A powerful lineage: How are John Wayne, Buddy Holly and The Beatles are connected?
John Wayne, Buddy Holly, and The Beatles: a powerful chain of influence, with each holding a firm grip on popular culture. John Wayne dominated the western genre to become a true icon of cinema. Buddy Holly helped lead the first wave of rock and roll, and his death was so impactful that it became known as ‘The Day the Music Died’. The Beatles need no introduction as one of the most influential bands in history. There’s always talk about artistic lineages and how inspiration gets passed along, but this one might be the most mighty and history-shaking of all.
It starts with John Wayne. Starring in over 60 movies, beginning in the late 1920s and working through until his death in the 1970s, there are more impactful Wayne flicks than I could list here. As an actor, he helped define not only the western genre but also an entire moment in cinematic history as the Golden Age revolved around him, as well as a cast of other true superstars.
But this lineage starts with him in 1956, with a film that came relatively late in his career but completely revitalised his influence. The Searchers is now considered one of the most significant films ever made. It transcended the western genre to feel like a true epic, earning a place in the Library of Congress and being preserved by the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical importance. They made sure the film would endure, but it was Buddy Holly who truly ensured its legacy.
Throughout the film, Wayne keeps repeating one line: “That’ll be the day”. At one point, his counterpart says to his injured protagonist, “I hope you die”, to which Wayne responds, “That’ll be the day”. Are you hearing the song in your head yet?
The Searchers came out in May. In July, Holly’s voice was on records everywhere singing, “That’ll be the day, when I die”. Just like Wayne’s character, the phrase is repeated over and over throughout the song, making it catchy and a huge hit and, crucially, making it cross the pond.
It would take two years, mind, but in 1958, the phrase would be on another record; a demo mix by a band called The Quarrymen, the first they ever recorded. On the A-side, there was their own composition: ‘In Spite of All the Danger’. But on the B-side, they decided to cover a track that deeply inspired them, which had been inspired by someone else. This early iteration of The Beatles covered the Buddy Holly track inspired by John Wayne, thus marking the chain complete.
It’s a powerful one. At each point, the phrase reaped major success. It’s considered one of Wayne’s finest cinematic moments, amongst one of his finest performances, which birthed a single that introduced Buddy Holly’s band, The Crickets, to the world, launching them to an instant number one and making him the rock and roll idol he’s remembered as. Then, as the early Beatles cut the track on their demo tape, it was the start of their story, one of the most powerful stories in popular cultural history. And it all came down to one line: “That’ll be the day”.
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