“Buddy Holly” by Weezer

There are some things that need to be established early in the decipherment of “Buddy Holly”. One is that on the surface it can very well be interpreted as a love song. However, the female addressee is actually a close, platonic friend of the singer. And this may be apparent to those who listen to the chorus and know of the relationship between the titular “Buddy Holly” (1936-1959), who was a singer and actress “Mary Tyler Moore” (1936-2017). That is to say there was no relationship known to exist between them, at least not a romantic one. Moreover Weezer apparently decided to name the song after these old-school celebrities to give it more of a 1950’s feel.

Narrative of “Buddy Holly”

And the actual storyline, once again, is based on the platonic relationship between the singer and the addressee. One distinct characteristic about their friendship is that they are facing some sort of “violent” opposition, via “homies” who ‘dis his girl’. That is she appears to be a victim of harassment by some dudes, even right in the presence of the narrator. And apparently, one of the foundations of their taunts is picking on their relationship. Thus a good deal of the lyrics are dedicated to convincing the addressee that despite such opposition, the singer is indeed committed to their friendship and even protecting her. And to illustrate this point, he states that he’s “just like Buddy Holly”, and she’s “Mary Tyler Moore”.

However the bridge is based on an encounter when the aforementioned homies indeed get violent. And to make a long story short, the implication is that in the face of this danger, the singer himself freezes, as in totally failing to respond.

But despite all of this, the permeating theme throughout is that he is committed to his relationship with the addressee. And he is making this assertion specifically in regards to staying by her side despite the two of them being heckled. And once again such circumstances to, even if he doesn’t respond to them as idealized, do not deter him being attached to the addressee.

Chart Performance of “Buddy Holly”

Though it failed to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart due to poor sales in America, this song managed to get onto their Modern Rock chart and peaked at number two.

Despite the song’s inability to reach the summit of most of the renowned music charts across the world, it performed quite well in countries such as Scotland, the Netherlands, and Canada. For example, in the United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart), it managed to hit number 12.

Release Date of “Buddy Holly”

The song was released on what would have been the birthday of the late American musician and songwriter, Buddy Holly, and was used to commemorate his outstanding contribution to music. The song was the second single off the band’s debut album, “Weezer (Blue Album)” in 1994.

Writing Credits

This Weezer classic were written by Rivers Cuomo who also doubled as the lead singer of the band. The late American record producer, songwriter and singer Ric Ocasek handled the production of “Buddy Holly”.

According to Ocasek, he had to convince Rivers to include the song in the band’s album after the latter decided to omit it because he was not convinced the song will make much impact.

Cover Art Controversy

The cover art for this classic produced a lot of drama. The initial cover art had the images of Rivers and his female friend (whose identity is yet to be revealed). After the band was sued for failing to acquire the legal permission before using the image of the lady, the art was changed to prevent further legal battles. A childhood picture of Rivers, together with his brother, Leaves, was later used as the cover art.

Popular Usage and Covers

This song has featured in a lot of programs and TV shows including the famed American political sitcom, “Parks and Recreation“. It also featured in the Honda Pilot advert and the Lip Sync Battle reality show.

Canadian rock band, Double Experience, couldn’t resist the groove and quality of the work and covered this song in 2016.

Did “Buddy Holly” win a Grammy?

No. Despite the song being considered one of the greatest songs ever penned, it is yet to receive any Grammy honors.