‘Buddy Holly’ is a song by the American rock band Weezer. The song was written by Rivers Cuomo and released by DGC as the second single from the band's debut album, Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994). The lyrics reference the song's namesake, 1950s rock-and-roll singer Buddy Holly, and actress Mary Tyler Moore. Released on September 7, 1994—which would have been Holly's 58th birthday—the song reached number two on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. Outside the US, the song peaked at number six in Canada, number 12 in the United Kingdom, number 13 in Iceland, and number 14 in Sweden.
Rolling Stone ranked ‘Buddy Holly’ number 484 in its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" (2021). The digital version of the single for ‘Buddy Holly’ was certified gold by the RIAA in 2006. VH1 ranked it as one of the "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s" at number 59 in December 2007.
Songwriter Rivers Cuomo wrote ‘Buddy Holly’ after his friends made fun of his Asian girlfriend. He originally planned to exclude it from the album; he felt it was "cheesy" and perhaps did not represent the sound he was pursuing for Weezer. Producer Ric Ocasek persuaded him to include it. In the book River's Edge, Ocasek is quoted saying: "I remember at one point he was hesitant to do 'Buddy Holly' and I was like, 'Rivers, we can talk about it. Do it anyway, and if you don't like it when it's done, we won't use it. But I think you should try. You did write it and it is a great song.'" Bassist Matt Sharp recalled: "Ric said we'd be stupid to leave it off the album. We'd come into the studio in the morning and find little pieces of paper with doodles on them: WE WANT BUDDY HOLLY."
Steve Baltin from Cash Box commented, "You’ve gotta love a song that makes reference to Mary Tyler Moore. Slightly poppier in its guitar sound than their first single, this Ric Ocasek-produced song could help expand their already-growing fan base. Besides that, it mentions Mary, the woman who could turn the world on with her smile. Therefore, it has to be a hit." John Robb from Melody Maker wrote, "Weezer sound like The Proclaimers jamming with The Knack. This is pop-punk-by-numbers."
Spike Jonze directed the music video. Vintage Happy Days footage was intercut with shots of Weezer performing on the original Arnold's Drive-In set. Al Molinaro, who played the diner's owner on the series, made a cameo appearance in the video. One of the most popular clips of 1995, it scored four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards, among them Alternative/Modern Rock Clip of the Year. The music video earned considerable exposure when it was included as a bonus media file in Microsoft's initial successful release of the operating system Windows 95. Happy Days aired in the 1970s but was set in the 1950s, when Buddy Holly made his mark. So here we have a '90s video referencing a '70s TV series set in the '50s.
Label – DGC
Songwriter – Rivers Cuomo
Producer – Ric Ocasek
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]What's with these homies dissin' my girl?
Why do they gotta front?
What did we ever do to these guys
That made them so violent?
[Pre-Chorus]
Woo-hoo, but you know I'm yours
Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine
Woo-hoo, and that's for all of time
[Chorus]
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
[Verse 2]
Don't you ever fear, I'm always near
I know that you need help
Your tongue is twisted, your eyes are slit
You need a guardian
[Pre-Chorus]
Woo-hoo, and you know I'm yours
Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine
Woo-hoo, and that's for all of time
[Chorus]
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
[Bridge]
Bang, bang, knocking on the door
Another big bang, get down on the floor
Oh no, what do we do?
Don't look now, but I lost my shoe
I can't run and I can't kick
What's a matter, babe, are you feelin' sick?
What's a matter, what's a matter, what's a matter you?
What's a matter, babe, are you feelin' blue? Oh-oh
[Guitar Solo]
[Pre-Chorus]
And that's for all of time
And that's for all of time
[Chorus]
Ooh-wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that
I don't care 'bout that