The Buddy system
''Very simple, very human, very upbeat" is ad man Steve Connelly's description of the Buddy Holly song ''Everyday," used in the Fallon Community Health Plan ad campaign in heavy rotation these days. Produced by Connelly Partners, the ads -- print, radio, and TV -- drum home the message that FCHP will be there for you 24/7. So what if Holly's song, recorded nearly 50 years ago, concerned unrequited teenage love, not health-care coverage? It's a treat to hear and, for aging baby boomers, an aural trip back to earlier, less angst-ridden times.
''I'm more of a Van Halen fan," admits Connelly, 45. ''But the simplicity of Holly's music is kind of cool. Does it matter it's a love song? No. Besides, most Americans don't overly analyze song lyrics anyway."
Let's not lose sight of Holly in all the fine print about copayments, though. A charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he stands alongside Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, and Little Richard as one of rock's founding fathers. His death in 1959, at age 22, was also the first cataclysmic Rock Death. A pocket primer on the legend from Lubbock, Texas:
JOSEPH P. KAHN
Background: Born Charles Hardin Holley on Sept. 7, 1936
Backup band: The Crickets
Signature songs: ''Peggy Sue," ''That'll Be the Day," ''Oh Boy," ''Not Fade Away," ''Maybe Baby"
Appearances on ''The Ed Sullivan Show": 2
Artists citing Holly's influence (partial list): Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello
Tidbit #1: The Beatles and Hollies (Graham Nash et al.) both named themselves in homage to Holly.
Artists covering Holly songs (very partial list): James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Los Lobos, John Mellencamp
Tribute songs: At least a dozen, headed by ''American Pie," Don McLean's 1971 ode to ''the day the music died."
Tidbit #2: Among rockers who saw Holly in concert were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Dylan. McCartney, who bought Holly's publishing catalog in 1975, once said, ''At least the first 40 songs we wrote were Buddy Holly-influenced."
Holly resurrections: Several, beginning with the rash of late-'60s and early '70s rock deaths (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin) and peaking with ''The Buddy Holly Story," a 1978 biopic earning Gary Busey an Oscar nomination. After the film was criticized for gilding the Holly, so to speak, McCartney produced a 1986 BBC documentary titled ''The Real Buddy Holly Story."
Post mortem: The Iowa cornfield where Holly's plane crashed on Feb. 3, 1959 -- also killing singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, a.k.a. The Big Bopper -- is still visited by hundreds of mourners annually. Lubbock erected a bronze statue of Holly in 1980. A 1990 auction of B.H. memorabilia netted more than $700,000.
Not fade away: It may not help with your choice of HMOs, but according to the title of Bradley Denton's sci-fi novel, ''Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede." We wish.
Gray helps evacuees
It wasn't for a concert. R&B singer Macy Gray went to Houston specifically to help refugees from the flooding in New Orleans.
''I just really wanted to help out," Gray said after spending Saturday handing out clothes and toiletries in the Astrodome. ''They are here, and they have gotten out of that disaster, but it is like, now what?"
The Grammy winner said she was able to lift
the refugees' spirits and many were excited to see her.
''It is very humbling, but I loved every second of it," Gray said.
Tilly knows when to hold 'em, fold 'em
Jennifer Tilly has won her second major poker tournament, and confidence in her playing ability.
''I felt like I was suffering from the 'impostor syndrome,' " said Tilly. ''But now I know I can really play."
Tilly's victory at the World Poker Tour Ladies Night III at the Bicycle Casino on Thursday makes her the first woman to win that title and the World Series Ladies World Poker Championship held in June.
The win guaranteed her a spot in the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship in April at Bellagio.
Fans cheer John at Colosseum
Thousands of fans clapped and danced as Elton John performed ''Daniel" and some of his other hits at a free concert outside the ancient Roman Colosseum.
''I love places that have an incredible history," John said in recorded comments released before the concert. ''I love the Italian way of life, I love the food, I love the people, I love the attitudes of Italians."
FROM WIRE REPORTS 
