Rockers and Their Eyewear

Lady Gaga

Elvis Costello

Remember our piece about Buddy Holly. Here's a better one that appeared in recently on the Wall Street Journal's website: "Pop-culture experts often point to those black frames as rock's first great fashion statement, one that set the stage for countless others. Without Buddy Holly's glasses, they say, the world would likely never have seen John Lennon in his granny-style glasses nor Elton John in his oversize frames. For that matter, it might never have seen Madonna in her cone-shaped bra or Lady Gaga in her meat dress, says Gregory DelliCarpini Jr., fashion editor of Billboard.com, the online home of the music trade publication. 'Holly took this accessory and made it part of his identity…The concept of a fashion item defining an artist continues today.'" Read more.

Buddy Holly in CLs. Say It Ain't So. Well, Maybe

"Buddy Holly wearing contact lenses? That’ll be the day." That's the start of a post from the Buddy Holly Archives. "It might have happened except for poor technology, Dr. J. Davis Armistead and Phil Silvers, not necessarily in that order. 'Back in the early days of contact lenses, the technology had not been developed,' said Armistead, a longtime Lubbock optometrist who counted Holly among his patients. 'I had gone to a contact lens seminar in Los Angeles, and Buddy wanted me to try and fit him.' Holly, who would in just a short time become one of the most influential performers ever to appear on the rock ‘n’ roll scene, became a patient of Armistead’s while in junior high. As Holly’s musical talent blossomed, Armistead said Holly was not convinced eyewear should be a part of his on-stage personality." Read more.