(music and lyrics by George Oblin and Dan Paul Rogers)
Lookin’ back to New Year’s ‘59
The free world’s rockin’ and were feelin’ fine
That rockabilly western ‘n bop
Yeah it’s rhythm & blues with the heart of a country song
Hey Buddy can you spare a song
Hey Buddy it’s been way too long
Hey Buddy can you spare a song for me
The third of February ‘59
We were dealt a fate so unkind
Big Bopper, Ritchie & Buddy too
It was their time
But their music will always shine
Hey Buddy can you spare a song
Hey Buddy it’s been way too long
Hey Buddy can you spare a song for me
Like in the year of ‘59
We’ll keep on rockin’ & feelin’ fine
That rockabilly western & bop
Yeah it’s rhythm & blues with the heart of a country song
Hey Buddy can you spare a song
Hey Buddy it’s been way too long
Hey Buddy can you spare a song for me
I wrote "Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Song" in the mid-90's, no more than a year before I recorded it. The idea came to me from trying to find inspiration for an uptempo song.
Buddy Holly's infectious songs like That'll Be the Day, Oh Boy, Peggy Sue, Maybe Baby and so many others seemed like ideal models for what I wanted to do. I had not initially set out to write a Buddy Holly tribute song but that is what it turned out to be.
"Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Song" is both a plea for inspiration and a play on words of the popular Depression Era expression, "Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Dime."
I am attaching a number of photos and other visuals, most of which I used for my video of the song on YouTube.
Here are brief explanations of these:
A photo of me on the left, Pat Kaiter (Buddy's sister) in the middle, her husband between us and her daughter Ingrid to the far right. Between Pat and her husband is a member of the cast of The Buddy Holly Story musical. I believe the remaining gentleman is Pat's son but I am not certain.
On top is a photo of Maria Elena Holly and John Wayne's widow, Pilar, that I took in Lubbock. At the bottom you can see Maria Elena seated at a table during the unveiling of a portrait of Buddy (inset) by Paul Milosevich.
This one shows my wife Caroline and I in front of the Cactus Theater in Lubbock in September 1996 where The Buddy Holly Story was presented. At bottom are the main performers.
Shows me standing by as Maria Elena Holly signs the Paul Milosevich portrait. (The artist also signed it - a prized possession to be sure.)
A picture of me taken by my wife Caroline at Buddy's gravesite.
Peggy Sue Gerron and Doug Stone dance while I sing "You Might've Fooled my Heart" (check this song out on YouTube) at Holiday Inn in Lubbock."
Me and Lisa Saunders Boffa who maintained a Buddy Holly website at the time.
An article from the Lubbock Magazine written by Lisa Saunders Boffa. It mentions my participation in the performance that featured the Fireballs.
Me performing my set at the Holiday Inn in Lubbock and signing an autograph.
Am 7. September 1996, also an Buddy Holly's 60. Geburtstag, stellte George Oblin
seinen Tribute-Song in Lubbock Texas der Öffentlichkeit vor. Dabei waren einige
Familienmitglieder wie Buddy Holly's inzwischen verstorbene Schwester Patricia
Lou Holley Kaiter mit ihrem zweiten Ehemann und deren gemeinsame Tochter
Ingrid, Buddy's Witwe Maria Elena und auf der Bühne George Tomsco von den
Fireballs, die Jahre nach Buddy's Tod von Norman Petty für einige Overdubs
von Buddy-Songs, aufgenommen im New Yorker Apartment, engagiert wurden.
GEORGE OBLIN with PAUL MILOSEVICH
From left: GEORGE OBLIN, MARIA ELENA HOLLEY, CAROLINE OBLIN
From the Lubbock Avalanche Journal - Sept. 6, 1996
I just remembered further details about my performance in Lubbock on September 7, 1996. The show took place on an outdoor stage outside Sam's Warehouse.
While I was doing my set, George Tomsco (lead guitarist for the Fireballs) was nearby on stage with a young boy- 2 or 3 years of age- who was pretending to play guitar.
Tomsco played lead guitar on a number of Buddy Holly recordings that were produced after Holly's death (the Apartment tapes) including Peggy Sue Got Married and Crying, Waiting, Hoping.
The interesting thing was that when I had gone into the studio to record "Hey Buddy Can You Spare a Song" I had brought in my Buddy Holly CD recording (50 Greatest Hits) and asked the lead guitar player, Michael Keates, to try and capture that guitar sound.
And now Tomsco was on stage beside me while I performed it with the studio music track. It was surreal. I wondered if Tomsco noticed any similarities in style.
When I was coming off the stage I was congratulated by John Pickering of The Picks. I also spoke to Lisa Saunders Boffa who was accompanied by Peggy Sue Gerron's daughter.
Great memories.
All the best and continued success with your web site, Hans.
A photo of me on the left, Pat Kaiter (Buddy's sister) in the middle, her husband between us and her daughter Ingrid to the far right. Between Pat and her husband is a member of the cast of The Buddy Holly Story musical. I believe the remaining gentleman is Pat's son but I am not certain. 
On top is a photo of Maria Elena Holly and John Wayne's widow, Pilar, that I took in Lubbock. At the bottom you can see Maria Elena seated at a table during the unveiling of a portrait of Buddy (inset) by Paul Milosevich. 
This one shows my wife Caroline and I in front of the Cactus Theater in Lubbock in September 1996 where The Buddy Holly Story was presented. At bottom are the main performers. 
Shows me standing by as Maria Elena Holly signs the Paul Milosevich portrait. (The artist also signed it - a prized possession to be sure.) 
A picture of me taken by my wife Caroline at Buddy's gravesite. 
Peggy Sue Gerron and Doug Stone dance while I sing "You Might've Fooled my Heart" (check this song out on YouTube) at Holiday Inn in Lubbock." 
Me and Lisa Saunders Boffa who maintained a Buddy Holly website at the time. 
Me performing my set at the Holiday Inn in Lubbock and signing an autograph.
GEORGE OBLIN with PAUL MILOSEVICH
From left: GEORGE OBLIN, MARIA ELENA HOLLEY, CAROLINE OBLIN
From the Lubbock Avalanche Journal - Sept. 6, 1996
