The Buddy Holly Story
Gary Busey- Buddy Holly
Don Stroud- Jesse
Charles Robert Smith- Ray Bob
Maria Richwine- Maria Elena Holly
Directed by Steve Rash

When the music died, it surely had no idea that it would be born again through the voice of Gary Busey.
Busey, who portrays Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly, lends his musical abilities directly to the movie, as does the rest of the cast.
This movie is not the one for you if you are looking for the most truthful account of Holly’s life. Director Steve Rash has created a movie that is about the legend much more so than the actual man. This of course has its moments and its obvious downfalls.
The movie opens by initializing the struggle between Holly’s musical vision and the mindset of the day concerning appropriate music. However, it seems to come across as dabbling to a certain degree.
While Holly initially meets with moral resistance to his music, that struggle quickly passes and changes into a struggle with the record companies.
Initially in Lubbock, TX with Holly and his band, Ray Bob, played by Charles Robert Smith, and Jesse, played by Don Stroud, are beginning to experiment with a new musical sound and are met with much initial resistance.
The movie advances with a recording of “That’ll Be The Day,” recorded unbeknownst to Holly, hitting it big in Buffalo, NY. It is here that Madman the DJ coins the band as the Crickets.
Busey portrays Holly well, perhaps too well. Watching Holly descend upon New York City and the record labels gives one the sense that Holly is in no way awestruck at anything. The movie suggests in no way that Holly is only twenty-one years old.
Instead Holly charges out and wrestles the music industry to its knees. Holly’s confidence and air also help to land him the heart of his wife, Maria Elena Holly, played by Maria Richwine.
Ray Bob and Jesse, whose names do not correspond to actual Crickets, are more believable. After the popularity of Holly and the Crickets skyrockets, Ray Bob and Jesse demonstrate more genuine feelings about their successes.
Confrontation in the band culminates with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. After the show the band go their separate ways; Ray Bob and Jesse back to Lubbock and Holly stays in NYC.
From here Holly embarks on the infamous 1959 tour that included performers the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.
The movie pays selective homage to Holly and his influences on modern music. It touches briefly on Holly’s songwriting skills, his producing talents, and the originality of his sound. Yet these things are far from emphasized. His role as one of the more influential musicians in history is overlooked. Instead the movie chooses to dabble, where it should definitely concentrate.
If there is an area where another movie would have a tough time holding a candle to this one, it is musically. All of the actors actually sing and play there own instruments. Musical director, Joe Renzetti, deserves praise for this effort. Busey also deserves credit for his very believable attempt to replicate the sound of a legend. It is not until one compares and contrast Busey to Holly that any discernable differences become obvious.
The Buddy Holly Story tells a good story, just not necessarily the one that you might want to see.