over the world, including those not even born during Buddy’s lifetime, could come to know the real Buddy Holly story.
In recognition of his body of work, MCA Records presented Griggs with multiple gold records for his efforts to “promote and preserve the legacy of Buddy Holly and The Crickets.” He became a trusted friend of the Holley family, serving as a pallbearer at the funeral of Buddy Holly’s father, Mr. L.O. Holley. The City of Lubbock rewarded Griggs with induction into the Buddy Holly/West Texas Walk of Fame on July 31, 2010.
Bill Griggs passed away on March 29, 2011. The funeral was held in Lubbock at attended by family, friends, fans, musicians, and local politicians. One fan and friend traveled from England just for the opportunity to show his love and respect for Bill Griggs. The funeral culminated with a long procession to the Lubbock Cemetery, highlighted by a police escort and Lubbock’s Nifty 50s Car Club. Fittingly, Bill’s final resting place is near the gravesites of Buddy Holly and the Holley family.
While there are millions of Buddy Holly and The Crickets fans around the world, there is a small group that belong on the Mount Rushmore of fans, a list that includes the likes of John Beecher and Chris Rees from England, Roddy Jordan from Australia, and Americans John Goldrosen and Bill Griggs, each of whom made a profound impact on the legacy of Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Because of recording technology, the world will always know how Buddy Holly and The Crickets sounded when they sang. Thanks to the efforts of people like Bill Griggs and those mentioned above, the world will always know how Buddy Holly and The Crickets LIVED, and Oh Boy did they live!
Rave On,
Randy Steele
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