"When You Ask About Love" is a song written by Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis and recorded by the Crickets in 1959. It was a hit in Britain, reaching number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
| "When You Ask About Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK Coral vinyl record | ||||
| Single by The Crickets | ||||
| from the album In Style with the Crickets | ||||
| B-side | "Deborah" | |||
| Released | October 1959 (US) November 1959 (UK) | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Norman Petty | |||
| The Crickets singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Crickets version
edit"When You Ask About Love" was the second single from the Crickets' second album, In Style With the Crickets. It was also the second single to be released after the death of Buddy Holly. The song was written by guitarist Sonny Curtis and drummer Jerry Allison whilst they were at the home of Allison's girlfriend and future wife, Peggy Sue Gerron (after whom the Buddy Holly song is named). The B-side "Deborah" was named after Peggy Sue's younger niece.[2]
Personnel
edit- Earl Sinks - vocals
- Sonny Curtis - guitar
- Joe B. Mauldin - bass
- Jerry Allison - drums
- Dudley Brooks - piano[3]
Charts
edit| Chart (1960) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[1] | 27 |
Matchbox version
edit| "When You Ask About Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Matchbox | ||||
| from the album Midnite Dynamos | ||||
| B-side | "You've Made a Fool of Me" | |||
| Released | 19 September 1980 | |||
| Genre | Rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | Magnet | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Collins | |||
| Matchbox singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1980, English rockabilly band Matchbox released a cover of the song as the second single from for their fourth album Midnite Dynamos. It was the band's biggest hit, reaching number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.[4]
Reception
editReviewing the song in Record Mirror, Mike Nicholls described the song as "pukeabilly – uninspired, backward looking and unoriginal – surely we've got past this by now. If you want this sort of "music" – go back and listen to Buddy Holly, at least he had some conviction."[5]
Charts
edit| Chart (1980–81) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (AMR)[6] | 55 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] | 16 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] | 22 |
| Germany (GfK)[9] | 29 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] | 20 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 18 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[4] | 4 |
Other recordings
edit- In 1962, Julie Grant covered the song for the B-side of "Up on the Roof".
- In 1965, Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas covered the song, for their US album Trains and Boats and Planes.
- In 1965, Mancunian Johnny Peters covered the song as a single, but it failed to chart.[13][14]
- In 1980, Swedish band Sven-Erics covered the song for their album Santa Maria.
- In 1998, a cover by Mike Berry & The Outlaws was featured on the album Rock 'n' Roll Daze.
References
edit- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ Leigh, Spencer (2019-01-10). Buddy Holly: Learning the Game. McNidder & Grace. ISBN 978-0-85716-189-5.
- ^ "Who's Who On The Cricket's Recordings". Rockin50s.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Record Mirror" (PDF). Record Mirror. 4 October 1980. p. 14. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ Grant. "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1980". Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "Matchbox – When You Ask About Love" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Matchbox – When You Ask About Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Matchbox – When You Ask About Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – When You Ask About Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Matchbox" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Matchbox – When You Ask About Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Johnny Peters - When You Ask About Love". Discogs. 11 June 1965. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ "Johnny Peters and the Crestas, Johnny Peters and the Jets, Johnny Peters and the JPs, Press - Plaza Ballroom, 2013". Manchester Digital Music Archive. Retrieved 2020-03-06.