"The Sound Of Fury" by Billy Fury (May, 1960)

Brad's Take:


I'd never heard of Billy Fury before this so I was curious to hear his debut album, "The Sound Of Fury." As soon as I hit play, I immediately thought, "I didn't know Elvis impersonators actually got record deals..."

After doing a little bit of research, I discovered that he kind of was Elvis, but the UK's version of Elvis. His vocal styling and energy is almost identical, and he even dressed and moved like The King.

On "Turn My Back On You," Billy Fury does his best Buddy Holly impression by doing the stuttering vocal style that Buddy was well known for.

Since our book is from the UK, it makes sense for Billy Fury to be in it. The UK needed an Elvis and a Buddy Holly so this kid probably made lots of people (especially girls) happy until the real came over from the states.

Putting the similarities to other artists aside, Buddy, I mean Billy Fury nailed it on this album. He stuck to the same blues/rock/country formula that was popular in the US and brought it to the UK, and he succeeded. His voice and energy were great, and he was a good looking guy. I'm sure the English girls swooned over him all day and night. It's not a surprise that a life size bronze statue of him (doing an Elvis impression) was eventually built in Liverpool in his honor in 2003.

Dad's Take:

This is one of a few British-only releases on our list. It's a British book, so that's to be expected. It's also interesting, because it ensures that we'll hear some albums that we've never heard, but that influenced the great British bands. Billy Fury, as an early leader in the Liverpool rock and roll scene, undoubtedly played a more important role than we Yanks are likely to recognize. Interestingly, according to one source, one group that auditioned to be Fury's band was a little band called the Silver Beetles. They were turned down when they refused to fire their bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe, thus missing out on a £20 per week job.

If you listen to very much 1950's rockabilly, you'll hear a number of Elvis imitators of varying quality. Billy Fury is actually pretty good. The songs are good, and the performances are strong. As Brad mentioned, you hear the obvious influence of people like Elvis and Buddy Holly, as well as Carl Perkins and other rockabilly greats, especially Eddie Cochran.

Fury had the chops to pull off some really good rockabilly, as well as the voice for ballads. He didn't have quite the same energy level as Elvis or Buddy. His music isn't especially original, but he was one of the early architects of British rock and roll, and as such deserves a spot on our list.

Bottom line, though, is that it's just a fun record. Songs like "Don't Say It's Over," "That's Love," and several others on this record deserve to be better known stateside. I found "Since You've Been Gone" with its bizarre tempo changes and stuttering "baby baby baby" delivery to be especially interesting. It's not the best song on the record, but it's unusual and fun in its weirdness. If you like good old rock and roll, and especially rockabilly, look for this record. It's good stuff if you like this kind of thing. And I do.

"The Buddy Holly Story," by Buddy Holly (May, 1959)

Dad's Take:

Three months after Buddy Holly's death, Coral Records released this album as a memorial (and, no doubt, to capitalize a bit). The album is lovingly sequenced, begining movingly with "Raining In My Heart," followed by Early In The Morning," which is about missing somebody who is gone. Then it moves into "Peggy Sue" and more of his biggest hits, before ending with another sad song, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore." It was unusual to begin and end with sad songs, but in this case, it seems like the right thing to do.

Buddy Holly's career was so short, but he accomplished so much. Not only by recording so many hit records, but by writing and even producing, something that wasn't done. You can't talk Buddy Holly without wondering what could have been had he been around longer. His influence on so much that followed after in both rock and roll and country was enormous. Would he have remained influential and moved into new territory? Would he have faded away? No one will ever know.

His music was so energetic. And, if you pay attention, you'll discover that his lyrics were among some of t he best of the period, full of humor, irony, and tenderness. The guy could write. he could play. He sang well, and in a variety of styles. It's easy to see why only Elvis was more popular, even though Buddy didn't have the sex appeal, maybe, of so many of the singers of the day. Buddy was the real thing, and is one of my all-time favorite artists, not because of the tragic story but because he was genuinely good. Few artists accomplish what he did, if their careers are much longer.

This album provides a great overview of his career. Everything that was great about Buddy Holly can be found here. I'm going to stop writing now and sit back and enjoy.

Brad's Take:


My dad pretty much summed it up. Buddy Holly's life ended way too soon, to say the least, but he accomplished so much in the short 4 years he was a professional musician. He opened for Elvis, had a #1 hit ("That'll Be The Day"), performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, and finally, toured with the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

I grew up listening to Buddy Holly, courtesy of my dad's CD collection, and I've always been a fan. I love his diversity in styles and that stutter thing he would do when he sang. I always thought he looked cool too. In fact, I'm just now realizing that his look is kind of the trendy look now.

Greatest hits collections are hard to really review because all the songs were recorded at different times and everything, but this is a great compilation of most of Buddy's...uhh...greatest hits.

I really like the sequencing and flow of this compilation. I like how it starts and ends with sad songs, but then in the middle of the delicious sandwich is his happy and upbeat tunes.

If you're not very familiar with Buddy Holly and his legacy, this is a perfect start for you.