Hey Buddy : in Pursuit of Buddy Holly, My New Buddy John, and My Lost Decade in Music - MOORE GARY W.

Hey Buddy

in Pursuit of Buddy Holly, My New Buddy John, and My Lost Decade in Music

By: MOORE GARY W.

Hardcover | 1 May 2011

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FINALIST FOR GENERAL NON-FICTION, 2011, THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS

FINALIST FOR MEMOIRS (HISTORICAL/LEGACY/CAREER), 2011, THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS

He was just a kid from Lubbock, Texas, sporting black horn-rimmed glasses, blue jeans, a white T-shirt, white socks, and loafers. And he changed the course of music history. Today, more than five decades after his tragic death, Buddy Holly still affects lives around the world.

Critically acclaimed author Gary W. Moore was not a fan of rock music. He was familiar with Buddy's name and thought he was dead, but couldn't name even a single song Buddy had written or performed. In a single evening all that changed when the late great Buddy Holly reached out from a stage in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and seized Gary's heart and soul through a song--not a song written or performed by Buddy, but a song about Buddy performed by musician John Mueller. Even Buddy's closest friends say John is Buddy reincarnated, and his resemblance and music will take your breath away.

Hey Buddy is a warm and intimate chronicle of the author's personal journey to discover more about the young man from Lubbock, his music, his influence, and the times in which he lived. Join Gary as he meets Buddy's personal friends, celebrities, and everyday Buddy enthusiasts. Their unique stories will make you laugh, smile, cry, and think all the while "What if?" What if Buddy had lived instead of perishing in that terrible plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa, on that winter night in 1959? What if Buddy had continued to write music into the 1960s and 70s? What if . . .

Along the way Gary discovers the darker side behind Buddy's last hours. The doomed Dwyer Flying Service charter flight took off in deteriorating weather with an inexperienced 21-year-old pilot who was not instrument-rated. The Dwyers claim they have the plane wreckage in which Buddy, Ritchie Valens, "Big Bopper" Richardson, and the pilot died, and told Gary "the truth has never been told about what happened on that flight." With the help of a retired National Transportation Safety Board aviation crash expert, Gary recreates the short flight and reaches an intriguing conclusion about what really happened during the plane's final moments.

A rollercoaster ride of emotion, Hey Buddy offers a surprising examination of our culture and how the young man from Lubbock brought us from where we were five decades ago to where we are today. His dramatic and enduring legacy influenced everyone from The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Don McLean to writers, fans, and . . . John Mueller, who took the stage in Iowa one cold night not long ago to recreate The Winter Dance Party of 1959 and, in doing so, influenced an author to pick up his pen and explore a legacy that still affects us today.

About the Author: Gary W. Moore is a motivational speaker, accomplished musician, and the award-winning author of Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home (Savas Beatie, 2006; Penguin, 2008), the story of his father's secret life in baseball and war. Playing with the Enemy has inspired readers worldwide and will soon be a major motion picture. Gary has contributed to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and has been featured in national publications, on syndicated radio, and on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox.
Industry Reviews
We've all had Uncle Charlies in our lives who were fun to be around because they told such great stories; we always wanted to hear more. For me, Gary Moore is the 'Uncle Charlie' of American writers. He is a great storyteller through the written word-and I always want to read more. Now he's done it again with Hey Buddy. * John Skipper, author of Meredith Willson: The Unsinkable Music Man *
Hey Buddy illustrates the raw power that passion for a topic can have when it grips an unsuspecting writer. Author Gary Moore is not only a gifted storyteller but an accomplished musician and a pilot, and he uses these attributes to provide new and unique insights into Holly's music, his all-too-brief life . . . and his death. * Bonnie Bartel Latino, author and former columnist for Stars and Stripes newspaper-Europe *
A rock-and-rollercoaster of a read! Gary Moore's emotional account of his discovery of Buddy Holly and the eye-and ear-witnesses of Holly's genius is a memorial to the influence of one of rock's true pioneers. You'll 'Rave On' about this unforgettable story! * Bill Guertin, longtime vinyl rock-and-roll DJ and the author of Reality Sells: The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales *
There are bits that gave me goosebumps -- reading about such a talented kid being snatched away so young in such tragic circumstances will surely do that to anyone. * BHAS-CFC Online *
A comfortable read and recommended as a gentle introduction to the man who was Buddy Holly, and a probe into the mind of the author whose obsession as a new fan grows stronger every page. This book will probably have the reader wondering what might have been if Buddy had survived, but also what if Gary Moore had picked up a Fender in 1957. * Maggie's Blue Suede News *
Buddy Holly inspired a generation of musical greatness. But in many ways, he was very different from the musicians he inspired in his short life. These differences are what allowed a former rock n roll naysayer to finally come to grips with his musical prejudice. In discovering Buddy, Gary Moore learns as much about himself as he does about a generation of music he had selectively tuned out. Hey Buddy allowed me to walk on this journey with him. It is really terrific-sweet, sad, informative, and even patriotic. This is a great read for anyone remotely interested in music and why it does or doesn't make us tick. * Beth Kenney-Augustine, Emmy award-winning producer *
This book is a warm and intimate chronicle of the author's personal journey to discover more about Buddy Holly, his music, his influence, the times in which he lived and ultimately his untimely death. * Crackerjack magazine *
. . . a thoroughly fun read [and] crazy good. * Chicago Sun-Times *
...this book will surprise many of you.... for it is quite unlike anything else I've read. * Now Dig This magazine *
Gary Moore's Hey Buddy is a touching narrative that chronicles his fascinating journey of discovery into the life and music of Buddy Holly through the spirited performances of John Mueller while endeavoring to explain the profound impact Buddy's musical legacy continues to have more than fifty years after his tragic demise. * Jacqueline A. Bober, Curator, The Buddy Holly Center *
Hey Buddy is a page-turning pursuit of Buddy Holly's legacy and his impact on others in and out of the music industry. It's as American as apple pie and as compelling as Don McLean's legendary hit about The Day the Music Died. Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore and get two copies-one for you and another for anyone you know who listens to music. * James Riordan, New York Times bestselling author of Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison *

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