"THE CRICKETS SOUND" Project
A Buddy Holly & The Crickets Online Resource Hub
Bill Griggs
Buddy Holly Researcher/Historian/Music Historian
Born 17th June 1941 - 29th March 2011
William Frederick “Bill” Griggs, was without a doubt, the foremost authority on Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
What we know today, is the direct result of Bill's hard work over many years and his efforts to keep their music alive, is second to none !
in the 1970's, Bill took it upon himself to reignite interest in Buddy Holly & The Crickets, as he felt there was ZERO effort being made to do so. He started up an international fan club "The Buddy Holly Memorial Society" in 1975, which grew to having over 5,500 members worldwide. He researched every detail we now take for granted, regarding our heroes and produced booklets "Buddy Holly: Day By Day". Tour dates, recordings, meetings, finances, he spent years on it. He even moved to Lubbock to pursue it all full time to keep the music and memory of Buddy Holly alive.
For thirty years, he published "Reminiscing" and "Rockin 50s" magazines. The following information is taken directly from Bills online Rockin 50's magazine. www.rockin50s.com
BACKGROUND:
Bill Griggs' parents were both professional musicians. His father, William B. Griggs, played trumpet in some name bands, then formed his own band in Connecticut before retiring. His mother, Emma Giel, played keyboards in Hartford, Connecticut and was known throughout New England. Bill feels this furnished the initial impetus for his interest in music as there was always music in the house.
FAMILY:
Bill was married in 1966 and had two children from that union, William F. Griggs II, and Holly Maria Griggs. He was divorced in 1990. His children now live in Connecticut. Bill married Sharon Reaume on June 3, 2004 and she helped him with his work and was always with him when he was attending a music event. They had been together for three years previous, got married, bought a house, and were very happy together.
Bill Griggs
HIGH SCHOOL
Bill attended Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Connecticut, graduating in 1959. At school, he was President of the Astronomy Club, member of the Audio-Visual Squad and Radio Club, and was on their track, cross country, and tennis teams. It was during these years that he began frequenting the State Theater in Hartford for their Rock ‘n’ Roll concerts and getting to meet with many of the artists of the day.
EARLY MUSIC:
Bill Griggs grew up during the exciting era of the 1950s. He attended many Rock ‘n’ Roll shows and met many of the artists of that era. He is also a pack rat and has kept paper items, autographs, photos, and other items from that era which allows him to do what he is doing today.
THE BUDDY HOLLY MEMORIAL SOCIETY:
During the 1960s, Buddy Holly had sorta been forgotten. In 1971, Don McLean released "American Pie", and in 1973, that famous line appeared in the motion picture American Graffiti ("I hate that surfin' stuff. Rock 'n' roll's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.)
Still, the so-called Buddy Holly "revival" wasn't happening.
The reality is that Bill Griggs founded the international Buddy Holly Memorial Society in 1975 out of disgust. He wasn't seeing Buddy in print, or on television, or really, anywhere. The BHMS, as it was called, ran from 1975 through 1991. At the time it was terminated, there were more than 5500 members located in all 50 states and in 34 foreign countries. During the term of the BHMS, Bill Griggs began publishing his Reminiscing newsletter that soon became a full-fledged magazine.
ROCKIN' 50s MAGAZINE:
Reminiscing was being published every other month and Bill decided he wanted to publish every month, so he established a new magazine Rockin' 50s, publishing on the odd month. He found he couldn't do two magazines all by himself and since the BHMS was about to be terminated, Bill decided to also discontinue Reminiscing and simply continue with Rockin' 50s which is still being published today.
Covering the entire spectrum of the 1950's era, his readers seemed to have liked what he was doing. The magazine was published on a fiscal year basis, that is, everyone renewed at the same time (helped Bill's bookkeeping). If someone first subscribed in the middle of a fiscal year, they received all issues already published that year and the rest as they were published. The magazine was truly international, going to many foreign countries. (Bill had announced that when the final issue for 2004 was published, he will retire from publishing the magazine. Thirty years of publishing is a long time and he has many other things he wants to accomplish.)
ROCKIN' 50s:
This is no longer just the title of Bill’s magazine. It is the entire organization that leases photos to television and print media, furnishes information to various media for stories and obituaries of 1950's artists, helps authors with research for books and articles, and much more. It is also the domain name for this Website. If interested, the fees for these duties are very reasonable.
Today, Bill is "still" recognized around the world as an expert on 1950's rock 'n' roll music and an authority on Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
His name is found in many books and other publications for assisting with research information, etc. He also published many booklets pertaining to the era. His tour-de-force is the five booklet set Buddy Holly Day-By-Day. in which he can tell you where Buddy Holly was just about every day of Buddy’s career.
In 2004, with the computer age upon us, Bill and Sharon began producing CD-ROM Flipbooks of Bill’s works so the print versions will slowly fade into the sunset.
THE MEDIA:
Bill Griggs can be seen on many television specials pertaining to the era. At this particular time, you might catch him on the 90-minute VH1 special titled The Day The Music Died and the E! Entertainment's special "Mysteries And Scandals" (video below) both still being aired in reruns, along with a short bit on the History Channel's "Lost And Found" segment about Buddy Holly's glasses.
For two years, Monday through Friday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00, you could find Bill doing his 1950's program at KDAV Radio in Lubbock, Texas, including his copyrighted School Of Rock 'n' Roll segment. Although he left because he got too busy with other things, the station still broadcasts, in real time, on the Internet.
Bill passed away in 2011 - Randy Steele now runs The Rockin 50's Forum (Click Here) and Rockin 50s website (links below).
