Lubbock: Buddy Holly gravesite

Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock in 1936, was one of the major figures in early rock ‘n’ roll. Holly was among the first class of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and continues to be a major influence on popular music.

On Feb. 3, 1959, Holly, singer Richie Valens, performer and radio personality J.P. Richardson, and their pilot were killed when their small airplane crashed in a cornfield near Mason City, Iowa, just after takeoff. Holly was only 22 years old when he died.

Holly’s funeral was held at Lubbock’s Tabernacle Baptist Church on February 7, 1959. He was buried at the City of Lubbock Cemetery. The headstone at the Buddy Holly gravesite uses the spelling of his birth name (Holley) and depicts his Fender Stratocaster guitar.

The Buddy Holly gravesite is in Lubbock’s historic cemetery where other local heroes are buried, including singer Mac Davis and Hall of Fame football player Bobby Layne.

Read More:

• Handbook of Texas: Buddy Holly