Buddy Holly is a person.
Buddy Holly ( born Charles Hardin Holley ; September 7 , 1936 -- February 3 , 1959 ) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll . After a show in Clear Lake , Iowa , Holly chartered an airplane to travel to his next show , in Moorhead , Minnesota . `` Peggy Sue '' is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly , Jerry Allison , and Norman Petty , recorded and released as a single by Holly in early July of 1957 .