Buddy is a free monthly music magazine serving the North Texas and Northeast Texas regions. It was first published in Austin, Texas, in October 1972 as a free bi-monthly. Stoney Burns and Rob Edleson were the founders. The magazine's name is a tribute to Buddy Holly, who Burns said "changed my life." Buddy is described as a rock music magazine, but, from its beginning, has included news and feature articles about performing artists and events of other genres, namely Texas progressive country, blues, jazz, folk, punk, and garage band music.
History
Stoney Burns, before co-founding Buddy, published and edited Dallas Notes from 1967 to 1970, an undergroundbi-weekly newspaper. Christopher Gray of the Austin Chronicle, in 2000, likened Buddy as "the North Texas equivalent of Crawdaddy. Gray later wrote that writers for Buddy magazine who covered the blues scene in the Dallas-Fort Worth area helped resurrect the career of Zuzu Bollin and introduced mainstream music fans notable regional blues artists, including jazz guitarist Roger Boykin and blues singer R.L. Griffin and the late pianist Boston Smith, brother of Buster Smith. At its peak, Buddy published editions in Dallas, Houston, and Austin/San Antonio and had a staff of almost two dozen. Early notable issues included "The Bob Dylan Story," "Plus Kinky Friedman All Star Issue", January 1974. Buddy chronicled many performing artists before the emergence of their first albums, including, in 1975, Ray Wylie Hubbard, who was already popular as a Texas progressive country artist. That same year, KAFMradio hostChuck Dunaway reported that Buddy, with a circulation of 40,000, was helping spread the positive aspects of progressive country. In 1977, 1978, Buddy was affiliated with KZEW-FM. By 1979, KTXQ took over Buddy, which had a circulation of 100,000. In 1982, Buddy was the official magazine of the Texxas Jam, a rock festival held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Beginning around 1982, Buddy was issued in tabloid size and format.
Selected personnel
Writers
Chuck Flores has been a photojournalist and music journalist since 1975. He is also a musician. Flores has been assistant editor with Buddy since 1989.
Tom Geddie
Shawn D. Henderson
Rick Koster wrote his first article, professionally, for Buddy in 1978. It was about Sammy Hagar. In 1998, St. Martin's Press published his book, Texas Music. As of 1997, Koster has been writing for The Day in New London, Connecticut.
Mary Jane Farmer, reporter for Buddy from February 2013 to present
Lisa Rollins contributed to a feature, "Spotlight on Performers"
Kathleen Hudson, PhD won an award in 1989 from the Texas Press Women's Communication for her story, "You're Gonna Make It After All: Sonny Curtis". An academic in higher education and freelance writer, Hudson was the founding executive director in 1987 of the Texas Heritage Music Foundation in Kerrville, and served in that position until 2001
Joe Nick Patoski , who, on November 16, 1980, in Austin, married Kris Cummings, keyboardist with Joe Carrasco. Kris was a 1981 inductee of Buddy Magazine's Texas Tornado List.
Selected writers who started with ''Buddy'' in 1973
: 64 minute documentary – interviews, photos, and commentary from the people who were there and lived through the hay-day of the Dallas rock n roll music scene – during the 1970s and 1980s. Produced by Kirby Warnock, former Buddy magazine editor. Warnock narrates.
Texas Tornado List
The Texas Tornado List, billed as "The greatest players in Texas. Perhaps in the world," is an annual hall of fame roster, since 1978, listing the top musicians in Texas. The name, Texas Tornados, is also the name of a band founded by 1986 Texas Tornado inductee, Doug Sahm.
Buddy's Texas Music Awards is an annual readers poll survey that debuted 1973. The awards were presented at a black-tie event. The new act categories are chosen by music journalists.
