As I quickly learned, Buddy Holly was only really in the public eye for about eighteen months. There is enough information on Buddy just on the Internet to keep one reading for a lifetime. But what about John Mueller? After all, it was John who really introduced me to Buddy and sent me on this road in pursuit of him and his influence. So . . . who is John Mueller?
John was born in Wichita, Kansas, a dry and windy city similar to Lubbock, Texas but, as John is fond of saying, “Without the twang.” He came along later in his parents’ lives so his siblings were nine to eleven years older than him. There was a benefit to the age difference. “I got to listen to their record collections—Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles,” explained John. “And of course, Buddy Holly. It was a great musical education and one that stuck with me forever.”
“While my friends in high school were listening to Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, and Van Halen, I was still groovin’ on the great original beat of Rock & Roll. My entire family played musical instruments,” he recalled. “I banged on a cigar box strung with rubber bands as a toddler. Eventually I graduated to a real guitar and was largely self-taught. The first song I remember being able to play from beginning to end was ‘Peggy Sue.’”
John loved Buddy’s music, but he also liked the fact that Buddy wore glasses and was not the perfect face, like Elvis. He was the kind of Rock & Roll star that a kid from Kansas could try and emulate. Buddy wrote and produced his own songs and John loved Buddy’s independence.
Life in Kansas was good for John. He grew up playing baseball, hot rodding in his Chevy Malibu, and working at drive-in theaters where he was bitten by the acting and entertainment bug.
“I worked concessions and would watch the same movie every night memorizing each actor’s lines,” John recalled.
And so John, like thousands of kids before and after him, headed out to the left coast with his sights set on the silver screen.
“I was in Hollywood,” John began. “I answered an audition call for a show called ‘Be Bop A Lula,’ which was kind of an avant-garde play about Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran holed up in an English hotel room. Buddy came to them in a nightmare sequence. I had to sing, act, and play like Buddy yet with a devilish twist. Somewhat bizarrely, the play was produced by Adam Ant and John Densmoore of The Doors. I got cast on the spot—a rarity for me!”
John continued: “A few years later the American Heartland Theatre, owned by Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri, produced the first regional production of ‘Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,’ and I got cast in it as Buddy. This was a life changing experience as the show was so well received that it led to other productions for me in Chicago, San Diego, Toronto, and Miami. It was amazing for me to experience what Buddy must have felt with the audience reactions. It was also the first time I was able to combine my acting training and singing/guitar skills together. It gave me immense confidence in front of an audience and was invaluable.”
As John spoke, I wondered at what point he realized that he and Buddy would become inseparable.
“Then, in 1999, before the 40th anniversary of the Winter Dance Party tour, Dennis Farland called. He had seen me in the Kansas City production of ‘Buddy’ and wanted to know if I was interested in doing some sort of a 40th anniversary trailing of the original tour,” explained John. “He wanted me to drive to all the existing venues and show slides of historic photos, talk to audiences, and perform with karaoke tracks of the old songs.”
John had a larger, more expansive, vision of the possibilities. “I took it a big step farther and replied, ‘Let’s do something never before attempted: Let’s do what they did! An actual concert on the same dates at the same venues with a real band and performers!’”
Dennis thought about it and may have even thought John was a little nuts. Over the course of several conversations, however, it all came together. “I found a sound guy out of Wichita who was game—Jeff ‘The Iron Man’ Priddle,” explained John. “He unloaded tons of sound equipment and our backline (amps, drums, etc.) every night after driving eight or nine hours! Did I mention he did this by himself? We drove ourselves in a fifteen-passenger van and realized firsthand how tired the originals must have been and why Buddy would have wanted to charter a plane.”
As John explained it to me, including Clear Lake, Iowa—which was not intended to be the last stop—the 1959 Winter Dance Party was eleven shows in a row with no days off, and included horrendous winter travel weather and very poor routing by the GAC organizers. “They were in New York City and apparently did not have access to a map,” was how John put it.
“Like Buddy, we ended at the Surf Ballroom on February 2, 1999, forty years later to the day,” he said. “I was so exhausted I’d lost my voice. Everyone in our little entourage was pulling double duty: hotels, marketing, driving, and hard, hard work. We had no idea who would even show up. But it was immensely successful and ever since then the fans have been asking us to come back each year.”
One of the aspects of John’s career I found interesting was his relationship with Buddy’s family and friends and of course, Buddy’s wife Maria Elena Holly. The world became acutely aware of Maria Elena through Don McLean’s song “American Pie,” where he forever immortalized her as the “widowed bride.” Maria Elena has a reputation as a resolute protector of the Buddy Holly legacy. She has been known to shut down impersonators if she didn’t feel they were a good representation of the Buddy Holly brand. Maria Elena says John is different than all the rest and is the only person she endorses. Coming from the wife of Buddy Holly, that’s a huge stamp of approval.
I asked John about his relationship with Maria Elena: “When did it all begin?”
“My relationship with Maria Elena started in 1999 when she found out through the grapevine about our planned tour,” John began. “She was not pleased initially and had no idea who I was. I think I sent her my publicity shot—the one still used today which has been used mistakenly as a real photo of Buddy on countless European CD collections of Buddy’s music. I also sent her reviews from the Kansas City, San Diego, and Chicago productions of “The Buddy Holly Story.” I think I also sent a CD of me singing his songs. Former Cricket member Niki Sullivan, who through the years has become a good friend and supporter, may have even placed a call to her, or she found out he approved of my portrayal. I really don’t remember now.”
John paused to think a moment before continuing. “At any rate, Maria Elena came around, but the best thing occurred when I asked her to actually join us on tour one year. I didn’t really think she would. To my surprise, she did! Maria Elena saw the show, danced on stage with us, and told me I had two left feet just like Buddy! We’ve had our disagreements over the years but nothing that has got in the way of our mutual respect and friendship. I’ve been grateful for her endorsement and support as she can be very protective of Buddy’s image and who may be trying to benefit from it. I have great respect for her efforts. I’ve always tried to present Buddy’s music in an authentic and sincere fashion without hyperbole. Perhaps that has kept me in good stead with her.”
While talking with John it occurred to me that he has portrayed Buddy much longer than Buddy was in the public eye, and has performed the songs hundreds of times more than Buddy. “That’s the biggest thing of all, isn’t it?” John replied when I mentioned these observations to him. “I’ve reaped bigger rewards and have performed in front of more people than Buddy ever did, unfortunately. It’s a somewhat guilty feeling, like something that I don’t deserve.” John thought for a moment before adding, “He deserved to know how much of an impact he made.”
“And is still making. I’m evidence of that,” I interjected.
“Exactly! Buddy deserves to know that people from all over the world still clamor for his music fifty years after he left us. He deserves to know that he would have had countless honorariums dedicated to him. Some entity would have done for him what they did for Roy Orbison later in his life, resurrecting his career with the Traveling Wilburys. Buddy would have had a night at the Lincoln Center with the President of the United States giving him a lifetime achievement award. Staggering to think of the endless awards and recognition he would have enjoyed.” John paused. “Sadly, it was not meant to be. My only good feeling about this is that perhaps somehow my show is helping to honor and represent Buddy to keep him and his music alive.”
John could never have predicted that his suggestion to Dennis twelve years ago would trigger a new career that is so successful he is in bigger demand today than ever before. “John Mueller’s Winter Dance Party” tours and performs all over the nation and around the world with Ray Anthony as Ritchie Valens and Jay Richardson as J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson. It is a testament to the music and the talent of Buddy, Ritchie, and The Big Bopper—but also to John and his tour. It’s hard for me to understand how the originals could have been much better. Buddy’s own friends and family marvel at how much John looks, performs, and sounds like Buddy.
Is John’s work as Buddy Holly nothing more than an imitation of the original, or does it serve some higher purpose? In my case he introduced me to Buddy and he is keeping the flame alive and introducing the music to a whole new audience.
I needed to know more.
I need to see John perform again.