Welcome To AlbumLinerNotes.com
"The #1 Archive of Liner Notes in the World"
Your Subtitle text
Down The Line Rarities
____________________________________________________________
To download this album from iTunes, click here:
To buy this album from Amazon.com, click here: Down the Line: Rarities
________________________________________________
Buddy Holly
Down The Line: Rarities
Decca Geffen
B0011675-02
________________________________________________
At last, the gates to the Buddy Holly archive swing wide open wide with this momentous rarities collection, packed with pre-fame home recordings, intriguing alternate takes, revelatory undubbed versions, and informal solo tapes sure to be cherished by his worldwide legion of fans.
Born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas, on September 7, 1936, Buddy was influenced initially by country music, especially Hank Williams. His first home recording from 1949 found him trying out Hank Snow's "My Two-Timin' Woman." Holly adeptly approximates Snow's crisp picking, though his pubescent pipes can't match Hank's authoritative vocal tone. Worn and battered though it may be, it's historically invaluable.
Buddy met Bob Montgomery in junior high school, the two forming a duo known as Buddy and Bob. Circa 1953, they recorded a duet treatment of "Footprints In The Snow," one of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe's biggest sellers. By the time the pair first entered Nesman Recording Studios in Wichita Falls in 1954 or '55, they'd built a local following through regular appearances on Lubbock's KDAV. And they had like-minded friends; Sonny Curtis added red-hot fiddle to the romping "Gotta Get You Near Me Blues," Holly uncorking some dazzling lead guitar. It was one of five originals provided then by the prolific Montgomery, who exhibited a predilection towards frisky mid-tempo rhythms and songs revolving around the heart: "Flower Of My Heart," "Door To My Heart," "I Gambled My Heart," "Soft Place In My Heart." He also penned "You And I Are Through," laid down by Buddy and Bob in 1955 at the KDAV studios.
Radio broadcasts out of Shreveport introduced the boys to blues and R&B, and when a certain swivel-hipped rocker visited Lubbock, their world, was turned upside down.
"When Elvis came through town," says Sonny Curtis, "the next day, we started doing Elvis songs." Concurs drummer Jerry Allison, "Buddy Holly wanted to be Elvis there for a while."
Buddy, Bob, J.I., and bassist Larry Welborn convened at Nesman in the summer of '55 with a new rockabilly mindset. Holly attacked Presley's sizzling Sun rendition of "Baby Let's Play House," copying Scotty Moore's slashing guitar solos lick for lick. Holly and Montgomery created "Down The Line," crackling with rapid-fire vocal interaction and Buddy's sizzling axe. Shorn of The Fireballs' overdubbed instrumentation, added long after the fact by Norman Petty for belated public consumption, Buddy and Bob's clever lyrics are a lot easier to decipher.
That December, with Sonny (now on guitar), J.I., and bassist Don Guess, Buddy returned to Nesman to cut demos for Decca Records' perusal. "Eddie Crandall, who was a road manager for Marty Robbins, heard us play out in Lubbock, and he's the one that sort of got that started," says Curtis. Buddy came to the demo date with a frantic "Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight," the blues-tinged "Don't Come Back Knockin'" and "Love Me," and a penitent "I Guess I Was Just A Fool," an impressive enough cache to convince the label to sign him. But Buddy's three Nashville sessions for Decca over the course of 1956 failed to produce any hits, leaving him very dissatisfied with his recording experience there.
The rest of disc one hails from late '56 garage tapes engineered by their Lubbock pal Bobby Peeples. Buddy, J.I., and a bassist ripped through an array of then-current hits: Chuck Berry's "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," an Elvis-style "Good Rockin' Tonight," Little Richard's "Rip It Up," Fats Domino's "Blue Monday," Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes," Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll," Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley," and Clarence "Frogman" Henry's "Ain't Got No Home," complete with frog voice. There was also a bouncy "Have You Ever Been Lonely?," Ferlin Husky's country weeper "Gone," and two instrumentals: Bill Doggett's "Hanky Tonk" and Buddy's blazing guitar showcase "Holly Hop." Petty similarly updated these tracks with extra instrumentation during the '60s; they're a revelation in their original rip-roaring form.
The action shifts to producer Norman Petty's Clovis, N.M. studio on the second disc, where Buddy and his Crickets-Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and for a while, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan-forged some of the era's most innovative and influential rock and roll, simultaneously released on two labels: Brunswick (as The Crickets) and Coral (under Buddy's name). "Norman Petty was a really high-tech kind of guy, as far as the right equipment," notes Allison. "And he had a really good ear."
An unreleased first take of "Not Fade Away" got far enough for Buddy, J.I., and Niki to partially overdub background vocals, and this alternate "Peggy Sue" was done at the same time as the hit. "I had a girlfriend named Peggy Sue," says Allison, whose thundering paradiddles power the song.
“Buddy, he had a song started called 'Cindy Lou.' It sort of had a Latin feel. I talked him into changing it to 'Peggy Sue.'"
"Oh Boy!" was The Crickets' second biggest seller in late '57. Here minus The Picks' overdubbed vocal harmonies, Holly's crisp guitar break is much more pronounced and the song is closer to co-writer Sonny West's original vision. "We just had a demo that they had recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, and we listened to that and pretty well did it like they did it with the same feel," says Allison. Mauldin, who came to The Crickets from a local outfit, The Four Teens, brought the ballad "Last Night," similarly presented here without The Picks. "I had been doing that with the group I was working with earlier," says Joe B. "Buddy liked it, Norman liked it, and they just said, 'Well, shoot, let's record that too!'"
We get a fly-on-the-wall perspective of "Think It Over" without Vi Petty's piano or The Roses' vocal harmonies; The Crickets' self-contained sound sparkles. "I think Norman Petty actually wrote part of that one," says Allison.
"We were just sittin' around writing songs, and it got changed up quite a bit from how I had it started. We sort of went back to the 'That'll Be The Day' swing feel." Three takes of "Fool's Paradise," from that same February 14, 1958 session, undergo the same stripping-down process to similar aural benefit. Buddy had a bit of difficulty taming "Take Your Time" before gliding through the swayer, punctuated by Norman's organ.
The boys had cut "That's My Desire" in New York at Bell Sound that January, its finely polished pop sound taking several takes to perfect. "Love's Made A Fool Of You" was a far more informal affair. Cut in Clovis in June with Tommy Allsup on lead guitar as a demo for The Everly Brothers, it's here without the percussive handclaps added later. It was Petty's idea to send personalized greetings to Coral Records A&R director Bob Thiele and their music publisher Murray Deutsch, set to the tune of "That'll Be The Day."
The second half of disc two is devoted to Holly's farewell solo recordings, recorded in the Manhattan apartment that he and new wife Maria Elena shared. Holly taped his compositions "That's What They Say," "What To Do," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "That Makes It Tough," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," and "Learning The Game" between December 3rd and 17th of 1958. All would undergo extensive orchestral overdubbing in the wake of his tragic death. His last solo efforts in January of '59 were distinctive versions of Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" and "Dearest," the Robins' "Smokey Joe's Cafe," Little Richard's "Slippin' And Slidin'" (both slow and fast versions), and at his mother's request, "Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie."
For Holly fans, this long-awaited collection just may be the ultimate excuse to rave on.
– Bill Dahl
________________________________________________
SOURCES:
Buddy Holly - His Songs And Interviews, by Bill Griggs (1993, CD-ROM 2007)
Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography, by John Goldrosen and John Beecher (New York: Da Capo Press, 1996)
Buddy Holly Day-By-Day, by Bill Griggs (Lubbock, TX: Rockin' '50s, 1997)
________________________________________________
1. My Two-Timin' Woman
(Hank Snow)
Recorded at the Holley Family Home, Lubbock, Texas, circa 1949
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
2. Footprints In The Snow - Buddy & Bob
(Traditional, arranged by Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery)
Recorded at the Holley Family Home, Lubbock, Texas, circa 1953
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
3. Flower Of My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery-Don Guess)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Don Guess (steel guitar)
Previously Unreleased
4. Door To My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Don Guess (steel guitar)
Previously Unreleased
5. Soft Place In My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Also on Buddy Holly ~ The Memorial Collection
6. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Previously Unreleased
7. I Gambled My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Previously Unreleased
8. You And I Are Through - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery-Buddy Holly)
Probably recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, June 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Unknown (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
9. Down The Line - Buddy & Bob
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery-Norman Petty)
Probably recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, June 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
10. Baby, Let's Play House
(Arthur Gunter)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, mid-1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
11. Moonlight Baby a/k/a Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
12. I Guess I Was Just A Fool
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7,1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
13. Don't Come Back Knockin'
(Sue Parrish-Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
14. Love Me
(Sue Parrish-Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
________________________________________________
Recorded at the Holley family garage, late November/early December 1956
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Jerry Allison (drums - all tracks; additional vocal "Shake Rattle And Roll" & "Rip It Up")
15. Gone
(Smokey Rogers)
16. Gone (alternate take)
(Smokey Rogers)
17. Have You Ever Been Lonely (alternate take)
(Peter De Rose-George Brown)
18. Have You Ever Been Lonely
(Peter De Rose-George Brown)
19. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
(Chuck Berry)
20. Good Rockin' Tonight
(Roy Brown)
21. Rip It Up
(Robert Blackwell-John Marascalco)
22. Blue Monday
(Dave Bartholomew-Antoine "Fats" Domino)
23. Honky Tonk
(Bill Doggett-Clifford Scott-Berisford Shepherd-Billy Butler)
24. Blue Suede Shoes
(Carl Perkins)
25. Shake Rattle And Roll (partial)
(Charles Calhoun)
26. Bo Diddley
(Elias McDaniel)
27. Ain't Got No Home
(Clarence "Frogman" Henry)
28. Holly Hop
(Buddy Holly)
________________________________________________
Disc 2
1. Last Night (undubbed)
(Joe B. Mauldin-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, March 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
2. Not Fade Away (partial alternate overdub)
(Charles Hardin-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, May 29, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Jerry Allison (cardboard box percussion)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Niki Sullivan (background vocals)
Produced by Norman Petty
3. Peggy Sue (alternate take)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
4. Oh Boy (undubbed)
(Sonny West-Bill Tilghman-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
5. That's My Desire (two false starts plus undubbed master)
(Helmy Kresa-Carroll Loveday)
Recorded in New York City, New York, January 25, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal)
Al Caiola (guitar)
Donald Amone (rhythm guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Norman Petty (piano)
William Marine, Robert Bollinger, Robert Harter, Merril Ostrus, and Abby Hoffer (background vocals)
Produced by Milton De Lugg
6. Take Your Time (false start & partially undubbed take)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (cardboard box)
Norman Petty (organ)
Produced by Norman Petty
7. Fool's Paradise (alternate take undubbed)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
8. Fool's Paradise (undubbed master)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 13, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
9. Fool's Paradise (alternate #2 undubbed)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
10. Think It Over (false start & rehearsal take) (take 1)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
11. Think It Over (undubbed alternate) (take 2)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
12. Think It Over (undubbed master) (take 3)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
13. Love's Made A Fool Of You (undubbed)
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 2, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-rhythm guitar)
Tommy Allsup (lead guitar)
George Atwood (bass)
Bo Clarke (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
14. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Bob Thiele)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison)
Probably recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 29/July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
15. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Murray Deutsch)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison)
Probably recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 29/July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
________________________________________________
Buddy Holly (vocal-acoustic guitar, tracks 16 to 30, except vocal-electric guitar on "Slippin' And Slidin'" (slow version #1)
16. That's What They Say (w/fragment)
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 3, 1958
17. What To Do
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 3, 1958
18. Peggy Sue Got Married
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 5, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
19. That Makes It Tough
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 8, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
20. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 14, 1958
21. Learning The Game
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 17, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
22. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
(Andrew Sterling-Harry Von Tilzer)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
23. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #l)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
24. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #2)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
25. Slippin' And Slidin' (fast version)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
26. Buddy & Maria Elena talking in apartment
27. Dearest (fragment)
(Elias McDaniel-Prentice Polk-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
28. Dearest
(Elias McDaniel-Prentice Polk-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
29. Untitled Instrumental
(a/k/a Buddy's Guitar/listed as "Tremolo Instrumental")
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
30. Love Is Strange
(Ethel Smith-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
31. Smokey Joe's Cafe
(Jerry Lieber-Mike Stoller)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
________________________________________________
Compilation Produced by Andy McKaie
Digitally remastered by Erick Labson, Universal Mastering - West
Art Direction: Vartan
Design: Mike Fink @ilevel
Photo Coordinator: Ryan Null
Photo Credits: Slipcase cover, digipak color, pgs. 9, 18: Universal Music Archives; Digipak black & white, pg. 6: Copyright Lew Allen with permission of Maria Elena Holly and CMG Worldwide Inc., except digipak performance shot: Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis; Booklet front and back covers, pgs. 2, 26: Buddy Holly Memorial Society/Universal Music Archives; Pgs. 12, 25: Showtime Music Archives (Toronto)
Production Manager: Beth Stempel
Legal Clearances: Andrew Labarrere
Product Manager: Adam Abrams
Special Thanks to Maria Elena Holley
Thanks to Jerry "J.I." Allison & Bill Dahl
________________________________________________
Sources:
Buddy Holly - His Songs And Interviews by Bill Griggs (1993, CD-ROM 2007)
Remembering Buddy: A Definitive Biography by John Goldrosen and John Beecher (New York, Da Capo Press, 1996)
Brunswick and Coral tape boxes
________________________________________________
Also Available by Buddy Holly:
Buddy Holly
Gold (2-CD)
Best Of/20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection
The "Chirping" Crickets
The Buddy Holly Collection (2-CD)
The Definitive Collection
The Great Buddy Holly
The Memorial Collection
Get Buddy Holly ringtones for your phone!
Text BUDDY2A to 30303 to get It's So Easy
Text BUDDY2B to 30303 to get Maybe Baby
Text BUDDY2C to 30303 to get That'll Be The Day
GEFFEN © 2008 Geffen Records. B0011675-02
To download this album from iTunes, click here:
To buy this album from Amazon.com, click here: Down the Line: Rarities
________________________________________________Buddy Holly
Down The Line: Rarities
Decca Geffen
B0011675-02
________________________________________________
At last, the gates to the Buddy Holly archive swing wide open wide with this momentous rarities collection, packed with pre-fame home recordings, intriguing alternate takes, revelatory undubbed versions, and informal solo tapes sure to be cherished by his worldwide legion of fans.
* * * * *
Born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas, on September 7, 1936, Buddy was influenced initially by country music, especially Hank Williams. His first home recording from 1949 found him trying out Hank Snow's "My Two-Timin' Woman." Holly adeptly approximates Snow's crisp picking, though his pubescent pipes can't match Hank's authoritative vocal tone. Worn and battered though it may be, it's historically invaluable.
Buddy met Bob Montgomery in junior high school, the two forming a duo known as Buddy and Bob. Circa 1953, they recorded a duet treatment of "Footprints In The Snow," one of bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe's biggest sellers. By the time the pair first entered Nesman Recording Studios in Wichita Falls in 1954 or '55, they'd built a local following through regular appearances on Lubbock's KDAV. And they had like-minded friends; Sonny Curtis added red-hot fiddle to the romping "Gotta Get You Near Me Blues," Holly uncorking some dazzling lead guitar. It was one of five originals provided then by the prolific Montgomery, who exhibited a predilection towards frisky mid-tempo rhythms and songs revolving around the heart: "Flower Of My Heart," "Door To My Heart," "I Gambled My Heart," "Soft Place In My Heart." He also penned "You And I Are Through," laid down by Buddy and Bob in 1955 at the KDAV studios.
* * * * *
Radio broadcasts out of Shreveport introduced the boys to blues and R&B, and when a certain swivel-hipped rocker visited Lubbock, their world, was turned upside down.
* * * * *
"When Elvis came through town," says Sonny Curtis, "the next day, we started doing Elvis songs." Concurs drummer Jerry Allison, "Buddy Holly wanted to be Elvis there for a while."
Buddy, Bob, J.I., and bassist Larry Welborn convened at Nesman in the summer of '55 with a new rockabilly mindset. Holly attacked Presley's sizzling Sun rendition of "Baby Let's Play House," copying Scotty Moore's slashing guitar solos lick for lick. Holly and Montgomery created "Down The Line," crackling with rapid-fire vocal interaction and Buddy's sizzling axe. Shorn of The Fireballs' overdubbed instrumentation, added long after the fact by Norman Petty for belated public consumption, Buddy and Bob's clever lyrics are a lot easier to decipher.
That December, with Sonny (now on guitar), J.I., and bassist Don Guess, Buddy returned to Nesman to cut demos for Decca Records' perusal. "Eddie Crandall, who was a road manager for Marty Robbins, heard us play out in Lubbock, and he's the one that sort of got that started," says Curtis. Buddy came to the demo date with a frantic "Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight," the blues-tinged "Don't Come Back Knockin'" and "Love Me," and a penitent "I Guess I Was Just A Fool," an impressive enough cache to convince the label to sign him. But Buddy's three Nashville sessions for Decca over the course of 1956 failed to produce any hits, leaving him very dissatisfied with his recording experience there.
The rest of disc one hails from late '56 garage tapes engineered by their Lubbock pal Bobby Peeples. Buddy, J.I., and a bassist ripped through an array of then-current hits: Chuck Berry's "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," an Elvis-style "Good Rockin' Tonight," Little Richard's "Rip It Up," Fats Domino's "Blue Monday," Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes," Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll," Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley," and Clarence "Frogman" Henry's "Ain't Got No Home," complete with frog voice. There was also a bouncy "Have You Ever Been Lonely?," Ferlin Husky's country weeper "Gone," and two instrumentals: Bill Doggett's "Hanky Tonk" and Buddy's blazing guitar showcase "Holly Hop." Petty similarly updated these tracks with extra instrumentation during the '60s; they're a revelation in their original rip-roaring form.
The action shifts to producer Norman Petty's Clovis, N.M. studio on the second disc, where Buddy and his Crickets-Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and for a while, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan-forged some of the era's most innovative and influential rock and roll, simultaneously released on two labels: Brunswick (as The Crickets) and Coral (under Buddy's name). "Norman Petty was a really high-tech kind of guy, as far as the right equipment," notes Allison. "And he had a really good ear."
An unreleased first take of "Not Fade Away" got far enough for Buddy, J.I., and Niki to partially overdub background vocals, and this alternate "Peggy Sue" was done at the same time as the hit. "I had a girlfriend named Peggy Sue," says Allison, whose thundering paradiddles power the song.
* * * * *
“Buddy, he had a song started called 'Cindy Lou.' It sort of had a Latin feel. I talked him into changing it to 'Peggy Sue.'"
* * * * *
"Oh Boy!" was The Crickets' second biggest seller in late '57. Here minus The Picks' overdubbed vocal harmonies, Holly's crisp guitar break is much more pronounced and the song is closer to co-writer Sonny West's original vision. "We just had a demo that they had recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, and we listened to that and pretty well did it like they did it with the same feel," says Allison. Mauldin, who came to The Crickets from a local outfit, The Four Teens, brought the ballad "Last Night," similarly presented here without The Picks. "I had been doing that with the group I was working with earlier," says Joe B. "Buddy liked it, Norman liked it, and they just said, 'Well, shoot, let's record that too!'"
We get a fly-on-the-wall perspective of "Think It Over" without Vi Petty's piano or The Roses' vocal harmonies; The Crickets' self-contained sound sparkles. "I think Norman Petty actually wrote part of that one," says Allison.
"We were just sittin' around writing songs, and it got changed up quite a bit from how I had it started. We sort of went back to the 'That'll Be The Day' swing feel." Three takes of "Fool's Paradise," from that same February 14, 1958 session, undergo the same stripping-down process to similar aural benefit. Buddy had a bit of difficulty taming "Take Your Time" before gliding through the swayer, punctuated by Norman's organ.
The boys had cut "That's My Desire" in New York at Bell Sound that January, its finely polished pop sound taking several takes to perfect. "Love's Made A Fool Of You" was a far more informal affair. Cut in Clovis in June with Tommy Allsup on lead guitar as a demo for The Everly Brothers, it's here without the percussive handclaps added later. It was Petty's idea to send personalized greetings to Coral Records A&R director Bob Thiele and their music publisher Murray Deutsch, set to the tune of "That'll Be The Day."
The second half of disc two is devoted to Holly's farewell solo recordings, recorded in the Manhattan apartment that he and new wife Maria Elena shared. Holly taped his compositions "That's What They Say," "What To Do," "Peggy Sue Got Married," "That Makes It Tough," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping," and "Learning The Game" between December 3rd and 17th of 1958. All would undergo extensive orchestral overdubbing in the wake of his tragic death. His last solo efforts in January of '59 were distinctive versions of Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" and "Dearest," the Robins' "Smokey Joe's Cafe," Little Richard's "Slippin' And Slidin'" (both slow and fast versions), and at his mother's request, "Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie."
* * * * *
For Holly fans, this long-awaited collection just may be the ultimate excuse to rave on.
* * * * *
– Bill Dahl
________________________________________________
SOURCES:
Buddy Holly - His Songs And Interviews, by Bill Griggs (1993, CD-ROM 2007)
Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography, by John Goldrosen and John Beecher (New York: Da Capo Press, 1996)
Buddy Holly Day-By-Day, by Bill Griggs (Lubbock, TX: Rockin' '50s, 1997)
________________________________________________
Disc 1 – Earliest Bloomings
(all undubbed)
(all undubbed)
1. My Two-Timin' Woman
(Hank Snow)
Recorded at the Holley Family Home, Lubbock, Texas, circa 1949
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
2. Footprints In The Snow - Buddy & Bob
(Traditional, arranged by Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery)
Recorded at the Holley Family Home, Lubbock, Texas, circa 1953
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
3. Flower Of My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery-Don Guess)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Don Guess (steel guitar)
Previously Unreleased
4. Door To My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Don Guess (steel guitar)
Previously Unreleased
5. Soft Place In My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Also on Buddy Holly ~ The Memorial Collection
6. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Previously Unreleased
7. I Gambled My Heart - Buddy & Bob
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, circa 1954/1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (fiddle)
Don Guess (bass)
Previously Unreleased
8. You And I Are Through - Buddy & Bob
(Bob Montgomery-Buddy Holly)
Probably recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, June 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Unknown (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
9. Down The Line - Buddy & Bob
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery-Norman Petty)
Probably recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, June 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Bob Montgomery (vocal-guitar)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
10. Baby, Let's Play House
(Arthur Gunter)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, mid-1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Larry Welborn (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
11. Moonlight Baby a/k/a Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
12. I Guess I Was Just A Fool
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7,1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
13. Don't Come Back Knockin'
(Sue Parrish-Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
14. Love Me
(Sue Parrish-Buddy Holly)
Recorded in Wichita Falls, Texas, December 7, 1955
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar
Sonny Curtis (guitar)
Don Guess (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
________________________________________________
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
The Garage Tapes (all undubbed)
The Garage Tapes (all undubbed)
(tracks 15 to 28)
________________________________________________Recorded at the Holley family garage, late November/early December 1956
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Jerry Allison (drums - all tracks; additional vocal "Shake Rattle And Roll" & "Rip It Up")
15. Gone
(Smokey Rogers)
16. Gone (alternate take)
(Smokey Rogers)
17. Have You Ever Been Lonely (alternate take)
(Peter De Rose-George Brown)
18. Have You Ever Been Lonely
(Peter De Rose-George Brown)
19. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
(Chuck Berry)
20. Good Rockin' Tonight
(Roy Brown)
21. Rip It Up
(Robert Blackwell-John Marascalco)
22. Blue Monday
(Dave Bartholomew-Antoine "Fats" Domino)
23. Honky Tonk
(Bill Doggett-Clifford Scott-Berisford Shepherd-Billy Butler)
24. Blue Suede Shoes
(Carl Perkins)
25. Shake Rattle And Roll (partial)
(Charles Calhoun)
26. Bo Diddley
(Elias McDaniel)
27. Ain't Got No Home
(Clarence "Frogman" Henry)
28. Holly Hop
(Buddy Holly)
________________________________________________
Disc 2
1. Last Night (undubbed)
(Joe B. Mauldin-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, March 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
2. Not Fade Away (partial alternate overdub)
(Charles Hardin-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, May 29, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Jerry Allison (cardboard box percussion)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Niki Sullivan (background vocals)
Produced by Norman Petty
3. Peggy Sue (alternate take)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
4. Oh Boy (undubbed)
(Sonny West-Bill Tilghman-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
5. That's My Desire (two false starts plus undubbed master)
(Helmy Kresa-Carroll Loveday)
Recorded in New York City, New York, January 25, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal)
Al Caiola (guitar)
Donald Amone (rhythm guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Norman Petty (piano)
William Marine, Robert Bollinger, Robert Harter, Merril Ostrus, and Abby Hoffer (background vocals)
Produced by Milton De Lugg
6. Take Your Time (false start & partially undubbed take)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (cardboard box)
Norman Petty (organ)
Produced by Norman Petty
7. Fool's Paradise (alternate take undubbed)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
8. Fool's Paradise (undubbed master)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 13, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
9. Fool's Paradise (alternate #2 undubbed)
(Sonny Leglaire-Horace Linsley-Norman Petty)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
10. Think It Over (false start & rehearsal take) (take 1)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
11. Think It Over (undubbed alternate) (take 2)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
12. Think It Over (undubbed master) (take 3)
(Buddy Holly-Norman Petty-Jerry Allison)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, February 14, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
13. Love's Made A Fool Of You (undubbed)
(Buddy Holly-Bob Montgomery)
Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 2, 1958
Buddy Holly (vocal-rhythm guitar)
Tommy Allsup (lead guitar)
George Atwood (bass)
Bo Clarke (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
14. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Bob Thiele)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison)
Probably recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 29/July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
15. That'll Be The Day (greetings to Murray Deutsch)
(Buddy Holly-Jerry Allison)
Probably recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, June 29/July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly (vocal-guitar)
Joe B. Mauldin (bass)
Jerry Allison (drums)
Produced by Norman Petty
________________________________________________
Buddy Holly
The Apartment Tapes
(all undubbed)
Recorded at Buddy & Maria Elena Holley's apartment, 11 Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York The Apartment Tapes
(all undubbed)
Buddy Holly (vocal-acoustic guitar, tracks 16 to 30, except vocal-electric guitar on "Slippin' And Slidin'" (slow version #1)
16. That's What They Say (w/fragment)
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 3, 1958
17. What To Do
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 3, 1958
18. Peggy Sue Got Married
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 5, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
19. That Makes It Tough
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 8, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
20. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 14, 1958
21. Learning The Game
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded December 17, 1958
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
22. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
(Andrew Sterling-Harry Von Tilzer)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
23. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #l)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
24. Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #2)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
25. Slippin' And Slidin' (fast version)
(Richard Penniman-Albert Collins-Edwin Bocage-James Smith)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
26. Buddy & Maria Elena talking in apartment
27. Dearest (fragment)
(Elias McDaniel-Prentice Polk-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
28. Dearest
(Elias McDaniel-Prentice Polk-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
29. Untitled Instrumental
(a/k/a Buddy's Guitar/listed as "Tremolo Instrumental")
(Buddy Holly)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
30. Love Is Strange
(Ethel Smith-Mickey Baker)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
Originally on the MCA LP MCA6-80,000, The Complete Buddy Holly
31. Smokey Joe's Cafe
(Jerry Lieber-Mike Stoller)
Recorded between January 1 and 20, 1959
________________________________________________
Compilation Produced by Andy McKaie
Digitally remastered by Erick Labson, Universal Mastering - West
Art Direction: Vartan
Design: Mike Fink @ilevel
Photo Coordinator: Ryan Null
Photo Credits: Slipcase cover, digipak color, pgs. 9, 18: Universal Music Archives; Digipak black & white, pg. 6: Copyright Lew Allen with permission of Maria Elena Holly and CMG Worldwide Inc., except digipak performance shot: Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis; Booklet front and back covers, pgs. 2, 26: Buddy Holly Memorial Society/Universal Music Archives; Pgs. 12, 25: Showtime Music Archives (Toronto)
Production Manager: Beth Stempel
Legal Clearances: Andrew Labarrere
Product Manager: Adam Abrams
Special Thanks to Maria Elena Holley
Thanks to Jerry "J.I." Allison & Bill Dahl
________________________________________________
Sources:
Buddy Holly - His Songs And Interviews by Bill Griggs (1993, CD-ROM 2007)
Remembering Buddy: A Definitive Biography by John Goldrosen and John Beecher (New York, Da Capo Press, 1996)
Brunswick and Coral tape boxes
________________________________________________
Also Available by Buddy Holly:
Buddy Holly
Gold (2-CD)
Best Of/20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection
The "Chirping" Crickets
The Buddy Holly Collection (2-CD)
The Definitive Collection
The Great Buddy Holly
The Memorial Collection
Get Buddy Holly ringtones for your phone!
Text BUDDY2A to 30303 to get It's So Easy
Text BUDDY2B to 30303 to get Maybe Baby
Text BUDDY2C to 30303 to get That'll Be The Day
GEFFEN © 2008 Geffen Records. B0011675-02
