"Everyday" is a song written by

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

and

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, radio station owner, and considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. Biography Petty was born in the small town of Clo ...

, recorded by

Buddy Holly and the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' To ...

on May 29, 1957, and released on September 20, 1957, as the B-side of "

Peggy Sue "Peggy Sue" is a rock and roll song written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, and recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly on September 20, 1957. The Crickets are not mentioned on label of the single (Coral 9-61885), but band members Jo ...

", which went to three on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 chart in 1957. The song is ranked number 238 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". On the original single the Crickets are not mentioned, but it is known that Holly plays

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

; drummer

Jerry Allison Jerry Ivan Allison (August 31, 1939 – August 22, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo chart entr ...

slaps his knees for percussion;

Joe B. Mauldin Joseph Benson Mauldin, Jr. (July 8, 1940 – February 7, 2015) was an American bass player, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (stand ...

plays a standup

acoustic bass The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar a ...

; A

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

, which is a keyboard instrument with a

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

-like tone, is also used in the recording.

Personnel

The Crickets *

- vocals, guitar *

- bass *

- drums Additional personnel * Vi Petty -

Cover versions

Tina Robin recorded a version of the song, also for

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...

, in 1958. In 1960,

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...

released a version as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of his hit song "

Rubber Ball A bouncy ball or rubber ball is a spherical toy ball, usually fairly small, made of elastic material which allows it to bounce against hard surfaces. When thrown against a hard surface, bouncy balls retain their momentum and much of their kineti ...

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

recorded this song for his 1971 album ''

Aerie Aerie (a variant of eyrie) is the bird nest of an eagle, falcon, hawk, or other bird of prey. Aerie may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Aerie (''Baldur's Gate''), a character in ''Baldur's Gate II'' * Aerie Cl ...

'' and released it as a single, which peaked at number 81 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart and number 21 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart in 1972.

Bridget St. John Bridget St John (born Bridget Anne Hobbs; 4 October 1946 in Surrey, England) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel's Dandelion record label. Peel produced ...

recorded this song for her 1972 album ''Thank You For...'', published by Dandelion and marketed by Polydor. Produced by Bridget St. John and Jerry Boys.

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

recorded this song for his 1973 album ''

Playin' Favorites ''Playin' Favorites'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean, released in 1973. It was re-issued by BGO Records in 1995. Track listing Side A #"Sitting on Top of the World" (Bo Carter, Little Walter) #"Living With ...

'' and released it as a single, which peaked at number 38 in the UK. The English teen pop singer

Nikki Richards Nicholas Richards (born 1960) is a British singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as frontman of 1980s synthpop/ new wave band Boys Don't Cry. As a solo artist, Nikki Richards, aged 18, released the singles "If I Could Tell the World ...

recorded the song as the B-side of his first single in 1978. A version recorded by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

was released in 1985, rising to number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Adult Contemporary chart in the US and number 1 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart; it also reached number 61 on the ''Billboard'' Pop chart and number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Country chart. The song is included on his 1985 album "

That's Why I'm Here ''That's Why I'm Here'' is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor released in 1985, four years after his previous effort, '' Dad Loves His Work''. The album contains a version of Buddy Holly's "Everyday", as well as the par ...

" and his two-CD career retrospective, ''The Essential James Taylor'', released in 2013. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called Taylor's version "a perfect showcase for Taylor’s mellow-rocking delivery" with "nice melodic changes and a touching sentiment." ''

'' said it has "the wit and style he applied to ' Handy Man."

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

recorded it for their 2002 album ''

Other People's Songs ''Other People's Songs'' is a cover album by English synth-pop duo Erasure released on 27 January 2003. The album was originally conceived as a solo project for singer Andy Bell. Once Vince Clarke, the other member of Erasure, became involved ...

''. The

Trashmen The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1962. The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer. Along with Col ...

and the indie rock band

Rogue Wave Rogue waves (also known as freak waves, monster waves, episodic waves, killer waves, extreme waves, and abnormal waves) are unusually large, unpredictable, and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to ships, even to lar ...

also recorded it. The rock band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

performed a rendition live in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, Holly's birthplace. It has also been performed live by

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. A version was recorded by

hellogoodbye Hellogoodbye (sometimes styled as hellogoodbye) is an American pop rock band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album ''Zom ...

and released on their 2008 EP, '' Ukulele recordings''.

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

used a portion of the song as part of his "Buddy Holly Medley", which was included on his album ''

Gunfight at Carnegie Hall ''Gunfight At Carnegie Hall'' is the final album by Phil Ochs released during his lifetime, comprising songs recorded at the infamous, gold-suited, bomb-threat shortened first show at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 27, 1970, though it cont ...

'' in 1974.

Elliott Murphy Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris. Biography Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island a ...

recorded this song for a French tribute, ''Every Day Is a Holly Day'', in 1989. In 1990, the British guitarist Peter White recorded it for the album ''Reveillez-Vous''.

covered the song in Lubbock, Texas, on October 18, 2000.

recorded a cover version for the covers compilation soundtrack released in support of video game ''

Stubbs the Zombie Stubbs may refer to: Places United States *Stubbs, California, former name of Clearlake Oaks, California Clearlake Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, California, United States. It is located on the northeast of Clear Lake, ...

'' in 2005.

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

recorded a cover version for the Buddy Holly tribute album '' Rave On Buddy Holly'' in 2011.

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Wilmette, I ...

contributed a cover version to the Buddy Holly tribute album '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'' in 2011. The song is also on the 2012 Japanese CD ''Levi Dexter & Gretsch Brothers'', featuring

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

inductee Levi Dexter.

Title

The song's title is spelled ''everyday'', which is an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Tra ...

(meaning ''commonplace'', ''ordinary'', or ''normal''), whereas in the context of the song the

adverbial In English grammar, an adverbial (abbreviated ) is a word (an adverb) or a group of words (an adverbial clause or adverbial phrase) that modifies or more closely defines the sentence or the verb. (The word ''adverbial'' itself is also used as a ...

phrase In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...

''every day'' (meaning ''each day'') is clearly intended: "Every day seems a little longer / Every day it's a-gettin' closer."

In film and television

The song was used in the 1985 comedy ''

Mischief Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differenti ...

'', the 1986 film '' Stand by Me'', the 2003 fantasy drama ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Tim Burton, and based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, ...

'', the 2009 romantic film '' Love Happens'', the 2011 thriller drama ''

We Need to Talk About Kevin ''We Need to Talk About Kevin'' is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, published by Serpent's Tail, about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the first person perspective of the teenage killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documen ...

'', the 2009 science fiction film '' Mr. Nobody'', and in the 1997 art film ''

Gummo ''Gummo'' is a 1997 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine, starring Jacob Reynolds, Nick Sutton, Jacob Sewell, and Chloë Sevigny. The film is set (but was not filmed) in Xenia, Ohio, a Midwestern American town ...

''. The song is played in a 2009 episode of ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' during a parody of '' Stand by Me''. The 2010 AT&T/Blackberry Torch commercial used "Everyday". The song is played at the beginning of the eleventh episode of the fourth season of ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' ("

Cabin Fever Cabin fever is the distressing claustrophobic irritability or restlessness experienced when a person, or group, is stuck at an isolated location or in confined quarters for an extended time. A person may be referred to as stir-crazy, derived from ...

"), as well as during the closing credits of the penultimate episode of ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...

'' ("The Milk and Honey Route"). The song is played in the sixth episode of the third season of

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

's ''The Handmaid's Tale''. It was also used in season three of

's ''Future Man''. The song is covered in the end credits of the seventh episode of the second season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's '' Crashing'', sung by

. The song is also sung in ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...

'' (season 1, episode 7) by the character Julia, played by actress

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Following a series of minor ...

. The song is featured in the NBC show '' Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector''. The song is used as the opening song for Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

Welcome to Wrexham ''Welcome to Wrexham'' is an American sports documentary series that premiered on August 24, 2022, on FX. The series documents the events of Welsh association football club Wrexham A.F.C., as told by the club's owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Re ...

'' from episode 3 onwards.

References

{{authority control 1957 singles 1972 singles 1985 singles Buddy Holly songs Bobby Vee songs James Taylor songs Songs written by Buddy Holly Songs written by Norman Petty John Denver songs 1957 songs Song recordings produced by Norman Petty Coral Records singles RCA Records singles Columbia Records singles