| ©2021 Copyright FAOSA Eyewear| http://faosaeyewear.com - info@faosaeyewear.com |
| The story goes - our young near-sighted rocker needed glasses to see, but he didn't like the nerdy image they presented. He tried going without but that didn't work, he actually fell off stage once. Contact lenses in the 50s were big crunchy affairs that could only be worn for 2 hours. So he was stuck wearing brow-line B&L frames much like his grandfather's or the banker down the street. Neither Buddy nor his optometrist, J. Davis Armistead, O.D. were happy with the frame styles of the time. In 1957, though, his attitude changed and history was made. The self-esteem of myopic kids around the world gained an immediate boost. Dr. Armistead returned from a trip to Mexico with 2 pairs of the very frame that became a distinct part of Buddy. According to Dr. Armistead "Those heavy black frames achieved exactly what we wanted... They added to his personality and his act." In "Rave On, the Biography of Buddy Holly," Don and Phil Everly claim credit for planting the seeds of his biggest image change: "Don and I both told him, `Hey, look, you've proved that a guy who wears glasses can make it in rock 'n' roll. So why be ashamed of the frames? Why not make them a real upfront statement, like, 'OK, I wear glasses, and here they are?" However the story goes, his original glasses can be seen on display at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock Texas. |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Roy Kelton Orbison was born on April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas. A year before Beatlemania overtook the United States in 1964, the four lads from Liverpool invited Orbison to open for them on their English tour. On his first night, Orbison performed 14 encores before the Beatles even made it on stage. In the words of Elvis Presley, Orbison was simply "the greatest singer in the world." |
| Many stories have circulated about the glasses - But according to Barbara Orbison in her biography "During his 1963 tour with the Beatles, Orbison left his glasses on the plane before a show, which forced him to wear his unsightly prescription sunglasses for that night's show. Although he considered the incident 'embarrassing,' the look became an instant trademark. We know his original sunglasses were Mexican, but later he had them custom made in Canada (to resemble his originals when FAOSA closed in the 70s), he had many pairs which he would give as gifts.. A little known fact - In the early 50s he went to New Mexico to record 4 songs for a Buddy Holly record. |
 |
| Esquivel is considered one of the foremost exponents of a style of late 1950s-early 1960s quirky instrumental pop that became known (in retrospect) as "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music". He was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, and his family moved to Mexico City in 1928 where he became a self-taught musician from an early age. His concerts also featured elaborate light shows years before effects like that became popular in live music. He performed in Las Vegas on several occasions, often as the opening act for Frank Sinatra. He frequently performed at the STARDUST casino lounge during the 1964 time period. Throughout his long career he always made his thick FAOSA glasses part of his 'Space Age Jazz' persona. |
 |
 |
 |
 |