That'll Be the Day
{{short description|1957 single by the Crickets}}
{{About|the Buddy Holly song|the 1958 album|That'll Be the Day (album)|the 1973 film|That'll Be the Day (film)|the UK theatre show|That'll Be the Day (musical)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = That'll Be the Day
| image = Thatll Be the Day by the Crickets US single 45-RPM side-A variant A.png
| alt = side-A label
| caption = 1957 U.S. 45 rpm (Brunswick 9-55009)
| type = single
| artist = the Crickets
| album = The "Chirping" Crickets
| B-side = I'm Looking for Someone to Love
| released = {{Start date|1957|07}}Buddy Holly: Greatest Hits 1995 MCA Records Liner notes
| recorded = 1957
| studio = Norman Petty Recording Studio, Clovis, New Mexico
| venue =
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=16}}
| label = Brunswick U.S. single 55009; Coral Records, UK single Q.72279; Coral Records BS-1578, Australian 78 single, BSP45-1578, 45 single
| writer = Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
| producer = Norman Petty
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Oh, Boy!
| next_year = 1957
}}
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' version was released several months after the Crickets' version, which achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition.{{cite video |title=The Real Buddy Holly Story|date= 1987 |publisher=White Star Studios}}
Many other versions have been recorded. It was the first song recorded (as a demonstration disc) by the Quarrymen, a skiffle group from Liverpool that evolved into the Beatles.Anthology 1
The 1957 recording was certified gold (for over a million US sales) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1969. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. It was placed in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States", in 2005.
Background
In June 1956, Holly along with his older brother Larry as well as Allison and Sonny Curtis went to see the film The Searchers, starring John Wayne, in which Wayne repeatedly used the phrase "that'll be the day". This line of dialogue inspired the young musicians.{{cite web|url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-wayne-movie-inspired-buddy-hollys-thatll-be-the-day.html/|title=How a John Wayne Movie Inspired Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be the Day'|first=Matthew|last=Trzcinski|date=February 10, 2022|work=CheatSheet}}
Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' version
{{Infobox song
| name = That'll Be the Day
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes
| album = That'll Be the Day
| B-side = Rock Around with Ollie Vee
| released = {{Start date|1957|09|02}}
| recorded = July 22, 1956
| studio = Bradley Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
| venue =
| genre = Rockabilly, country
| length =
| writer = Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
| producer = Owen Bradley
| chronology = Buddy Holly
| prev_title = Words of Love
| prev_year = 1957
| next_title = Peggy Sue
| next_year = 1957
}}
The song was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes for Decca Records at Bradley Studios in Nashville, on July 22, 1956. Decca, displeased with Holly's previous two singles, did not issue recordings from this session. After the song was re-recorded by the Crickets in 1957 and became a hit, Decca released the original recording as a single (Decca D30434) on September 2, 1957, with "Rock Around with Ollie Vee" as the B-side. It was also the title track of the 1958 album That'll Be the Day.{{cite web|title=Buddy Holly: That'll Be The Day|url=http://notfadeaway.dk/buddyholly/thatllbetheday.htm|access-date=17 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207075629/http://notfadeaway.dk/buddyholly/thatllbetheday.htm|archive-date=7 February 2012|url-status=dead}} Despite Holly's newfound stardom, the single did not chart.
The Crickets' version
Holly's contract with Decca prohibited him from re-recording any of the songs recorded in the 1956 Nashville sessions for five years, even if Decca never released them. To evade this restriction, the producer Norman Petty credited the Crickets as the artist on his re-recording of "That'll Be the Day" for Brunswick Records.{{Pop Chronicles |12| 4|Norman Petty}} Brunswick was a subsidiary of Decca. Once the cat was out of the bag, Decca re-signed Holly to another of its subsidiaries, Coral Records, so he ended up with two recording contracts. Recordings with the Crickets were to be issued by Brunswick, and the recordings under Holly's name were to be on Coral, although the Crickets played on several of them.
The second recording of the song was made on February 25, 1957, seven months after the first, at the Norman Petty studios in Clovis, New Mexico, and issued by Brunswick on July 27, 1957. This version is on the debut album by the Crickets, The "Chirping" Crickets, issued on November 27, 1957. The recording was made with everyone performing and without additional overdubs. The B-side of the record, "I'm Looking for Someone to Love" was recorded at the same session with the same backup singers.
The Brunswick recording of "That'll Be the Day" is considered a classic of rock and roll. It was ranked number 39 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11028260/the_rs_500_greatest_songs_of_all_time/1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416005906/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11028260/the_rs_500_greatest_songs_of_all_time/1|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 16, 2007|title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|publisher=RollingStone.com|access-date=2007-06-02}}
=Chart performance=
The Brunswick single was a number-one hit on Billboard magazine's Best Sellers in Stores chart in 1957. It went to number two on Billboard's R&B singles chart.{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |location=Menomonie, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research |page=259}} The song peaked at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1957 and stayed in that position for three weeks.{{cite book| first= Jo| last= Rice| year= 1982| title= The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits| publisher= Guinness Superlatives | location= Enfield, Middlesex| page= 33| isbn= 0-85112-250-7}}
On December 20, 1969, a reissue of the single by Coral Records was awarded a "gold single" by the RIAA.
On September 20, 1986, the song appeared on the UK Singles Chart at number 85 and left the chart a week later.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/The%20Boy%20In%20The%20Bubble |title=Official Charts Company – The Chart Archive |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=2014-04-03}}
=Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for "That'll Be the Day" ! scope="col" | Chart (1957) ! scope="col" | Peak | |
| {{single chart|UK|1|date=19571101|rowheader=true|access-date=August 26, 2022|refname=UK Singles}} | |
| US Billboard Top 100{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |location=Menomonie, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research |page=259}} | 1 |
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "That'll Be the Day"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Buddy Holly & the Crickets|title=Be the Day|award=Gold|relyear=1957|certyear=1969|access-date=July 1, 2024|refname=riaa}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
=Personnel=
July 22, 1956, Bradley Studios, Nashville
- Buddy Holly – vocals, lead guitar
- Sonny Curtis – rhythm guitar
- Don Guess – bass
- Jerry Allison – drums
February 25, 1957, Norman Petty Recording Studio
- Buddy Holly – lead guitar and vocals
- Larry Welborn – bass
- Jerry Allison – drums
- Niki Sullivan – acoustic guitar and background vocals
- Gary Tollett – background vocals
- Ramona Tollett – background vocals
Linda Ronstadt version
{{Infobox song
| name = That'll Be the Day
| image = Thatll be the day by linda ronstadt US single side-A blue variant.png
| alt = blue side-A label
| caption = One of side-A labels of the US single
| type = single
| artist = Linda Ronstadt
| album = Hasten Down the Wind
| B-side = Crazy
| released = August 1976
| recorded = 1976
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Pop, country rock
| length = 2:32
| label = Asylum
| writer = Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
| producer = Peter Asher
| prev_title = Tracks of My Tears
| prev_year = 1975
| next_title = Someone to Lay Down Beside Me
| next_year = 1977
}}
=Background=
Linda Ronstadt recorded "That'll Be the Day" for her 1976 Grammy Award-winning platinum album Hasten Down the Wind, produced by Peter Asher and issued by Asylum Records. Her version reached number 11 on both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100 and number 27 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. In Canada, her version peaked at number 2 on the singles chart and was the 35th biggest hit of 1976. It also made the Adult Contemporary charts in the United States and Canada. This recording is included on the album Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits (1976) and on the 2011 tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly.
=Chart performance=
{{col-begin|width=65%}}
{{col-2}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1976–77)
!Peak |
|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles
| style="text-align:center;"|2 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|14 |
| Canada RPM Country
| style="text-align:center;"|17 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100
| style="text-align:center;"|11 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary
| style="text-align:center;"|16 |
| U.S. Billboard Country
| style="text-align:center;"|27 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100
| style="text-align:center;"|11 |
{{col-2}}
| class="wikitable" |
| align="left"|Year-end chart (1977)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank |
|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles{{cite web|url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5502b&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5502b.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5502b |title= Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977 |work= RPM |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |access-date= June 25, 2016|date= 2013-07-17 }}
| style="text-align:center;"|187 |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
Bibliography
- Amburn, Ellis (1995). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press.
External links
- [http://www.songlyrics.com/the-quarrymen/thatll-be-the-day-lyrics/ Lyrics of this song]
- {{YouTube|M4TfFTmITLo|Buddy Holly - That'll Be the Day}}
- {{YouTube|wP1nrSOulLQ|Linda Ronstadt - That'll Be the Day}}
{{The Crickets}}
{{Buddy Holly}}
{{Linda Ronstadt}}
{{the Quarrymen}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Pure Prairie League songs
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings
Category:Songs written by Buddy Holly
Category:Songs written by Jerry Allison
Category:Curry County, New Mexico
Category:Billboard Top 100 number-one singles
Category:Music published by MPL Music Publishing
Category:Song recordings produced by Norman Petty
Category:Brunswick Records singles
Category:Decca Records singles