When Bill Griggs used to go to music stores and ask for Buddy Holly records, the people behind the counter thought he meant Billie Holiday.

Today whole sections of music stores are devoted to his music, said Griggs, a rock ’n’ roll historian who has appeared on TV specials such as VH1’s “The Day the Music Died.”

“We lost a lot more than a singer” in the fatal Feb. 3, 1959, plane crash near Clear Lake, Griggs said.

Holly and The Crickets began having an international impact when they toured England and Australia in 1958, according to Griggs.

Holly’s early death also drew attention, he said.

Holly and The Crickets influenced musicians such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Elton John.

But by the early 1970s the general public seemed to have forgotten Holly, according to Griggs.

Then things slowly began to change.

The 1971 Don McClean song “American Pie” referred to Holly’s death as “the day the music died.”

Then there was the line in the 1973 movie “American Graffiti” — “Rock ’n’ roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.”

The movie “The Buddy Holly Story” was released in 1978.

A rock ’n’ roll concert will take place Feb. 3 at the Albert Lea Senior Center as a tribute to Buddy Holly and Albert Lea’s Eddie Cochran. Headlining it are Alan Clark, who will play Eddie Cochran songs, Richie Lee, who will play Buddy Holly tunes, and Ira Pugh, who will sing a tribute to the women of rock ’n’ roll. Also performing are Graham Pugh, Pat Woertink and Dave Cimino.

It starts at 4 p.m. and goes late. There is no admission fee, but the concert serves as a fundraiser for the Senior Center. Organizers say a donation would be welcomed upon entry.

The Albert Lea Senior Center is accessible from the Front Street side of Skyline Plaza.

The annual Buddy Holly tribute celebrations began at the Surf Ballroom the next year.

Griggs did his part to launch the revival by starting the Buddy Holly Memorial Society in 1975.

“I founded it out of disgust,” he said, adding he had trouble finding other people interested in Holly.

But once the society started, “they came out of the woodwork,” Griggs said.

By the time the society was terminated in 1991, it had more than 5,500 members located in all 50 states and in 34 foreign countries.

“What I admire most about Buddy Holly as a person is he wasn’t afraid to try something new,” Griggs said.

“He knew ’50s rock ’n’ roll wasn’t going to last forever.”

The Surf Ballroom and the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Winter Dance Party with a weeklong celebration that kicks off Wednesday. It honors the lives and musical influence of Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Ritchie Valens. It concludes Feb. 2 with a soldout tribute concert — 50 years to the day of the final show for the three legendary rockers.

The Surf Ballroom has a site explaining the 50 Winters Later week:

http://www.50winterslater.com/

The Globe-Gazette has a site dedicated to the celebration, too:

http://www.globegazette.com/newsys/holly/

Holly’s mother told Griggs her son wanted to record a Count Basie-type album with horns. He also wanted to record with gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.

“He was just finding himself when he died,” said Bobby Vee, who will be among the performers at the 50 Winters Later tribute to Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper that begins Wednesday in Clear Lake. “There was a lot more to come.”

Vee, who joined the 1959 Winter Dance Party after Holly’s death, said he began using stringed instruments on his recordings because Holly did so on the song “True Love Ways.”

Griggs said if Holly had lived he probably would not have continued to perform for much longer because he had stomach problems that bothered him when he was on stage.

Instead, Griggs thinks he would have concentrated on working in the studio.

Holly wanted to come back to his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, and open a recording studio there, Griggs said.

After Holly met Valens, who later died with him in the plane crash, he told his mother he wanted to bring him back to Texas to record with him, according to Griggs, a Connecticut native who now lives in Lubbock.

“Maybe The Beatles would have come here to record with Buddy,” Griggs said.