October 23, 1957: Canadian dee-jay Red Robinson interviews Buddy Holly in Vancouver.
by Jonny Meister, Host/Producer of The Blues Show on WXPN
Perhaps this is the “most innocent musical moment.” Buddy Holly, riding the crest of success in early rock and roll, is interviewed in Vancouver by Canadian dee-jay Red Robinson. Holly’s thoughts reflect more the parental pespective of the time (”rock and roll is a flash-in-the-pan”) than a sense of his being a seminal figure in a culture-altering development in its fastest growth spurt. Given that Christmas was two months after this interview, and that Holly thought rock and roll might wane after that, he wasn’t expecting more than the most ephemeral existence for the musical form he was so much a part of building. He even seems ready for a change himself. If he had lived, one wonders what he would have done in the 60s! Would he have grown into it (that’s my personal guess) or would he have fallen out of it, like Jack Kerouac and the early literary movement he was so much a part of building? Here’s some of the interview:
Red Robinson: What do you think about rock and roll music? Do you think it is on the wane, or what?
Buddy Holly: I think it’s going out quite a bit in the States
Red Robinson: Down south?
Buddy Holly: Uh-huh.
Red Robinson: How far down?
Buddy Holly: Deep! (laughter)
Red Robinson: But I mean, how long do you think it will last? Another six months? Seven months?
Buddy Holly: Ah, possibly, yeah.
Red Robinson: Think after Christmas things may change a bit though… ?
Buddy Holly: Ah.. they… it might pick back up, but I really doubt it.
Another part:
Red Robinson: If trends change, would you hop on the trend and go into the other, or would you just give up?
Buddy Holly: I’d hop on the trend.
Red Robinson: You would?
Buddy Holly: Uh-huh, because I’d prefer singing a little bit… something a little quieter anyhow.
Hear the interview here.