Music fans around the world were shocked and saddened when, in 1959,
early rock 'n' roll innovator Buddy Holly died in a plane wreck. Along with a number
of other popular musicians from the time, such as Richie Valens and The Big Bopper,
Holly boarded a plane in Iowa on his way to a show in Fargo, North Dakota. None of them would make
their destination. In a twist of fate, country singer Waylon Jennings was also supposed to be
on that plane, but he gave up his seat to The Big Bopper and chose to take the bus instead.
The loss of Holly and his fellow musicians left music fans in mourning, but one person who felt
the loss more acutely than most was Buddy Holly's wife at the time, Maria Elena Holly.
Much has been written about the "day the music died," as the plane crash is now known,
but little has been said about Buddy Holly's widow. Shockingly,
Maria Elena Holly could have been on that plane as well, if it weren't for one thing:
a detail that makes the death of Buddy Holly even more tragic than it already was.
Maria Elena Santiago met Buddy Holly in 1958 at a New York music publishing company where
she worked. At that point, Holly had split with his band, The Crickets, and relocated
to New York to develop his solo career. It was a whirlwind romance between Holly and Santiago;
Holly was Santiago's first date ever, and he proposed before the evening was over.
Despite some misgivings, she said yes to the man, and the couple were
soon married back in Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas. Maria Elena later said:
"My life turned around when that young man came through those doors. It was a
mutual admiration society right away. I just fell, like boom [...] [H]e fell the same way."
Two months later, Holly and Santiago had high hopes for their future.
As Holly's career took off, Maria Elena often joined him on the road as his secretary,
manager, and roadie. And she could have been with her husband on the fateful tour on which he died,
but Holly insisted she stay home — because she was pregnant.
"I knew that if I would have been there,
Buddy would have not taken the plane, because I would have said, put my foot down and said 'no.'"
Buddy Holly called to check in on his young wife at several points during the so-called
"Winter Dance Tour." Indeed, the whole thing
must have seemed cursed from the start. Maria Elena later recalled:
"People were getting sick, the bus was breaking down. Buddy took over and said
'This has to be changed.' When they reached the Surf Ballroom it was very cold and there
was a lot of snow. He spoke to me but he did not tell me he was taking a small plane."
Holly's sudden death came as such a shock that Maria Elena tragically miscarried. She refused
to attend his funeral and never visited her late husband's grave. As she later explained:
"I just could not accept it."
Soon, however, fans were writing to the widowed young woman,
seeking any information they could find about the iconic musician.
It was then that Maria Elena realized her role as a caretaker for her husband's legacy. As she said:
"I knew fans wanted to know more about Buddy, what he had in mind,
where he was going with his music and I realized I was the only person left in his life who would
know all about that. So that's what helped me, and I decided to continue up to this date."
Maria Elena Holly had three children with her second husband, and she is now divorced.
Currently, she lives in Dallas, Texas and continues to manage Buddy Holly's intellectual
property. In 2010, she also co-founded The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation. It remains
difficult for Maria Elena to listen to her late husband's music, but, as she herself says:
"The music has not died. It is still alive and well."
Buddy Holly's marriage was not without controversy, however, even after his death.
Peggy Sue Gerron's 2007 book Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? alleges that the early rock classic,
"Peggy Sue Got Married" was not about Gerron's relationship with The Crickets' drummer,
as was previously believed. Instead, Gerron claims it was written by Holly about a love
triangle between Gerron, Maria Elena, and Holly himself. Maria Elena subsequently
brought a lawsuit against Gerron to stop the publication of the book. At the time, she said:
"It's very interesting that this woman makes up all these stories."
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