Which alternative rock band sang the song 'Buddy Holly'?

Weezer sang “Buddy Holly,” the alternative rock song named for the influential 1950s rock-and-roll singer.

Written by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, the song was released as the second single from the band's 1994 debut album, commonly called the Blue Album. DGC Records issued it on September 7, 1994, a date that would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. Producer Ric Ocasek encouraged the band to keep the song after Cuomo initially worried that its style felt too cheesy.

The lyrics reference both Buddy Holly and actress Mary Tyler Moore, but the song is not a cover of a Holly composition. That distinction explains a frequent misconception: Weezer created an original tribute-style song rather than performing one of Holly's recordings.

The Spike Jonze-directed music video became especially famous after appearing as a bonus media file with Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system. “Buddy Holly” reached number two on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and helped establish Weezer as a major alternative act of the decade.