Variation 3

Rock Around the Clock is a blues-based song, written in 1952.  It was written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers, and performed and made famous by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954 and became the No. 1 single in the US and the UK.  The song can be heard at the theme music for the television program Happy Days, and the original Bill Haley recording is on the 1973 American Graffitti soundtrack.

For Elvis Presley, look up the post "Thankyaverymuuhhch."

Peter Pan is the title character from a series of novels and short stories written by the Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, the most well-known one, Peter and Wendy, published in 1911.  It was made into a musical in 1954.  The 1954 musical featured Mary Martin as Peter, and she reprised the role in the 1960 film version of the musical.  The music was written by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music from Jule Styne, and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh (with additional lyrics from Betty Comden and Adolph Green).

Buddy Holly was an American rock artist from Lubbock, TX.  Born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936, his career was cut short after a fatal airplane crash in 1959, but not before making an indelible mark in rock and roll and pop music history.  He is credited with innovating the rock sound and inspiring and influencing countless other musicians after him, including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.  He released only three albums, but they have been enough to show his talents as a singer-songwriter, and many of his hits are still covered by other artists and given radio play today.  Buddy Holly and the Crickets are known for great rock hits: Peggy Sue, That'll Be the Day, Everyday, and Oh Boy (and many others.) 

Holly, "The Big Bopper" Richardson, Richie Valens, and the pilot of the small charter plane died en route from Clear Lake, IA (his last performance at the Surf Ballroom) to Moorehead, MN in the early morning hours of February 3, 1959.  We can only imagine what he could have offered the world had this tragic event been avoided, while not forgetting the lost talents of the other two musicians on board. 

On this somber note, Variation 3 comes to a quiet and pensive end.