808 Buddyhollytribute.Indd

‘Listen To Me: Buddy Holly’ celebrates the musical pioneer’s innovation, genius By Mike Greenblatt HE MAY BE DEAD, Th ink of it: Holly saw Elvis in ’55, A half-century later, recording artists chucked his bluegrass duo, formed a continue to record — and fi nd hits with but Buddy Holly’s ca- band and started hiccupping his vocals — Holly’s songs. reer is in full swing. It’s rockabilly-style, furiously writing up “Look at all the great songs he wrote a storm of songs. He toured England in such an incredibly short career,” a damn shame, too, only once but inspired a generation of muses Peter Asher, the Grammy-Award since one would be acolytes ... including Th e Beatles (who winning producer of both “Listen To name themselves aft er Holly’s Crick- Me: Buddy Holly” (Verve Forecast), hard-pressed to ﬁ nd ets). His was a self-contained rock band a various-artists tribute album, and a another recording art- in an age when singers sang songs of PBS concert special with many of the other songwriters. He charted 27 times. same artists that is scheduled to air in ist whose premature He died in the infamous plane crash December. death — in this case that also killed Th e Big Bopper and “He was a smart, determined, rather Ritchie Valens (tour mate Dion and erudite guy. Had he lived, he not only on February 3, 1959, Holly bassist Waylon Jennings stayed would have written a ton more great at age 22 — robbed on the bus). songs, but he would have for sure gone Not even death on to start his own label and produce the world of so much can overtake the other artists,” Asher says. “He wouldn’t music, a lifetime of in- vibrant, brilliant have fallen by the wayside as a druggie music of the or rest on past laurels to play Vegas. novation. It’s a point bespectacled kid He’d be a major mogul today at 75, and that can be debated from Lubbock, I bet he’d still be alive. It’s interesting to Texas, who was speculate what would have happened forever. >>>>> anything but a hick. had we not lost him so early, because he was so very cool.” Asher knows a little something about cool. As half of Peter & Gordon, his McCartney-penned “World Without Love” partly defi ned 1964 pop culture. He then discovered, managed and produced James Taylor for 20 years; spear- headed the 1970s southern California rock ascent of Linda Ronstadt (including singing background harmonies on her hit single version of “It’s So Easy”); produced Cher, Diana Ross and 10,000 Maniacs; and produced and managed Bonnie Raitt. But talk to him, and it’s all about what he’s working on now and what he’ll work on tomorrow as one of the most respected industry bigwigs in Hollywood. Shore Fire Media/Popperphoto/Getty Images 24 GOLDMINE December 2011 goldminemag.com 808 BuddyHollyTribute.indd 24 10/25/11 8:32:59 AM “Listen To Me: Buddy Th e genesis of this Holly” starts off with project started when a terrifi c reading of a company called “Not Fade Away” by Songmasters called Stevie Nicks, the song Asher with an with the Bo Diddley idea. beat that Th e Rolling “Th ey came Stones famously cov- to me and ex- ered. It’s the type of plained what tune that lends itself they do and to interpretation, who they and Nicks nails it. are,” Asher “Maybe Baby,” in the recounts. hands of Train front- “Th ey do a man Pat Monahan, is lot of charity stuff . I was happy cool, breezy, casual and found ‘Take Your Time’ for them. to jump in. Th e fi rst thing we did, pop. Th en comes a stunner: Brian Both songs were so much fun to redo of course, is sit down and make lists Wilson’s singular Beach Boy aesthetic like that.” of who we’d like to have, who might was never more suited to another Ringo Starr’s “Th ink It Over” sounds actually say yes, and who we could get. author than that of Holly. His title tune, like a long-lost Beatle track. Fellow We asked quite a lot of people over a “Listen To Me,” is sheer magic. Fab, Sir Paul McCartney, participated period of time. Some people said yes Th roughout the album, there are mo- in a diff erent Holly tribute earlier this right away. Some people said maybe. ments that shine with creativity: from year that aimed to turn Holly’s material Some people said no, because they the trumpet solo on Imelda May’s “I’m inside-out in an attempt to take an were too busy or they didn’t care that Looking For Someone To Love” to the alternative spin on the material. much about Buddy Holly. Th ere were mournful violin in Natalie Merchant’s “It was funny,” admits Asher, “be- all kinds of diff erent responses. Stevie oh-so-sad “Learning Th e Game.” Asher cause we didn’t know there would be Nicks, for instance, was in from the agrees. two tributes. I don’t think anybody did. beginning. She worked with my friend, “Natalie’s version makes you cry,” It got rather confusing. It’s like when Waddy Wachtel, one of my favorite he adds. “It’s amazing. Buddy Holly’s two diff erent movie companies make guitar players. So Waddy and I co-pro- original is so bouncy. But read the the same movie. But, in the end, it’s a duced the Stevie track. She was great! lyrics. We slowed it down and gave it good thing, because it shows how fl uid She’s on the TV show, as well. Just a whole ’nother meaning. Same thing the songs are and how they can work in fantastic! In fact, I just fi nished mixing with Th e Frays’ song. I love Th e Frays diff erent ways.” her live version. ters LLC ters Photos courtesy Lester Cohen/© 2011 Songmas 2011 Cohen/© Lester courtesy Photos Boz Scaggs, Graham Nash and Peter Asher perform at Fleetwood Mac songstress Stevie Nicks chose to Hollywood’s Music Box Theatre in celebration of Buddy Holly. record “Not Fade Away” in tribute to Buddy Holly. goldminemag.com December 2011 GOLDMINE 25 808 BuddyHollyTribute.indd 25 10/25/11 8:33:44 AM Nicks chose to perform Holly’s ‘Not Fade Away.’ “She knew right away she wanted that one. It was the fi rst one we did,” Asher said. Th e strength and beauty of Holly’s timeless melodies and lyrics on such songs as “True Love Ways” (Jackson Browne) and “Crying Waiting Hoping” (Chris Isaak) are accentuated by the respectful and soulful interpretations on the album. And if timelessness is the true barometer of genius, even those who never heard a song like “Words Of Love” would have to fall in love with it in the hands of Jeff Lynne. For the album, Songmasters opted to go with Ronstadt’s original hit single of “Th at’ll Be Th e Day.” Asher agreed, citing it as the defi nitive version. Th e last song recorded was Zooey Deschanel’s take of ‘It’s So Easy.’ Th e actress was unable to take part in the PBS concert due to her taping session for her new Fox TV show “New Girl.” “I’d always liked her voice on the She & Him records, and I read somewhere she was a big Linda fan,” Asher said. “In her case, I just found her in my house! She was actually at a party our daughter Victoria was having. I was upstairs and my wife said, ‘Y’know, Zooey Deschanel’s here.’ So I came downstairs and asked her to participate.” Asher is all over the PBS special, co-hosting, producing and dueting with Lyle Lovett on “Well All Right.” Th e one oddball moment, the one crazy tack-on to the end of the album that you have to take with a grain of salt, as if granting genius its eccentricites, is the formerly beautiful “Raining In My Heart” by Eric Idle. “Th at’s Eric and I sitting around having a glass of wine and talking,” Asher confesses. “He’s my best friend, and LLC Songmasters 2011 Cohen/© Lester courtesy Photos we hang out together a lot. I was telling him about the Lyle Lovett (above) and singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin project and how much fun I was having doing it. I played (below) perform during the “Buddy Holly: Listen to Me — The him some of the tracks. And he said, ‘What if I did a reci- Ultimate Buddy Party” event, which was ﬁ lmed in September tation?’ We were thinking of the Peter Sellers version of for PBS. The program is slated to air in December (check local listings.) Lovett also recorded the track “Well All Right“ ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ which we both loved. In the end, it for the “Listen to Me: Buddy Holly” tribute album. ended up much less to do with that and more to do with the Spike Milligan records that we both loved as kids in England and the Spike Jones records we grew to love in America.” Between Buddy Holly, fi lm work, and the constant quest to discover new sound, Peter Asher has plenty on his plate. He’s teamed with German fi lm composer Hans Zimmer, with whom he just fi nished soundtrack work for the animated feature fi lm “Madagascar 3.” He loved working with Rodrigo y Gabriela so much on “Pirates of the Caribbean” that he’s producing the Mexican guitar duo’s next album.

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