It’s Time To Let Buddy Holly Go

I read an article about Lubbock's Moonlight Musical beginning the new season $80,000 in debt. The problem is/was simple; they only averaged about 80 people a night to see the Buddy Holly musical in the park. What they needed to pay the bills would have been over 300 a night, but that's not really the point of my blog. My point is, it's time to let Buddy rest.

Buddy Holly reached the peak of his popularity about 60 years ago.  That's not me exaggerating, it's simple math. When Buddy was at his most popular this town wrote him off, but even then it wasn't "over." If we would have embraced his legacy in the 80's we could have really enjoyed a "30 year-reunion" kind of retro wave. Sixty years later is just too late.

Think about it, Buddy Holly and the people in his graduating class are or have turned 75 this year. Seventy five year olds don't go to dances, don't buy records and don't give a crap about statues in the park.  Seventy five year-olds only care whether they have a good doodie each day (and not a surprise one in their pants). Maybe the generation after them cared about Buddy a bit, but then thats 65 year olds. Sixty Five year olds don't care about Buddy, they care that they just hit retirement and that "those damn kids" are walking on their lawns.

Add another generation and they don't care about Buddy, they we're into the hippie era.  And so it goes, with each generation Buddy's legacy dims. He'll never be forgotten, and shouldn't be, but that's not the point. The point is that pretty much every penny that could be wrung out of his legacy  has been collected. We have a nice statue because it was the right thing to do, but those people who like to promote Lubbock as "Buddy Holly's hometown" need to find something else to hang their hat on. So what should we promote? Well that's another blog.