The Altus City Auditorium will help celebrate this 50th anniversary when it hosts the nation’s top tribute to Buddy Holly in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20.
“Buddy and Beyond: The History of Rock and Roll” stars Chicago native Johnny Rogers as Buddy Holly, a tribute so good, it’s actually endorsed by members of the Holly family.
“That means an awful lot to me,” said Rogers who performed in concert earlier this year in Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas, with Holly’s family in the audience. “It was a tremendous honor,” he added.
While Holly’s older brother Larry calls Johnny Rogers’ portrayal of Buddy in concert his “favorite”, former Holly guitarist and Grammy Award-winner Tommy Allsup says, “Johnny does the best Buddy tribute I’ve ever seen. And he’s the best showman I’ve ever worked with.”
In fact, Allsup is so impressed with the tribute, he’s agreed to perform with Rogers in a number of concerts, including later this month in Altus.
Allsup, it turns out, is one of the luckiest men in the history of rock ‘n roll.
He was Buddy’s guitarist in 1958-59, and played at Holly’s last performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa February 2, 1959. Tired of riding a tour bus that had no heat and was prone to breaking down, Holly chartered a four passenger Beechcraft Bonanza to fly him and two of his band members to the next stop on the tour, Moorhead, Minnesota. Holly’s bass player, a young man named Waylon Jennings, offered his seat to J.P. Richardson, known as the Big Bopper, who had the flu and needed to get to a doctor.
Another member of the Winter Dance Party tour was 17-year-old Ritchie Valens.
“Ritchie kept asking me to let him take my place on the plane,” recalls Allsup. “I told him no several times, but he wouldn’t give up. Finally, I pulled out a coin and said, ‘I’ll flip you for it’. Ritchie won the toss.”
The plane took off in the midst of a winter storm and crashed minutes later killing all on board. Holly was just 22 years old.
“Musically speaking, Buddy was way ahead of his time,” explains Johnny Rogers. “Me, I’m way behind. I just love the music of that era. I’m in my thirties now, but when I was in high school, I had to find people a lot older to perform with, because none of the guys my age wanted to play the old stuff.”
Rogers says it all started as a young teenager when he heard the Holly song “Rave On.” That was all it took. “It was like someone turned on a switch,” he said. “I’ve been playing Buddy’s music ever since.” He enjoys paying tribute to other music legends of the past. Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash and the Beatles are just a few of the names he salutes during his two-hour performance.
“It’s fun,” he says referring to the ever-changing list of legendary artists he performs as. “It keeps the show interesting.” It also keeps the audience wondering what he’ll do next.
Rogers is an accomplished guitarist with tremendous vocal talent. He possesses the rare ability to sound like Buddy Holly one minute, and Elvis the next…or Johnny Cash...or Jerry Lee.
“This ranks right up there with the best of ‘em”, says the shows promoter Bruce McGrew, who has worked with the city to bring other tribute shows to Altus. Those include last year’s Kraig Parker tribute to Elvis, and the Liverpool Legends Beatles tribute, which performed here earlier this year. “Johnny is one of the most talented performers I’ve ever seen. And to have a music legend like Tommy Allsup involved, that just makes it even better.”
Tickets for September 20th concert are only $15.00 in advance, with children 10 and under free. Tickets are available at the Altus Parks and Recreation Office,
601 Katy Street, at local radio stations, and Eddies Café in Altus. For credit card orders or more information you may call 580-816-0800.
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