Buddy Holly recorded under several names and with several different backing bands. The Crickets played on almost all of his singles in 1957 and 1958.[1]
| Buddy Holly discography | |
|---|---|
 Buddy Holly in 1958 | |
| Studio albums | 3 |
| Compilation albums | 29 |
| Singles | 28 |
Holly recorded prolifically before his death in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. He released three albums in his lifetime. Coral Records was able to release archival new albums and singles for 10 years after his death, but their technical quality was mixed, some being studio recordings and others home recordings.
Holly's records were promoted after his death and had a loyal following, especially in Europe. The demand for unissued recordings by Holly was so great that his producer, Norman Petty, resorted to overdubbing whatever he could find: alternate takes of studio recordings, originally rejected masters, "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and the other five 1959 tracks (adding new surf-guitar arrangements), and even Holly's amateur demos from 1954 (in which the low-fidelity vocals are often muffled behind added orchestrations). The last new Holly album was Giant (featuring the single "Love Is Strange"), issued in 1969. Between the 1959–1960 overdubs produced by Jack Hansen (with vocal backings imitating the Crickets' sound), the 1960s overdubs produced by Petty, various alternate takes, and Holly's undubbed originals, multiple versions of the same songs are available. There are also many different versions of Holly's Greatest Hits as well as covers and compilation albums of his songs performed by various artists. Many singles and albums of his material have been released posthumously, beginning with "Peggy Sue Got Married" in July 1959 and the successful 6-disc collectors box set Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings, 50 years later in 2009.
Albums
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2][3] | ||||
| 1957 | The "Chirping" Crickets | The Crickets | 5 | |
| 1958 | Buddy Holly | Buddy Holly |
|
— |
| That'll Be the Day | Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes |
|
5 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||
Compilation albums
edit| Decade | Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
NZ [5] |
UK [2][3] | ||||
| 1950s | The Buddy Holly Story | 11 | — | 2 | US: Gold[6] | |
| 1960s | The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2 |
|
41 [7] |
— | 7 | |
| Reminiscing |
|
40 | — | 2 | ||
| Showcase |
|
— | — | 3 | ||
| Holly in the Hills |
|
— | — | 13 | ||
| The Best of Buddy Holly |
|
— | — | — | UK: Gold[8] | |
| Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits |
|
— | — | 9 | ||
| Giant |
|
— | — | 13 | ||
| 1970s | Buddy Holly: A Rock & Roll Collection |
|
— | — | — | |
| Buddy Holly: Legend |
|
TBD | TBD | TBD | ||
| 20 Golden Greats also known as Buddy Holly Lives |
|
55 | — | 1 | US: Gold[6] UK: Platinum[8] | |
| The Complete Buddy Holly | — | — | — | |||
| 1980s | Love Songs 20 Love Song (US title) |
|
— | — | — | UK: Gold[8] |
| The Great Buddy Holly |
|
— | — | — | ||
| For the First Time Anywhere |
|
— | — | — | ||
| From the Original Master Tapes |
|
— | — | — | ||
| True Love Ways |
|
— | 24 | 8 | UK: Gold[8] | |
| 1990s | Words of Love |
|
— | 20 | 1 | UK: Gold[8] |
| The Buddy Holly Collection |
|
— | — | — | ||
| Greatest Hits |
|
— | — | — | ||
| The Very Best of Buddy Holly |
|
— | — | 24 | UK: Gold[8] | |
| 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Buddy Holly |
|
— | — | — | ||
| The Very Best of Buddy Holly & the Crickets |
|
— | 12 | 13 | ||
| 2000s | Buddy Holly Gold |
|
— | — | — | |
| Not Fade Away |
|
101 | — | — | ||
| Down the Line: Rarities |
|
— | — | — | ||
| Memorial Collection |
|
— | — | — | ||
| Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings And More |
|
— | — | — | ||
| 2010s | The Very Best of Buddy Holly and the Crickets |
|
— | — | — | |
| True Love Ways (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) |
|
— | — | 10 | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Titles (A-side / B-side) (both sides from same album except as noted) |
Artist | Label | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B | UK | |||||
| 1956 | "Love Me" "Blue Days, Black Nights" |
Buddy Holly | Decca | — | — | — | That'll Be the Day |
| "Modern Don Juan" "You Are My One Desire" |
— | — | — | ||||
| 1957 | "That'll Be the Day" "I'm Looking for Someone to Love" |
The Crickets | Brunswick | 1 | 2 | 1 | The "Chirping" Crickets |
| "Words of Love" "Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues" |
Buddy Holly | Coral | — | — | — | Buddy Holly | |
| "Rock Around with Ollie Vee" "That'll Be the Day" |
Decca | — | — | — | That'll Be the Day | ||
| "Peggy Sue" "Everyday"[10] |
Coral | 3 | 3 | 6 | Buddy Holly | ||
| "Oh, Boy!" "Not Fade Away" |
The Crickets | Brunswick | 10 | 15 | 3 | The "Chirping" Crickets | |
| 1958 | "Love Me" "You Are My One Desire" |
Buddy Holly | Decca | — | — | — | That'll Be the Day |
| "I'm Gonna Love You Too" "Listen to Me" |
Coral | — | — | — | Buddy Holly | ||
| "Maybe Baby" "Tell Me How" |
The Crickets | Brunswick | 17 | 8 | 4 | The "Chirping" Crickets | |
| "Rave On" "Take Your Time" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) |
Buddy Holly | Coral | 37 | — | 5 | Buddy Holly | |
| "Think It Over" | The Crickets | Brunswick | 27 | 9 | 11 | The Buddy Holly Story | |
| "Fool's Paradise"[10] (from Holly in the Hills) | 58 | — | — | ||||
| "Girl on My Mind" "Ting-a-Ling" |
Buddy Holly | Decca | — | — | — | That'll Be the Day | |
| "Early in the Morning" "Now We're One" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) |
Coral | 32 | — | 17 | The Buddy Holly Story | ||
| "It's So Easy" "Lonesome Tears" (from Holly in the Hills) |
The Crickets | Brunswick | — | — | — | ||
| "Real Wild Child" "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" |
Ivan (pseudonym for Jerry Allison) |
Coral | 85 | — | — | Non-LP tracks | |
| "Heartbeat" "Well... All Right" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) |
Buddy Holly | 82 | 4 | 30 | The Buddy Holly Story | ||
| 1959 | "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" | 13 | — | 1 | |||
| "Raining in My Heart" | 88 | — | — | ||||
| "Peggy Sue Got Married"/ "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" |
— | — | 13 / — | The Buddy Holly Story Volume II | |||
| 1960 | "True Love Ways" "That Makes It Tough" |
— | — | 25 | |||
| 1962 | "Reminiscing" "Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie" |
— | — | 17 | Reminiscing | ||
| 1963 | "Bo Diddley" "True Love Ways" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) |
116A | — | 4 | |||
| "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" "Wishing" (from Holly in the Hills) |
113A | — | 3 | ||||
| 1964 | "I'm Gonna Love You Too" (from Buddy Holly) "Rock Around with Ollie Vee" |
— | — | — | Showcase | ||
| 1965 | "What to Do" "Slippin' and Slidin'" (from Reminiscing) |
— | — | 34 | Holly in the Hills | ||
| 1969 | "Love Is Strange" "You're the One" |
105A | — | — | Giant | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||
- 1.^ Charted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
Billboard Year-End performances
editBuddy Holly
edit| Year | Song | Year-End Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | "Peggy Sue" | 50 |
The Crickets
edit| Year | Song | Year-End Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | "That'll Be the Day" | 30 |
References
edit- ^ Norman Petty (producer) interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
- ^ a b "Buddy Holly". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ a b "Buddy Holly & the Crickets". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- ^ "Buddy Holly: Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums". AllMusic. United States. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
- ^ "Buddy Holly" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Top LP's: 150 Best Selling Monaural LP's". Billboard Music Week. Vol. 74, no. 36. September 8, 1962. Cover. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (ASPX) on 2013-01-15.
- ^ "Buddy Holly With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra TRUE LOVE WAYS Out On Decca Records Next Month". Peermusic. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Buddy Holly Discography" at hotshotdigital.com. Accessed 2011 August 7.
External links
edit- Buddy Holly discography at MusicBrainz
- Buddy Holly discography at Discogs