Norman Petty – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Buddy Holly – Rave On

This song is always played when I’m in a Buddy Holly mood and even when I’m not. This song is so Buddy Holly. What I mean is he doesn’t complicate it; he just infuses this simple song with energy, and the result tells it all. This is the kind of song that makes you remember why rock ’n’ roll mattered in the first place. It’s not about overthinking, it’s about fun.

The title was inspired by the 1956 Sun Records recording “Dixie Fried” by Carl Perkins, which uses the refrain “rave on.” The B-side was Holly’s composition “Take Your Time“. Petty’s production gave the song just enough polish without sanding down all the grit. I think Holly understood that a song could be a bolt of lightning, two minutes of pure adrenaline.

This was written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, and Norman Petty and recorded in January 1958 at Petty’s New Mexico studio, where Holly laid down most of his hits. Petty wanted to give it to another act, but Holly protested and persuaded the songwriters to let him record it. Holly and the Crickets transformed it into the definitive version.

Every time I hear Rave On, I picture a small garage with a beat-up amp, drums, a cheap guitar, and a group of kids who believe they can play rock music. And thanks to Buddy, they can.

The song peaked at #5 in the UK, #12 in Canada, and #37 on the Billboard 100 in 1958.

Rave On

A we-a-e-a-ell
The little things you say and do
Make me want to be with you-a-hoo
Rave on, it’s a crazy feelin’ and
I know it’s got me reelin’
When you say, I love you, rave on

The way you dance and hold me tight
The way you kiss and say goodni-hi-hight
Rave on, it’s a crazy feelin’ and-a
I know it’s got me reelin’
When you say, I love you, rave on

A-well rave on, it’s a crazy feelin’ and
I know, it’s got me reelin’
I’m so glad, that you’re revealin’
Your love for me
Rave on, rave on and tell me
Tell me, not to be lonely
Tell me, you love me only
Rave on to me

Buddy Holly – I’m Gonna Love You Too

The guy was only with us for a few short years but boy he made a huge mark. I had a Buddy Holly marathon while painting and this song stood out. Without Buddy, rock music would have been drastically different. Buddy was a self-contained artist who wrote, arranged, and recorded his own songs. His chord changes and melodies were different from fellow rockers Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry. I have always thought that Buddy was the father of power pop.

The song was credited to Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, and Norman Petty but some think Holly wrote the majority of it. It was also covered by Blondie on their Parallel Lines Album. Holly released the song in 1957. It’s on the self-titled Buddy Holly album released on Coral Records. This album contained the classics Peggie Sue, Everyday, Rave On, and Worlds of Love.

William Ruhlmann, who is an American rock critic, said this about the ownership of the song. The song is credited to Joe B. Mauldin, Holly’s bass player; Norman Petty, his producer; and Nikki Sullivan, his sometime rhythm guitarist (who was not heard on the recording). There have long been questions about the songwriting credits assigned to the original songs Holly recorded, and Jerry Allison, his drummer, has gone on record stating that “I’m Gonna Love You Too” actually was written primarily by Holly, with Allison composing the bridge. Certainly the song sounds characteristic of the man who wrote “That’ll Be the Day.” It is another up-tempo number with an infectious tune and boastful lyrics that only thinly veil heartbreak.

Buddy Holly was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Holly #13 among “The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

What really hurts about Holly’s career is that he was just getting started. He had matured and was experimenting more than his rocking peers. Fortunately for all of us, he left behind a significant musical catalog that still influences new and old artists today.

I’m Gonna Love You Too

Ah-ha, ha-ah-ha-ha-haAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-ahAh-ah, ha-ah-ha-ah-ah-ha

A-you’re gonna say you’ve a-missed meA-you’re gonna say you’ll a-kiss meYes, you’re gonna say you’ll a-love me‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you too

I don’t care what you a-told meA-you’re gonna say you’ll a-hold meYes, you’re gonna say you’ll a-love me‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you too

After all, another fella took youBut I still can’t overlook youI’m a-gonna do my best to hook yaAfter all is said and a-done

You’re gonna say you’ve a-missed meA-you’re gonna say you’ll a-kiss meYes, a-you’re gonna say you’ll a-love me‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you too

Ah-ha, ha-ah-ha-ha-ahAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-ahAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-ah-ah-haAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-ha-ahAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-haAh-ha, ha-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha

It’s a-gonna happen, a-some dayYou’re gonna see things a-my wayYes, you’re gonna say you’ll a-love me‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you too

A-you’re gonna tell me a-sweet thingsYou’re gonna make a-my heart singYes, a-you’re gonna hear those a-bells ring‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you too

After all, another fella took youBut I still can’t overlook youI’m a-gonna do my best to hook yaAfter all is said and done

A-you’re gonna say you’ve a-missed meA-you’re gonna say you’ll a-kiss meYes, you’re gonna say you’ll a-love me‘Cause I’m a-gonna love you tooI’m a-gonna love you tooI’m a-gonna love you too

Buddy Holly – Bo Diddley

I never knew that Buddy Holly covered this song…somehow I missed or forgot that he covered it.

This was recorded back in 1956 as one of his first recordings. It wasn’t released until 4 years after he died. The original version is just Buddy on guitar and vocals and Jerry Allison on drums. Producer Norman Petty then overdubbed the other instruments with help from a band called The Fireballs.

I consider him the beginning of power pop. His Fender playing a clean jangling melody. Songs like Maybe Baby, Peggy Sue, and Words of Love influenced future artists like The Beatles, Hollies, Bob Dylan, and the list is endless. He wrote his own songs and is still influencing artists today with a recording career that only lasted less than three years.

Buddy Holly’s music is still relevant almost sixty years after he passed away in 1959. He didn’t have a big voice like Elvis, Little Richard, or some of his peers but he wrote and crafted beautiful melodies for his voice to weave through.

This song peaked at #4 on the UK Charts and #116 on the Billboard 100 in 1963. The song was on an album called Reminiscing. The album peaked at #2 on the UK Album Charts and #40 on the Billboard Album Charts.

Not only was he a great songwriter but also a great producer and he would have only got better. Unlike many of his fifties counterparts, I believe that Buddy Holly would have fit in the music scene post-Beatles. I always thought his best songs were in front of him. Most of his music transcends the fifties and would have fit nicely in the sixties.

Here are two versions…the bottom WITH the overdubs and the other the original raw recording.

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley buy baby a diamond ringIf that diamond ring don’t shineHe gonna take it to a private eyeIf that private eye can’t see

He better not take that ring from meWon’t you come to my house back at homeTake a-my baby on away from homeLove a-that photo, where ya beenUp to your house and gone againBo Diddley caught a fat cat

To make a-pretty baby a Sunday hatBo Diddley caught him a nanny goatTo make a pretty baby a Sunday coatBo Diddley, Bo Diddley have you heardMy pretty baby says she wants a bird

….

Buddy Holly – Well… All Right

I’ve never heard a song by Buddy Holly that I didn’t like. Well…All Right was released just a couple of months before Buddy Holly died in that lonely Iowa cornfield. A while back I posted Blind Faith‘s cover of this song. The song is in my top 10 of Buddy Holly’s songs easily.

This song was somehow a B side. In the 50s and 60s many times a B side was a throwaway track. People started to flip the hit singles over and sometimes…sometimes find gold! He had a song called Heartbeat that he thought would be a big hit. I like Heartbeat a lot but I lean more toward Well…All Right. I think Heartbeat sounds like the 50s…but this song sounds fresher.

It’s a quiet song but Holly builds in dynamics for the chorus showing his strength and tenderness on this recording. The construction of the melody and lyrics are outstanding. Its simple instrumentation yet powerful push is what won me over.

Heartbeat only peaked at #82 on the Billboard 100 and #30 on the UK Charts. It’s the flipside that has been remembered. It was written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty, Jerry Allison, and Joe Mauldin.

Well…All Right

Well all right, so I’m being foolishWell all right let people knowAbout the dreams and wishes you wishIn the night when lights are low

Well all right, well all rightWe’ll live and love with all our mightWell all right, well all rightOur lifetime of love will be all right

Well, all right, so I’m going steadyIt’s all right when people sayThat those foolish kids can’t be readyFor the love that comes their way

Well all right, well all rightWe will live and love with all our mightWell all right, well all rightOur lifetime of love will be all right

Well all right, well all rightWe’ll live and love with all our mightWell all right, well all rightOur lifetime love will be all right

Buddy Holly – Think It Over

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Buddy song…and any time is too long. He is one of the most important influences from the 50s or any era. Since I’m a Beatle fan I have to say…without Buddy the Beatles would have been different. He wrote his own songs that were part country, rock, rockabilly, and a touch of power pop with his crisp Stratacaster leading the way.

Of all the stars in the 50s I believe Buddy was the one who would have been heard from more in the sixties. His music fit what was going on and had a timeless quality about it.

This song peaked at #27 in the Billboard Hot 100, #9 in the R&B Charts, and #11 in the UK in 1958. Think It Over was written by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Norman Petty in 1958. Per Wiki… Norman Petty’s wife, played piano on this recording.

John Lennon: “He was a great and innovative musician. He was a ‘master’. His influence continues, I often wonder what his music would be like now, had he lived…”

“Buddy Holly was the first one that we were really aware of in England who could play and sing at the same time—not just strum, but actually play the licks.”

Keith Richards: “Holly passed it on via the Beatles and via The Rolling Stones … He’s in everybody”

Think It Over

Think it over, what you’ve just said
Think it over in your pretty, little head
Are you sure that I’m not the one?
Is your love real or only fun?

You think it over
Yes, think it over
A lonely heart grows cold and old

Think it over and let me know
Think it over, but don’t be slow
Just remember all birds and bees
Go by twos through life’s mysteries

You think it over
Yes, think it over
A lonely heart grows cold and old

Think it over and think of me
Think it over and you will see
A happy day when you and I
Think as one and kiss the blues goodbye

You think it over
Yes, think it over
A lonely heart grows cold and old

Think it over
Think it over

Buddy Holly – That’ll Be The Day

I first heard this song by the Linda Ronstadt version. She did a great job and this was one of the first songs the Beatles covered.

The movie “The Searchers” starring John Wayne inspired this song. This song peaked at #1 in the US Hot 100, #2 in the US R&B, and #1 the UK in 1957.

Holly and bandmate Allison wrote the song. Norman Petty took a writing credit on this because he produced it. This meant Holly and Allison had to share royalties with him.

Buddy Holly and his band The Three Tunes recorded this in Nashville in 1956, but Decca records didn’t like the result and refused to release it. A year later, Holly re-recorded it with The Crickets in a studio in Clovis, New Mexico owned by his new producer, Norman Petty.

Backup vocalists were brought in and the key was lowered to fit Holly’s voice a little better. This version became a huge hit and made Holly a star that summer in 1957.

From Songfacts

Holly had been kicking around his home town in Lubbock, Texas trying to write a hit song for his small rockabilly band since he had attended an Elvis Presley gig at his High School some time in 1955. His band in those days consisted of him on lead vocals and guitar, Jerry Allison on the drums and Joe B. Maudlin on upright bass. He and Jerry decided to get together and go see The Searchers, a Western movie staring John Wayne. In the movie, Wayne keeps replying, “That’ll be the day,” every time another character in the film predicts or proclaims something will happen when he felt it was not likely to happen. The phrase stuck in Jerry’s mind, and when they were hanging out at Jerry’s house one night, Buddy looked at Jerry and said that it sure would be nice if they could record a hit song. Jerry replied with, “That’ll be the day,” imitating John Wayne in the film.

This was Holly’s first hit, but it was credited to The Crickets, Holly’s band. They worked with two record labels, with one releasing Holly’s songs as The Crickets and the other as Buddy Holly. Both labels were subsidiaries of Decca Records.

This inspired the British 1973 movie of the same name, about a young man with dreams of becoming a rock star.

This was the first song John Lennon learned to play on guitar. American rock stars like Holly and Little Richard were a big influence on The Beatles.

The movie that inspired Holly and Allison to write this also provided the name for the British group The Searchers in 1964.

When this became a hit, Decca records released Holly’s earlier version as well.

“That’ll Be The Day” was the first song John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded together. In 1958, when they were still known as the Quarrymen, they pooled their money, recorded the song at a local studio, and pressed one copy on a 78rpm disc, which they shared. The disc ended up in the possession of Duff Lowe, the piano player in group. In the early ’80s, he sold it to McCartney; it was first heard in a 1985 documentary on Buddy Holly, and was released in 1995 on the Anthology 1 collection.

Linda Ronstadt released her version as the lead single from her 1976 album Hasten Down the Wind. This came at the suggestion of her producer, Peter Asher, who recorded the song completely live, just as Holly’s version was done in the days before multitracking. The song went to #11 in the US and marked a shift for Ronstadt away from country rock.

On this version, listen for the guitar solo – Waddy Wachtel played the first four bars, then Andrew Gold took over for the last four. Wachtel’s performance helped raise his profile in the Los Angeles music scene, where he soon became one of the top session players.

In the US, a version by the Everly Brothers reached #111 in 1965; Pure Prairie League took it to #106 in 1976.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq9FCBatl3A

That’ll Be The Day

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, you give me all your loving and your turtle doving
All your hugs and kisses and your money too
Well, you know you love me baby, until you tell me, maybe
That some day, well I’ll be through

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, when Cupid shot his dart he shot it at your heart
So if we ever part and I leave you
You sit and hold me and you tell me boldly
That some day, well I’ll be blue

Well, that’ll be the day, when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day, when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave, you know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die

Well, that’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day, woo ho
That’ll be the day

Buddy Holly – Everyday

It’s always an honor to post a Buddy Holly song. This one was written written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. Buddy was a singer, songwriter, producer, and performer. During his short career, Holly was able to merge the sounds of rockabilly, country music, and R&B to help make rock and roll popular.

The song was recorded in 1957 at the Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico.

This song was released on September 20, 1957, as the B-side of “Peggy Sue”. On the original single the Crickets are not mentioned (legal issues), but it is known that Buddy plays acoustic guitar; drummer Jerry Allison slaps his knees for percussion and typewriter; Joe B. Mauldin plays a standup acoustic bass; and producer Norman Petty’s wife Vi Petty plays the celesta. That gives it a unique sound.

Holly’s version of this song never charted, but two others did. In 1972, John Denver took it to #81 US. Then in 1985, James Taylor made #61 with his cover.

From Songfacts

This upbeat song finds Holly in a hopeful mien, sure that he will soon land the girl of his dreams. He recorded the song in May 1957 with The Crickets at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico.

This is listed as being written by Charles Hardin and Norman Petty. Charles Hardin is actually Buddy Holly: his real name was Charles Hardin Holley.

This was used in the movies Big Fish and Stand By Me as well as a Season 4 episode of the TV show Lost.

Everyday

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey hey

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ faster
Everyone said, “Go ahead and ask her”
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey hey

Everyday seems a little longer
Every way, love’s a little stronger
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey hey

Everyday seems a little longer
Every way, love’s a little stronger
Come what may, do you ever long for
True love from me?

Everyday, it’s a-gettin’ closer
Goin’ faster than a roller coaster
Love like yours will surely come my way
A-hey, a-hey hey
Love like yours will surely come my way