Chuck Lanehart
Editor’s Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a librarian at Texas Tech University Libraries. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article is by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and historian.
Romantics since antiquity have known one way to a woman’s heart is verse, especially verse about the target of affection. Music icons of West Texas – familiar with the concept – produced great love songs glorifying their girlfriends.
Buddy Holly met Peggy Sue Gerron in 1956 when she was a sophomore at Lubbock High School. As she walked to the band room, Buddy was rushing to the auditorium to perform at an assembly. They crashed together in the hallway and she fell to the floor, her books scattering and her poodle skirt rising over her knees. One arm carried his guitar, the other his amp. “I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t have time to pick you up,” Buddy said.