1957 hit song buddy holly portable#
1957 hit song buddy holly professional#
1957 hit song buddy holly free#

In 1957 multi-track recording (the ability to record multiple “tracks” featuring different instruments or vocals) was still in its infancy. The Sonny Curtis version made its debut on the That’ll Be The Day LP, released by Decca after Holly scored his first hit for Brunswick Records. Holly re-recorded the song at his final Decca session in November 1956, this time with ace session man Grady Martin playing the lead. Inexplicably, the recording was rejected by Decca executive Paul Cohen, who refused to release any of the tracks from Holly’s July session. Curtis had always loved the name and combined it with the title of Bill Haley’s Rock Around The Clock to create the lyrical hook of one of Holly’s finest early recordings. The song’s titular character was inspired by Ollie Vee Robinson, the wife of a black labourer that worked for Curtis’ father on the family’s farm. Holly cut 12 masters for Decca, but only two singles were released before he was dropped from the label.Īt Holly’s second Nashville session, in July 1956, Holly cut Rock Around With Ollie Vee, written by Sonny Curtis. Therein lay the problem Holly was searching for his voice - a process that would take several months of rehearsing and hours in recording studios - a luxury Decca was not willing to pay for. He recorded a number of rockers, capturing the same rockabilly excitement of Elvis Presley’s Sun recordings.

1957 hit song buddy holly free#

Holly was given a fairly free hand in the studio regarding both material and arrangements. These tracks are all on the Down The Line: Rarities boxset.īetween January and November 1956, Buddy Holly made three trips to Nashville, Tennessee to record for Decca Records at Owen Bradley’s studio. The original, undubbed recording remained hidden away until its release on the 1979 UK boxset, The Complete Buddy Holly. A heavily overdubbed version of Learning The Game, orchestrated by Norman Petty, made its first appearance on the 1960 LP, The Buddy Holly Story, Volume II. It is a bittersweet exemplar of the songs Holly surely would have written and recorded if history had taken a different course. This ballad of heartbreak, resignation and lessons learned is a powerful example of Holly’s growing sophistication as a songwriter. It was cut shortly before Holly and Maria Elena travelled to Texas for the Christmas holidays, and only six weeks before his death. Learning The Game was the final original composition recorded by Holly. The so-called ‘Apartment Tapes’ are some of his finest solo recordings, demonstrating Holly’s maturity as a songwriter and performer. Holly used it during this winter break from the road to record new songs and covers of some of his favourite rock’n’roll tunes.

1957 hit song buddy holly portable#

Before the split with Petty, Holly purchased a portable Ampex 401A tape recorder from Petty. Holly and his new bride, Maria Elena, were living in an apartment in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City, and Holly spent most of December 1958 working on new songs. After an argument in November over money and other issues, Holly ended his business relationship with Petty and began a legal battle to recover royalty payments from his former producer. Holly’s departure from The Crickets was amicable, but that was not the case with Petty.

In the autumn of 1958, big changes were underway for Holly’s career as he split with The Crickets and producer Norman Petty. Rather than proclaim these “Buddy Holly’s Best,” view them as 10 indisputable examples of musical genius from one of rock’n’roll’s greatest talents… 10 Learning The Game

Narrowing Holly’s vast catalogue to a definitive ‘Top 10’ list is a challenging task bound to spark arguments and fierce defences of favourites not included. Adding various home and demo recordings to that total increases the incredibly diverse and prolific legacy that Holly left behind.

1957 hit song buddy holly professional#

His professional recording career encompassed slightly more than three years, but he left behind almost 200 recordings made during that short span. Just how good was Buddy Holly? Vintage Rock digs deep into Holly history, from apartment tapes to the biggest hits, to present 10 cracking tunes every rock’n’roll fan should know…Īs a singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, Buddy Holly had few equals during the 50s.