Posted on 02/07/2025 3:04:31 PM PST by nickcarraway
In December of 1958, Buddy Holly was on vacation with his wife in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas when he met a local radio DJ Waylon Jennings at KDAV and KLLL. The two became fast friends and Holly began mentoring the young Jennings and even produced his first single.
“Buddy would come up and hang out with me when he was in town,” Jennings told CMT in 1999. Jenning had known Holly for years from some of the talent shows they’d do around Lubbock. “We’d lay back in the studio and play guitars, and Buddy would tell us stories. Our eyes would bug out of our heads because he’d been all over the world. He would talk about people like the Everly Brothers, and Jerry Lee [Lewis], and Elvis [Presley].”
Jennings added, “Buddy was the first guy who had confidence in me. Hell, I had as much star quality as an old shoe, but he really liked me, and believed in me.”
By 1959, Holly recruited Jennings to join his band the Crickets as a bassist for the band’s Winter Dance Party Tour, which also featured Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson. After a few weeks on the road, the tour came to an abrupt end the morning of February 3, when a plane carrying Holly, Valens, and Richardson crashed in Iowa shortly after take-off, killing all on board. Before it took off, Jennings had given up his seat to Richardson, who had fallen ill.
“Somehow I blamed myself,” recalled Jennings of the accident. Before the flight, Jennings jokingly said “I hope your ol’ plane crashes” after Holly said he hoped Jennings’ bus would break down in jest. “Compounding that was the guilty feeling that I was still alive,” added Jennings. “I hadn’t contributed anything to the world at that time compared to Buddy. Why would he die and not me? It took a long time to figure that out, and it brought about some big changes in my life—the way I thought about things.”
Within their brief friendship and collaboration, Jennings and Holly still managed to work on three songs together. Here’s a look behind each.
[RELATED: The Story Behind Waylon Jennings’ First Single “Jole Blon” and How His Friend and Mentor Buddy Holly Produced It]
“Jole Blon” (1958)
Traditional
Shortly after they met, Holly took Jennings under his wings and produced the country legend’s first single, a cover of “Jole Blon,” which was released on the Brunswick label in 1958. A traditional Cajun waltz, once called the Cajun National Anthem, the song dates back to the early 1900s and was originally a fiddle song about a “pretty blonde” woman who left her man flat.
The earliest recording of the song by the Breaux Brothers was in 1929 as “Ma Blonde Est Eartié” before it went through several more transformations, and titles, throughout the decades. By the late 1940s, country artists had popularized the song titled “Jole Blon,” starting with Harry Choates’ 1946 recording. In 1936, it was recorded as “Jolie Blonde,” then as “Jole Blonde” by the Acadian Aces in 1951.
Jolie blon, regardez donc quoi t’as fait (Pretty blonde, look at what you’ve done)
Tu m’as quitte pour t’en aller (You left me to go away)
Pour T’en aller avec un autre, oui, que moi (To go away with another, instead of me)
Quel espoir et quel avenir, mais, moi, je vais avoir? (What hope and what future am I going to have?)
Jolie blon, tu m’as laisse, moi tout seul (Pretty blonde, you’ve left me all alone)
Pour t’en aller chez ta famille (To go back to your family)
Si t’aurais pas ecoute tos les conseils de les autres (If you had not listened to the advice of the others)
Tu serait ici-t-avec moi aujourd ‘hui (You would be here with me today)
“When Sin Stops (Love Begins)” (1958) Written by Bob Venable
Originally composed by Bob Venable for the Nighthawks, the B-Side to “Jole Blon,” “When Sin Stops (Love Begins),” also featured Holly on electric guitar, bassist George Atwood, drummer Bo Clarke, saxophonist King Curtis, and The Roses—the only vocalists to tour with Buddy Holly and the Crickets—on backing vocals.
I love ya honey in the day and night
I love you if things’re wrong or right
I love ya honey, I need you all the time
Your lips are so good for me
Your lips are all I see
It’s not right, I know it’s a sin
But when sin stops love begins
Well open the door and walk right in
Where we left off that’s where we’ll begin
A little honey, that’s what I’ve been waitin’ for
Your love is a-what I needed
Oh mercy, I begged and pleaded
It’s not right, I know it’s a sin
But when sin stops love begins
When sin stops love begins
Both “Jole Blon” and “When Sin Stops” later appeared on Jennings’ 1983 compilation In the Beginning.
“You’re the One” (1964) Written by Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, and Ray Corbin
Along with Jennings and singer, songwriter, and co-owner of the KLLL radio station, Ray Corbin, Holly co-wrote “You’re the One,” which was later released on his fourth, posthumous album, Showcase in 1964. Recorded in 1958 at the KLLL studio with Holly singing lead vocals and playing acoustic guitar, the song is about a love sent from heaven above.
A-you’re the one that’s a-causing my blues
You’re the one I don’t want to lose
You’re the one that I’d always choose
You’re the one that’s a-meant for me
A-you’re the one that I’m thinking of
You’re the one that I’ll always love
You’re the one sent from heaven above
You’re the one that’s a-meant for me
Sometimes you make me feel so bad
You make me cry deep in my heart
I feel like an actor in a play
Who doesn’t fit the part
“You’re the One” was released with the rockabilly B-Side “Love’s Made A Fool Of You,” which Holly wrote with Bob Montgomery.
When Sin Stops (Love Begins) - Waylon Jennings With Buddy Holly
Waylon Jennings - Old Friend (Song about Buddy Holly)
There's another song where Jennings talks about giving up a seat on the plane that would crash, but I don't know what it's called.
He also named one of his sons, "Buddy."
Hanging out with Buddy Holly must have been pretty cool.
Bkmk
KLLL is still around, but now on the FM band.
” There’s a lot of good people in Lubbock, but they are all dead” ~ Billy Joe Shaver
Check out the first song collaboration between Buddy Holly and Waylon Jennings in this thread. Appears you have another song to add to the “pretty” song list you started yesterday.
Awesome! I didn’t know Buddy Holly had collaborated with ANYone!
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