buddy_holly_1959 buddy_holly_apartment

Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll.  Shortly before his tragic death Buddy left The Crickets in late 1958 and moved to New York with his new wife Maria Elena.  The newlyweds settled in at:

The Brevoort Apartment 11 Fifth Avenue Apt. 4H, New York, New York

(The apartment is the fourth one up on the right from the ground)

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Here's the google streetview link…

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It was here in his living room that he recorded the series of acoustic songs on an Ampex reel-to-reel recorder, known as the "Apartment Tapes", which included "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and "What to Do".  Buddy got the recorder from Norman Petty after he had upgraded his studio equipment in Clovis, New Mexico. Buddy had requested the old recorder saying, “I want the one that ‘Peggy Sue’ was recorded on; the one you carried to Oklahoma City.”

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Little more than a week after making the recording, Buddy left New York for the "Winter Dance Party" Tour that would feature his final performance.  Coral Records later overdubbed additional tracks to Buddy's demo of "Love Is Strange" and released it a decade after his death, now 50 years gone.  The apartment tapes were finally released  in "Down the Line: Rarities" a 2009 compilation album including alternate takes and demos, including the original undubbed "garage tapes" with The Crickets and the "Apartment Tapes" recorded in the months before his death.

buddy_holly_maria_elena_wedding"Hearing Buddy's familiar voice, via recordings such as these, has brought me inestimable comfort, for I feel justified in assuming that many of these songs were sung directly to me. It would be unforgivably selfish, however, for me not to want to share some of these treasured moments with you, the loyal friends who helped make Buddy's fondest dreams a reality."

-Maria Elena Holly

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