Music / Film & TV
Marshall Crenshaw
born 1953 · singer, songwriter, guitarist
Detroit-born, Berkley-raised power-pop songwriter of “Someday, Someway”, who played John Lennon in Beatlemania and Buddy Holly in La Bamba.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 72- Birth name
- Marshall Howard Crenshaw
- Detroit years
- 1953–1978
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Marshall Crenshaw was born in Detroit and grew up in the northern suburb of Berkley, where he started playing guitar at ten and graduated from Berkley High School in 1971. He led a local band during and after high school, absorbing the Detroit soul and early rock and roll that would define his sound. In 1978 he left for New York to play John Lennon in the stage show Beatlemania, first as an understudy and then with its touring companies. After leaving the show in 1980 he formed a trio with his brother on drums, and his self-titled 1982 album, with the single “Someday, Someway”, made him a critics' favorite. He played Buddy Holly in the film La Bamba (1987), co-wrote the Gin Blossoms' 1990s radio hit “Til I Hear It from You”, and still tours widely. Michigan honored him in the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2014.
Highlights
- “Someday, Someway” (1982), a US top 40 hit
- Played Buddy Holly in La Bamba (1987)
- Co-wrote the Gin Blossoms' “Til I Hear It from You”
- Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame (2014)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1967–1971
Berkley High School
He graduated here in June 1971 and led a high school band.