1957 The Crickets: That'll Be The Day

I have to declare a conflict of interest up front here and say that, if it could ever be said that I have 'idols', then Buddy Holly would stand amongst their ranks; in the history of popular music, I can think of no other artist who wrote such a large quantity of what have now become cross genre classics or standards in such a short period of time. Saying that, 'That'll Be The Day' is not my favourite Holly song. Not this version anyway. And that's because after the opening jangle of twangy fender, the song falls into a rut of mid tempo stomp that maintains the same constant line through till the end.

Not that this is necessarily the fault of the song - an earlier version Holly and the band recorded for Decca in Nashville for veteran country producer Owen Bradley is a far more raucous, echo drenched affair that drips a primitive rock and roll verve and excitement from every pore (this is credited to 'The Crickets' only due to contractual issues with Decca over that earlier recording).

It's easy to see why Bradley was unimpressed; it's a step outside of some very old hat and into the future and that's precisely why it's the version I always return to. But it's not this one. Ironically, this later re-recording takes far more from country music than rock and roll, making it a surprisingly muted affair buffeted by some 'Ahhhhhhh' backing vocals that ensure it never quite catches fire. Holly's vocal hics and tics can be an acquired taste and though he colours the song with some of his trademark vocal gymnastics, they don't inject enough colour to counter the monochrome beat that may have sounded fine in old money but now seems leaden compared to the Presley that's been and the Jerry Lee to come.

Maybe I'm being a bit too hard here to overcompensate for my own personal appreciation of Holly, 'That'll Be The Day' remains a fine single, regardless of any shortcomings I highlight above. Holly may have stolen the title from John Wayne, but he gained ownership rights via a song that's gone down as one of his signature recordings, an instantly recognisable watermark of a single that Rolling Stone listed at 39 on their '500 Greatest Songs Of All Time' list. Not the I ever give much credence to anything Rolling Stone have to say, but Holly's bridging of pop, country and rock more than deserves its place. Even if I'd personally rank the earlier version higher.