Curious - I just saw this for the first time and while I was impressed that Busey played & sang all the songs I was wondering maybe why they didn't have him lip-synch to Buddy's vocals? Also wondered if Holly's family was cool w/the film overall (or maybe they or the record company) held the rights for having his real music played?
"I'll have a steak sandwich...and a steak sandwich"
I wondered the same about La Bamba. Lou Diamond lip synced but not to Ritchie's voice, to the Los lobos versions of his songs. It was odd. I just realized recently I'd never heard his REAL songs until I heard them on youtube
shareA possible answer--to pay for the original Holly recordings would not only be money out of the budget, but also the producers wouldn't own the music soundtrack rights (if they wanted to release an album of the soundtrack).
"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.
Makes sense - thanks
"I'll have a steak sandwich...and a steak sandwich"
I think it's impressive they all played their own instruments and sang - even more so that almost all of the performances were done in one or two takes
shareIt wouldn't sound very fresh if he got on stage, opened his mouth, and you'd hear the old familiar recording.
shareIt has good points and bad points.
It could be bad if the gullible public think Busey sounds exactly like Buddy and dismiss him if they don't like Busey's takes on the songs.
You can say this about any biopic though. It makes it harder the longer ago it was as there is very little footage of Buddy performing live, I only know of TV performances. Even if the person is more modern, people aren't always 'real' around a camera.
I may have to do with the quality of the recordings as well. All Buddy Holly's songs were recorded in mono, and I'm sure this film's audio was recorded in stereo. So, it might sound strange if the audio sources switch between mono and stereo. Also, maybe to give the songs a more "live" as opposed to "studio" sound, they would need to re-record the music.
shareBusey's voice was close enough to Holly's, which (let's face it) wasn't really all that great. Buddy Holly wasn't known for his voice any more than Lennon or McCartney were known for theirs. Holly was a singer, songwriter, performer, but his genius was his songwriting. His music changed the course of rock and inspired many great performers for decades after.
If someone was doing a movie on Nat Cole or Karen Carpenter, it would be far more difficult to find singers who could do their voices justice, and they would probably need to lip sync those.
Let’s not forget about Buddy’s phrasing, my friend. His “UH-hoe” is a signature. You are right that his strength is his composing. Most remember him for his rock ‘n roll, but he composed lovely melodies of the type general business bands call “standards”: True Love Ways, It Don’t Matter, Anymore, and his ode to his wife, Maria Elena. I’ve always said that, if Elvis was the King (which I feel he was), then Buddy was the Crown Prince of Rock ‘n Roll (and Chuck Berry was The messiah). I think it’s telling that Paul McCartney bought the rights to all of Buddy’s library.
share
True Love Ways is my favorite Holly track. I wished Nat Cole covered that track..