"When You Ask About Love" is a 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 entr ...

and

Sonny Curtis Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include "Walk ...

and recorded 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 ...

in 1959. It was a hit in Britain, reaching number 27 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

The Crickets version

"When You Ask About Love" was the second single from the Crickets' second album, ''

In Style With the Crickets ''In Style With the Crickets'' is a rock and roll album by the Crickets. Although it was the band's first release following the departure and subsequent death of their front man, Buddy Holly, it still contains many of the band's most memorable son ...

''. It was also the second single to be released after the death of

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 ...

. The song was written by guitarist

and drummer

whilst they were at the home of Allison's girlfriend and future wife, Peggy Sue Gerron (after whom the Buddy Holly song is named). 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 ...

"Deborah" was named after Peggy Sue's younger niece.

Personnel

Earl Sinks Henry Earl Sinks (January 1, 1940 – May 13, 2017), known professionally as Earl Sinks, was an American singer-songwriter and actor, known by many pseudonyms. He led a prolific musical and acting career from the 1950s to the 1990s before reti ...

- vocals *

- guitar *

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 ...

- bass *

- drums *

Dudley Brooks Dudley Brooks (December 22, 1913 – July 17, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. Biography Brooks was born on December 22, 1913, in Los Angeles, California.

- piano

Charts

Matchbox version

In 1980, English

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designed ...

released a cover of the song as the second single from for their fourth album ''Midnite Dynamos''. It was the band's biggest hit, reaching number 4 on the

Reception

Reviewing the song in ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'', Mike Nicholls described the song as "pukeabilly – uninspired, backward looking and unoriginal – surely we've got past this by now. If you want this sort of "music" – go back and listen to Buddy Holly, at least he had some conviction."

Charts

Other recordings

* In 1962,

Julie Grant Julie Grant (born 12 July 1946) is an English pop music singer, who was mainly active during the 1960s. She had three hits on the UK Singles Chart with " Up on the Roof", "Count on Me" (both 1963) and "Come to Me" (1964). She also recorded a co ...

covered the song for the

of " Up on the Roof". * In 1965,

Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas William Howard Ashton (born 19 August 1943), known professionally as Billy J. Kramer, is an English pop singer. With The Dakotas, Kramer was managed by Brian Epstein during the 1960s and scored hits with several Lennon–McCartney compositions ...

covered the song, for their US album ''Trains and Boats and Planes.'' * In 1965, Mancunian Johnny Peters covered the song as a single, but it failed to chart. * In 1980, Swedish band Sven-Erics covered the song for their album ''Santa Maria''. * In 1998, a cover by Mike Berry & The Outlaws was featured on the album ''Rock 'n' Roll Daze''.

References

{{Authority control 1959 songs 1959 singles 1980 songs 1980 singles The Crickets songs Matchbox (band) songs Songs written by Jerry Allison Songs written by Sonny Curtis Song recordings produced by Norman Petty Brunswick Records singles Coral Records singles Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer) Magnet Records singles