Im not one for the "In Memoriam" type threads and Buddy Holly died the year before I was born so I didn't know the times...

But, one the odd occasion I do hear music of that era, it seems to me that he was being innovative while others were working to the rock and roll formula.

From my perspective, I don't think you can say "The Day The Music Died" and there has been a lot of good stuff without him. On the other hand, it would have been interesting to see where his influence would have taken popular music had he been around longer.

Either way, I think that ultimately we would have ended up in the same state where record companies and the media know the game so well that they can manufacture bands such as the Spice Girls and sell drivel to an ignorant public.

Jon