"It's So Easy!" is a rock-and-roll 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 ...
. It was originally released as a single in 1958 by the
Crickets
Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...
but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band.
A cover version recorded by
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
was released on September 20, 1977 and was a Top Five hit 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 ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
.
The Crickets version
Background
The song was recorded by Holly and the Crickets from June to August 1958 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico.
Holly lip-synched to recordings of "It's So Easy!" and his song
"Heartbeat" on the television program ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' on October 28, 1958.
The Crickets recorded "It's So Easy!" for
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
History
From 1916
Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing produ ...
, which released it as a 45-rpm single in 1958. It did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears".
Tommy Allsup
Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American rockabilly and swing musician.
Personal life
Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma in 1931, and was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Allsup had a son, ...
played the lead guitar parts on both recordings.
Linda Ronstadt version
Background
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
recorded "It's So Easy" in 1977 for her album ''
Simple Dreams
''Simple Dreams'' is the eighth studio album by the American singer Linda Ronstadt, released in 1977 by Asylum Records. It includes several of her best-known songs, including her cover of the Rolling Stones song "Tumbling Dice" (featured in the f ...
'', produced by
Peter Asher
Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...
. Her recording was released as a single by
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...
in the autumn of that year. It hit 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 ...
'' Top Five simultaneously with her recording of "
Blue Bayou
"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 h ...
". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 in the United Kingdom.
Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film ''
Brokeback Mountain
''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by O ...
''.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Other versions
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 ...
, the Astronauts,
Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...
, the
Trashmen,
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937),
known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
,
Hank Marvin
Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...
,
Mike Berry and the Outlaws,
P.J. Proby
* Pajamas, or PJs
Arts and entertainment
* ''P.J.'' (film), a 1968 film starring George Peppard
* P.J. (Disney), Pete Junior, a Disney cartoon character
* P.J. (comics), a character in ''The Family Circus'' comic strip
* PJ (singer), Paris Ale ...
, and
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
recorded cover versions of the song.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
performed the song at the 1969 ''
Let It Be
Let It Be most commonly refers to:
* ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970
* "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album
It may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...
'' sessions.
Gary Busey
Gary Busey (; born 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in ''The Buddy Holly Story'' (1978), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the National Society of Film Critics ...
performed the song in the 1978 film ''
The Buddy Holly Story
''The Buddy Holly Story'' is a 1978 American biographical film which tells the life and career of rock and roll musician Buddy Holly. It features an Academy Award-winning musical score, adapted by Joe Renzetti and Oscar-nominated lead perfor ...
''.
References
Sources
*Amburn, Ellis (1996). ''Buddy Holly: A Biography''. St. Martin's Press. .
*Bustard, Anne (2005). ''Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly''. Simon & Schuster. .
*Dawson, Jim; Leigh, Spencer (1996). ''Memories of Buddy Holly''. Big Nickel Publications. .
*Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). ''Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?'' Togi Entertainment. .
*Goldrosen, John (1975). ''Buddy Holly: His Life and Music''. Popular Press. .
*Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). ''Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography''. New York: Da Capo Press. .
*Gribbin, John (2009). ''Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly''. London: Icon Books. .
External links
*
*
{{authority control
1958 singles
1977 singles
Buddy Holly songs
Brunswick Records singles
Linda Ronstadt songs
Song recordings produced by Peter Asher
Songs written by Buddy Holly
Songs written by Norman Petty
1958 songs
Asylum Records singles
The Crickets songs