"That'll Be the Day" 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 Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition. Many other versions have been recorded. It was the first song recorded (as a demonstration disc) by The Quarrymen, a

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United Stat ...

group from

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

that evolved into

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 ...

. The 1957 recording was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

(for over a million US sales) by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA) in 1969. It 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 1998. It was placed in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservat ...

, a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States", in 2005.

Background

In June 1956, Holly along with his older brother Larry as well as Allison 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 ...

went to see the film ''

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John W ...

'', starring

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

, in which Wayne repeatedly used the phrase "that'll be the day". This line of dialogue inspired the young musicians.

Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' version

The song was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

Bradley's Barn ''Bradley's Barn'' is the fifth studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. Released in October 1968, it contains the singles "Long Walking Down to Misery" and "Cherokee Girl." The album has received critical acclaim as an early exampl ...

, in Nashville, on July 22, 1956. Decca, displeased with Holly's previous two singles, did not issue recordings from this session. After the song was re-recorded by the Crickets in 1957 and became a hit, Decca released the original recording as a single (Decca D30434) on September 2, 1957, with "Rock Around with Ollie Vee" as the B-side. It was also the title track of the 1958 album '' That'll Be the Day''. Despite Holly's newfound stardom, the single did not chart.

The Crickets' version

Holly's contract with Decca prohibited him from re-recording any of the songs recorded in the 1956 Nashville sessions for five years, even if Decca never released them. To evade this restriction, the producer Norman Petty credited the Crickets as the artist on his re-recording of "That'll Be the Day" 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 prod ...

. Brunswick was a subsidiary of Decca. Once the cat was out of the bag, Decca re-signed Holly to another of its subsidiaries, Coral Records, so he ended up with two recording contracts. Recordings with the Crickets were to be issued by Brunswick, and the recordings under Holly's name were to be on Coral, although The Crickets played on several of them. The second recording of the song was made on February 25, 1957, seven months after the first, at the Norman Petty studios in

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the ...

, and issued by Brunswick on May 27, 1957. This version is on the debut album by the Crickets, ''

The "Chirping" Crickets ''The "Chirping" Crickets'' is the debut album from the American rock and roll band the Crickets, led by Buddy Holly. It was the group's only album released during Holly's lifetime. In 2012, it was ranked number 420 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ...

'', issued on November 27, 1957. The recording was made with everyone performing and without additional overdubs. The B side of the record, "Im Looking For Someone To Love" was recorded at the same session with the same backup singers. The Brunswick recording of "That'll Be the Day" is considered a classic of rock and roll. It was ranked number 39 on ''

Rolling Stone ''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 ...

''s list of the "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

Charts

Certification

The Brunswick single was a number-one hit on ''Billboard'' magazine's Best Sellers in Stores chart in 1957. It went to number two on ''Billboards R&B singles chart. The song peaked at number 1 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 ...

in November 1957 and stayed in that position for three weeks. On December 20, 1969, a reissue of the single by Coral Records was awarded a "gold single" by the RIAA. On September 20, 1986, the song appeared on the UK Singles Chart at number 85 and left the chart a week later.

Personnel

July 22, 1956, Bradley's Quonset Hut, Nashville *Buddy Holly – vocals, guitar *Sonny Curtis – guitar *Don Guess – bass *Jerry Allison – drums February 25, 1957, Norman Petty Recording Studio *

– lead guitar and vocals * Larry Welborn – bass * Jerry Allison – drums * Niki Sullivan – background vocals * June Clark – background vocals * Gary Tollett – background vocals * Ramona Tollett – background vocals

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 "That'll Be the Day" for her 1976 Grammy Award-winning

platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

Hasten Down the Wind ''Hasten Down the Wind'' is the seventh studio album by singer-songwriter Linda Ronstadt. Released in 1976, it became her third straight million-selling album. Ronstadt was the first female artist to accomplish this feat. The album earned her ...

'', 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 ...

and issued 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/Asylu ...

. Her version reached number 11 on both the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the ''

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 onli ...

'' Top 100 and number 27 on the ''Billboard'' Country Singles chart. In Canada, her version peaked at number 2 on the singles chart and was the 35th biggest hit of 1976. It also made 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 ...

charts in the United States and Canada. This recording is included on the album '' Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits'' (1976) and on the 2011 tribute album '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly''.

Chart performance

References

Bibliography

* Amburn, Ellis (1995). ''Buddy Holly: A Biography''. St. Martin's Press.

External links

Lyrics of this song
* * {{Authority control 1956 songs 1976 singles 1957 debut singles Buddy Holly songs Pure Prairie League songs The Quarrymen songs Linda Ronstadt songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles United States National Recording Registry recordings Songs written by Buddy Holly Songs written by Jerry Allison Music of New Mexico Curry County, New Mexico Music published by MPL Music Publishing Song recordings produced by Norman Petty Brunswick Records singles Decca Records singles Asylum Records singles Coral Records singles The Crickets songs