"Peggy Sue" is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song written by

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 en ...

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 ...

, and recorded and released as a single 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 ...

on September 20, 1957. 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 ...

are not mentioned on label of the single (Coral 9-61885), but band members Joe B. Mauldin (string bass) and Jerry Allison (drums) played on the recording. This recording was also released on Holly's

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

1958 album.

Production

The song was originally entitled "Cindy Lou", after Holly's niece, the daughter of his sister Pat Holley Kaiter. The title was later changed to "Peggy Sue" in reference to Peggy Sue Gerron (1940–2018), the girlfriend (and future wife) of Jerry Allison, the drummer for

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 Hot 100, ...

, after the couple had temporarily broken up.Amburn, p. 78. In her memoir, ''Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?'', Gerron stated that she first heard the song at a live performance at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in 1957, and that she was "so embarrassed, I could have died." Appropriately, Allison had a prominent role in the production of the song, playing paradiddles on the drums throughout the song, the drums' sound rhythmically fading in and out as a result of real-time engineering techniques by the producer,

. Joe B. Mauldin (string bass) also played on the recording. Initially, only Allison and Petty were listed as the song's authors. At Allison's insistence, Holly was credited as a co-writer after his death.

Reception

"Peggy Sue" went to number three on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 chart in 1957. It is ranked number 194 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 2004 list of the " 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." It is ranked as the 173rd greatest song of all time and the fifth best song of 1957 by Acclaimed Music. In 1999,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR) included the song on the NPR 100, a list of the "100 Most Important American Musical Works of the 20th Century." The song was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1999. The

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music an ...

included the song on its list of the "Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll."

"Peggy Sue Got Married"

Holly wrote a sequel, "

Peggy Sue Got Married ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' is a 1986 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high sch ...

", and recorded a demonstration version in his New York City apartment on December 5, 1958, accompanied only by himself on guitar. The tape was discovered after his death and was "enhanced" for commercial release, with the addition of backing vocals and an electric guitar track that drowns out Holly's playing and almost drowns out his voice. The rarely heard original version was released on a vinyl collection, ''The Complete Buddy Holly''. It was later played over the opening credits of the 1986 Kathleen Turner film ''

''. After Holly's death, the

released their own version as a single in 1960. They followed the original arrangements, with

David Box David Box (August 11, 1943 – October 23, 1964) was an American rock musician in the early 1960s. Box was influenced by fellow Texan Buddy Holly, and even took his place as singer of his group, The Crickets, for a short time after Holly's deat ...

, a Holly soundalike, as the lead vocalist.

Cover versions

This song has been covered many times, including by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

, and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

(who worked with Holly). An adaptation of "Peggy Sue" entitled "Christmas Time Is Here Again" which made use of the backing track from The Beach Boys' cover version featured on their 1998 compilation album ''

Ultimate Christmas ''Ultimate Christmas'' is a 1998 compilation of Christmas music by the Beach Boys released on Capitol Records. It rounds up all of the tracks from 1964's ''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album ''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' is the sevent ...

''.

Chart performance

Single

References

;Sources * Amburn, Ellis (1995). ''Buddy Holly: A Biography''. St. Martin's Press. . * Cott, Jonathan (1976). In ''The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll''.

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

, Random House. .

External links

Buddy Holly Discography.

Peggy Sue. 45cat.com.

BBC interview with Peggy Sue Gerron
* {{Authority control 1957 songs 1957 singles Buddy Holly songs Music published by MPL Music Publishing Rockabilly songs Songs written by Buddy Holly Song recordings produced by Norman Petty Songs written by Jerry Allison Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Coral Records singles The Crickets songs