"Rave On", also written "Rave On!", is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

in 1958. It was first recorded by West for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, which released his version in February 1958 (as Atlantic 45-1174).

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

recorded the song later the same year, and his version became a hit, one of six of his recordings that charted in 1958. Holly is instantly recognizable as the artist: the record begins with a drawn-out "Well…" as stylized by Holly's distinctive hiccup ("A-weh-uh-heh-uh-ell…").

Background

Most of West's recordings were produced and engineered by

, who also managed Holly, and recorded in Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. "Rave On", however, was produced by Milton DeLugg and recorded with Holly's group the Crickets at Bell Sound Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The title was inspired by the 1956

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

recording " Dixie Fried" by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

, which uses the refrain "rave on." The B-side was Holly's composition "Take Your Time". Holly's rendition of "Rave On" is ranked number 154 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Chart performance

Holly's version reached number 12 in Canada, May 26, 1958., as well number 5 in the UK.

Track listing

Initial pressing

#"Rave On" #"Take Your Time"

German pressing

As Buddy Holly and 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 886 ...

#"Rave On" #" Ready Teddy"

EP (UK)

#"Rave On" #"Take Your Time" #" Early in the Morning" #"Now We're One"

1968 Re-release (UK)

#"Rave On" #" Peggy Sue"

1968 Re-release (US)

#"Rave On" #" Early in the Morning"

Other versions

Cover versions of "Rave On" have been recorded by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

, Commander Cody,

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

, M. Ward, and the folk-rock band

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...

. It was a hit for the Delta Cross Band in Denmark in 1980. Rick Nelson recorded the song and played it live many times. It was the final song Nelson ever performed, on December 30, 1985, the day before he too was killed in a plane crash.

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...

produced a version with the singer Michael Cox, released in 1964 (backed with "Just Say Hello", HMV POP1293 A).

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

recorded a version for the soundtrack of the film ''

Cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

'' in 1988. The Real Kids recorded a cover version on their 1977 self-titled album. Half Japanese recorded a cover version on their 1980 debut album 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...

recorded a cover version for their 1970 album '' Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy''.

recorded a version, in a mock-Buddy Holly vein, and released it as a non-album single in 1971. In an interview, the Danish rock band the Raveonettes stated that their name is "a complete direct reference to the Ronettes and Buddy Holly ''Rave On''."Shankbone, David (2007). Interview with the Raveonettes. ''

Wikinews Wikinews is a free-content news wiki and a Wikimedia project, project of the Wikimedia Foundation that works through collaborative journalism through user-created content. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has distinguished Wikinews from Wikipe ...

''. October 16. M. Ward recorded a cover of the song for his 2009 album '' Hold Time''. Denny Laine, the guitarist for the bands Wings and Moody Blues, recorded a cover of the song for his 1977 Holly tribute album, '' Holly Days'', produced by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...

recorded a cover of the song for the 2011 Holly tribute album '' Rave On Buddy Holly''.

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

recorded a cover of the song for his 2013 album, '' The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook''.

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. {{Authority control Rockabilly songs Buddy Holly songs 1957 songs 1958 singles Song recordings produced by Joe Meek Songs written by Norman Petty Songs written by Sonny West 1958 songs Coral Records singles