Buddy Holly and The Crickets were the archetypal rock ‘n’ roll band. They were a self-contained unit that wrote their own material and performed it in a unique way. They became the blueprint for what was to follow in the rock world. Decca Records gave them their first big break, and they came to Nashville to record. The country music system didn’t agree with the group, and success wouldn’t come until they went a different route and recorded in Clovis, New Mexico. Their influence would reach across the Atlantic Ocean to a wave of young musicians, causing them to start bands of their own. The Beatles would cover multiple songs; The Rolling Stones’ first American single would be “Not Fade Away”; and The Hollies would take their name from Buddy. Let’s take a look at the story behind “That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Well, that’ll be the day when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave. You know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die
The Searchers
In 1956, Warner Bros. released the epic Western The Searchers, directed by John Ford and written by Frank Nugent. John Wayne, Vera Miles, and Natalie Wood star in the story of a Civil War veteran during the Texas-Indian wars. The film would provide more than just two hours of entertainment. During the film, Wayne’s character utters, “That’ll be the day,” no less than five times. The phrase stuck with young Jerry Allison, the drummer who had gone to high school with Holly.
Well, you give me all your loving and your turtle doving
All your hugs and kisses and your money, too
Well, you know you love me, baby, still you tell me maybe
That someday, well, I’ll be through
“That’ll Be the Day”
In 2013, The Crickets gathered in Allison’s childhood home, and the local press interviewed them. Allison recounted the story, “Buddy and I were sitting there practicing. We were probably practicing Midnighter songs like ‘Work With Me, Annie,’ or something like that, and we were just sitting there playing, and he said, ‘We ought to write a song,’ and I said, ‘That’ll be the day.’ He said, ‘That’s a good idea.’ So we wrote it in about 30 minutes.”
Well, that’ll be the day when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave. You know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die
Nashville
Decca Records arranged for Holly to come to Music City on January 26, 1956, to record some sides with producer Owen Bradley. They returned on July 22, 1956, and recorded “That’ll Be the Day.” The West Texas teenagers did not agree with the ways of Nashville, and Holly was unhappy with the lack of control. Another session occurred on November 15, 1956. On January 22, 1957, Decca Records informed Holly it would not be renewing his contract. Decca released two singles with no chart action. “That’ll Be the Day” wasn’t even issued as a single, but Decca informed Holly he was not allowed to record any of the songs they cut for a period of five years.
Well, that’ll be the day when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave. You know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die
“The Worst Song He’d Ever Heard”
Allison continued, “We got a chance to record it in Nashville in the summer of 1956, and Sonny [Curtis], and Don Guess, and Buddy, and Bob Montgomery, and I went down to Nashville. The producer at the time, if I’m not mistaken, said, ‘That’ll Be the Day’ was ‘the worst song he’d ever heard,’ which really hurt my feelings because it was the first time I’d ever had a song I had written be part of a recording. And then we showed him.”
Well, when Cupid shot his dart, he shot it at your heart
So if we ever part and I leave you
You sit and hold me, and you tell me boldly
That someday, well, I’ll be through
Clovis, New Mexico
Buddy Holly and The Crickets started making the 100-mile journey to producer Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico, to record. Petty guided the band but allowed Holly to capture the sounds he was imagining in his head. “That’ll Be the Day” was rerecorded on February 25, 1957, with much better results. Petty went about securing a record deal for the boys. Because of the Decca agreement barring Holly from recording any of the songs for five years, Brunswick Records released the song under the group name. “That’ll Be the Day” was the debut single by The Crickets.
Well, that’ll be the day when you say goodbye
Yes, that’ll be the day when you make me cry
You say you’re gonna leave. You know it’s a lie
‘Cause that’ll be the day when I die
A DJ from Cincinnati
The single was released in July 1957 and eventually hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Success, however, wasn’t immediate.
In 2008, bassist Joe B. Mauldin told musician Joe Chambers, “[Petty] got us a record deal with Brunswick Records, which was a subsidiary of Decca, and they put out ‘That’ll be the Day,’ and about three months later, some disc jockey, I think he was from Cincinnati, came in. He had an after-school radio show and played rock ‘n’ roll. He came in and put on ‘That’ll Be the Day’ and played it straight through his whole show, over and over and over. The distributor there in Cincinnati started getting orders from record stores, and all of a sudden, the record company said we had a hit. ‘That’ll Be the Day’ started selling real good, and we got on the charts.”
Well, that’ll be the day, hoo-hoo
Well, that’ll be the day, hoo-hoo
Well, that’ll be the day, hoo-hoo
Well, that’ll be the day
Liverpool, England
In the summer of 1958, the very first recording to feature John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison was captured by producer Percy F. Phillips. It was their version of “That’ll Be the Day, which can be found on The Beatles – Anthology 1.
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Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images