When Buddy Holly emerged on the music scene in the 1950s, he didn't have the California cool of The Beach Boys. He didn't spark an "invasion" like The Beatles. He didn't walk with the devilish blues swagger of The Rolling Stones.

But that's only because Buddy Holly, a Lubbock, Texas, kid in black horn-tipped glasses, preceded all of that - and helped create the template that would become rock 'n' roll.

Even though Holly's life ended more than 50 years ago, his music not only lives on, it's coming to the stage when Robidoux Resident Theatre presents "Rave On! The Buddy Holly Tribute" at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Missouri Theater.

Buddy Holly's legacy and influence is exponentially longer than his actual career. Between 1957 and his death from a tragic plane crash in 1959, Holly with his band, The Crickets, created some of the era's most recognizable hits like "That'll Be The Day," "Peggy Sue," "Rave On" and "Oh Boy!"

But while he and Elvis Presley were two of the artists mainly responsible for creating rock 'n' roll, Holly was the genre's first singer/songwriter, and he also introduced groundbreaking concepts by adding a second guitar to his band while recording overdubs and adding classical string arrangements as a producer. Billy McGuigan, who portrays Holly in "Rave On!," says that this personal imprint in every aspect of his songs helped to deliver emotional immediacy.

"He could put some feeling in it that other songs didn't have at the time," he says. "Buddy was like a sponge. He could absorb so many kinds of music and completely regurgitate it as his own."

And his impact could be felt almost immediately in bands that followed him. The Rolling Stones and The Beatles both covered Holly's tunes, and the Fab Four took it one step further.

"They named themselves The Beatles because they wanted to be like The Crickets," says Chris Acker, trombonist and musical director for "Rave On!"

Ironically, "Rave On!" got its start from two guys that Buddy Holly didn't immediately influence. Acker was a jazz trombonist who primarily played in the pit orchestra for musicals like "Oklahoma" and "The Music Man" at the Omaha Community Playhouse in Omaha, Neb. McGuigan is a theater grad from Northwest Missouri State University and an admitted "fledgling actor and musician" whose previous familiarity with Holly's music was The Beatles covering Holly's "Words of Love" and a song from the 1987 Richie Valens bio-pic "La Bamba."

But that all changed when Acker and McGuigan were picked to be a part of a stage production of "The Buddy Holly Story" in 2002. The show became so popular that by the end of its theatrical run, they had to turn away 1,500 people from a sold-out performance. It led to McGuigan being asked to perform at private parties and corporate functions as Holly, but it also lead to an idea.

"It was like, man, people really love that show," Acker says. "Let's go on and do this music. This is great music."

So, with McGuigan working on the theatrics and Acker working on the music, "Rave On! The Buddy Holly Tribute" came to fruition. But unlike "The Buddy Holly Story," it wasn't going to focus on his life and death. Instead it's about his music.

"We call it the concert that never was," Acker says.

In creating the show, McGuigan says he wanted to make sure that this tribute wasn't anything trite.

"When I think 'tribute show,' the first thing I think is Las Vegas cheese, and it really isn't that," McGuigan says. "If you heard Buddy Holly today, with modern sound and modern day, what would you want to see?"

The answer is a mix of classic nostalgia and thoughtful reinvention. "Rave On!" adds drums and keyboards to add "spark" to some songs while doing spot-on replications of Holly classics. The stage backdrop and lights offer mild contemporary touches without going overboard with effects. And between songs, McGuigan as Holly gives "Behind the Music"-style insight into the rock forefather's indelible works with dialogue reflecting his personality.

"It's more of this 'aw shucks' Texan that happens to be a musical genius," McGuigan says.

And McGuigan's performance is indicative of his dedication to the role. In addition to taking lessons on country-style guitar and studying up on Buddy Holly documentaries and performance videos, he lost 40 pounds and has sworn off fast food and caffeine to mirror Holly's skinny frame. But the physical transformation isn't the most important part of McGuigan's portrayal.

"I didn't want to do a complete impersonation," he says. "It always became kind of capturing the essence of Buddy and more of the spirit."

The minds behind "Rave On!" will be the first to acknowledge that Holly doesn't get the respect he deserves in popular culture compared to Elvis Presley or even Jerry Lee Lewis. But they have seen some positive signs that this is changing. With the numerous shows they've performed across the country, it's more than the older crowd wanting to relive their rock 'n' roll youth that are showing up.

"What we've seen and what I love to see is our crowd is getting younger," McGuigan says. "They're curious. They're like, my grandparents and, in some cases, my great-grandparents love Buddy. Why?"

And as people of any and all ages show up, "Rave On! The Buddy Holly Tribute" is helping to give Holly even more of the respect and adoration he deserves.

"This guy is the true pioneer of rock 'n' roll music in my opinion. More than Elvis. More than anybody," McGuigan says. "At first, it started as, yeah, I can look like Buddy and sing like Buddy. But now, it's turned into this cliche-ish mission to show how great this guy was."

Tickets for "Rave On! The Buddy Holly Tribute" are $12 to $27. For more information, call 232-1778 or go to www.rrtstjoe.org.