Smile of the Day Thursday, February 25, 2021

Thursday February 25, 2021’s Smile of the Day: Buddy Holly & Crickets

On this Day:

In 1957, Buddy Holly & Crickets recorded “That’ll Be the Day”.

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.

He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group “Buddy and Bob” with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band’s style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.

Holly’s recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley, who had become famous for producing orchestrated country hits for stars like Patsy Cline. Unhappy with Bradley’s musical style and control in the studio, Holly went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of “That’ll Be the Day”, among other songs. Petty became the band’s manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to “The Crickets”, which became the name of Holly’s band. In September 1957, as the band toured, “That’ll Be the Day” topped the US and UK singles charts. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, “Peggy Sue”.

The album The “Chirping” Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as “The Day the Music Died” in his song “American Pie”.

During his short career, Holly wrote and recorded many songs. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Hollies (who named themselves in his honor), Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw (who later played Holly), and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of “100 Greatest Artists” (per Wikipedia).

First, a Story:

My friend thinks I’m as good a musician as Buddy Holly. I thought, “That’ll be the day”.

Second, a Song:

“That’ll Be the Day” is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. 

Holly was unhappy with the results of his time with Decca Records; he was inspired by the success of Buddy Knox’s “Party Doll” and Jimmy Bowen’s “I’m Stickin’ with You”, and visited Norman Petty, who had produced and promoted both records. Together with Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan, he went to Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico. The group recorded a demo of “That’ll Be the Day”, a song they had previously recorded in Nashville. Now playing lead guitar, Holly achieved the sound he desired. Petty became his manager and sent the record to Brunswick Records in New York City. Holly, still under contract with Decca, could not release the record under his name, so a band name was used; Allison proposed the name “Crickets”. Brunswick gave Holly a basic agreement to release “That’ll Be the Day”, leaving him with both artistic control and financial responsibility for future recordings.

Impressed with the demo, the label’s executives released it without recording a new version. “I’m Looking for Someone to Love” was the B-side; the single was credited to the Crickets. Petty and Holly later learned that Brunswick was a subsidiary of Decca, which legally cleared future recordings under the name Buddy Holly. Recordings credited to the Crickets would be released on Brunswick, while the recordings under Holly’s name were released on another subsidiary label, Coral Records. Holly concurrently held a recording contract with both labels.

“That’ll Be the Day” was released on May 27, 1957. Petty booked Holly and the Crickets for a tour with Irvin Feld, who had noticed the band after “That’ll Be the Day” appeared on the R&B chart. He booked them for appearances in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City. The band was booked to play at New York’s Apollo Theater on August 16–22. During the opening performances, the group did not impress the audience, but they were accepted after they included “Bo Diddley.” By the end of their run at the Apollo, “That’ll Be the Day” was climbing the charts. Encouraged by the single’s success, Petty started to prepare two album releases; a solo album for Holly and another for the Crickets. Holly appeared on American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark on ABC, on August 26. Before leaving New York, the band befriended the Everly Brothers.

“That’ll Be the Day” topped the US “Best Sellers in Stores” chart on September 23 and was number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in November. On September 20, Coral released “Peggy Sue”, backed with “Everyday”, with Holly credited as the performer. By October, “Peggy Sue” had reached number three on Billboard’s pop chart and number two on the R&B chart; it peaked at number six on the UK Singles chart. As the success of the song grew, it brought more attention to Holly, with the band at the time being billed as “Buddy Holly and the Crickets”

The 1957 recording was certified gold (for over a million US sales) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1969. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. It was placed in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States”, in 2005 (per Wikipedia).

Here is Buddy Holly and the Crickets performing “That’ll Be The Day” from the Ed Sullivan Show on Dec. 1, 1957. I hope you enjoy this!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mDGcxbAusg)

Thought for the Day:

“Without Elvis none of us could have made it.” – Buddy Holly

In response to the Toothbrush Smile:

Steve Matthews of Mission, BC, Canada writes:

“My mother told me the toothbrush salesman joke as a kid. Only the dip tasted like ‘shit’ and it wasn’t like my mother to swear… so it was considered a dirty joke. 

Total memory recall on that one. Thank you. :)”

Gerry Wahl of North Vancouver BC, Canada writes: “Good Password” advice!”

Cheers!

Dave

Have a great day!

© 2020 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky