For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Clyde Stacy is a great country rock singer I recently discovered. I did some research and was fortunately able to find recording dates for most of his tracks. A few songs released on compilations for Clyde were actually recorded by a Clarence Stacy. I didn’t want those to fall in the abyss, so stay tuned to an article for him. “Dream Boy” and my introduction to Stacy, “So Young”, are my two favorites. “I Sure Do Love You Baby” and “Return To Me” are other particular goodies, though all this material is worth rescue from obscurity, though this second “album” is weaker than the first.
Clyde Stacy – Sings SO YOUNG And Eleven More Great Songs (1958) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING SIDE A
“So Young” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Hoy Hoy” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Cotton Pickin’ Chicken” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Dream Boy” (Recorded July-August 1957)
“A Broken Heart (Is So Hard To Mend)” (Recorded July-August 1957)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums/album edits are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Luv’d Ones are a fun band I’ve listened to a few times. They don’t distinguish much from other hard rock 60s girl bands, but that is still a good sound and they deserve to be enjoyed. One reason I didn’t make an article about them the first time I listened to them is because it seemed everything they did was on a twenty-track compilation album. I decided they still deserved this project, with that comp just being divided in half, as the music drags as one sixty minute block, however I then found some more rare tracks that also help give this article legitimacy. They first recorded under the band name “The Tremelons”, which had the exact same lineup, so it’s strange these early tracks aren’t on that compilation. They also aren’t on Spotify, which is why the fan album with them isn’t on Spotify either.
Those Tremelon recordings were all released in 1965 according to Discogs. The Luv’d Ones box set says the material contained within it was recorded between 1966-1968. Everything released in 1965 or 66 almost is the length of a full album, so I added in some extra tracks and hoped they were recorded in 1966 and thus could hypothetically be released then. The later stuff we’ll say was released 1968.
The Luv’d Ones – Truth Gotta Stand (1966) – YouTube
Char Vinnedge went on to do some solo recordings, none of which I could find. They’re all listed below with possible release dates, which could be wrong.
“Better Look Out” (2011)
“You Asked Me To Go” (2011)
“Friend / Reprise” (2011)
“Silence” (2011)
“It’s Over It’s Done” (2011)
“Life Sentence” (2011)
“Rock Myself To Death” (2011)
“Trucks In My Head” (2011)
“Deathwish” (2011)
“I Never Sing The Blues” (2012)
“Bittersweet” (2012)
“Green Bird” (2012)
“With You I Am Without” (2013)
“How Could You Ask Me To Go” (2013)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
With my recent Buddy Holly fan album and story project, I canonized his two proper studio albums as having happened as I didn’t want to alienate those that would prefer to enjoy the official albums as is. My plan was to continue this methodology for the post-Buddy years. On top of that, considering the fact that Jerry Allison is by far the only consistent member, I came up with some fun albums based on the logic that any song with Jerry is the Crickets. I then listened to my albums with this concept in mind. While some may still prefer listening to the official albums as they are and slotting the stray track ones in, I have found many of the official and personal sequences problematic for a few reasons: Some of these tracks are quite bad and some albums have tracks that would fit better elsewhere. Thus, I’ve decided to publish my stray track sequences here, as well as certain story ideas that can’t be reused, then I’ll write the narrative around what I think would make the best albums, with new sequences that arrange any track how I see fit.
For those that are fans of Jerry Allison or Sonny Curtis, I hope I can do them justice by accumulating so many rare recordings, especially because some are quite solid. One example is that Allison, Curtis, and famed Crickets bassist Joe B. Mauldin did some better known recordings as the Crickets, but also some obscure ones under different names. Those obscure ones are gathered and treated like just any other Cricket track.
During the Bobby Vee and later Jerry Naylor eras of the group, there is shaky and unreliable personnel info. Thus, things are listed vaguely.
Any album without a tracklist is an official album, not a construction of mine (unless where noted).
Based on some research, I think that almost every recording credited to Sonny Curtis as a solo artist prior to his 1979 solo album features the then-current Crickets lineup. There’s a few cases where either a track from a Crickets album is released as a solo Sonny single or the personnel is simply known to include them. However, his first two singles and flipsides have worse odds of featuring them, but I still wanted to include those regardless. The other oddity here is from the 1955 recordings he did. Him and Buddy Holly did six songs together. Five were released on my Buddy Holly & The Two Tones project, but one more, “Queen of the Ballroom”, was excluded due to their being a version with Buddy on vocals. This track almost definitely lacks Jerry Allison, but I didn’t want any of these early rarities to go absent from these albums, so here they are.
The primary source I used for information was Praguefrank, as well as Discogs, Nor-Va-Jak Music, and the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
The first post-Buddy lineup
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 2 (1959) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Billy Walker – “On My Mind Again” (Recorded April 8th, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Who’s Gonna Be The Next One Honey” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Later Baby” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Johnny “Peanuts” Wilson – “I’ve Had It” (Recorded November 10th, 1957)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bingham) – backing vocals (track 3)
Buddy Holly – guitar (track 6)
Larry Welborn – bass (track 6)
Dudley A. Brooks – piano (track 8)
Johnny Mann, Alan Davies, Bill Lee – backing vocals (track 8)
The Crickets – In Style With The Crickets (1960) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Earl Sinks – lead vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1-12), lead vocals (tracks 1, 7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-12)
Dudley Brooks – piano (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7)
The Roses – backing vocals (track 12)
Tommy Allsup – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-5, 7-10)
A common issue with the one-off singers is they can’t sing very well. Bobby Vee and Johnny Burnette are personal least favorites. However, there are some gems. David Box is excellent and by far the group’s best singer that went for a Buddy Holly-vocal style. “You Made Me Love You” also has phenomenal backing vocals.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 3 (1960) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Derrell Felts – “It’s A Great Big Day” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “You Made Me Love You” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “(Til) I Kissed You” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Oh What a Feeling” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “Honeysuckle Rose” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Don’t Cha Know” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
SIDE B
Derrell Felts – “Lookie Lookie Lookie” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “Eenie Meenie Minnie Moe” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Let It Be Me” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Since You Broke My Heart” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “There’ll Never Be Another” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Peggy Sue Got Married” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
Derrell Felts – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
George Atwood – bass (tracks 2, 8)
Jimmy Bowen – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Chet Atkins – guitar (tracks 3-4)
Lightnin Chance – bass (tracks 3-4)
Floyd Cramer – piano (tracks 3-4)
Jack C. Smith – lead vocals (tracks 5, 11)
David Box – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 6, 12)
Ernie Hall – drums (track 6)
Howard Collins – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Barry Galbraith – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Mundell Lowe – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Lloyd Trotman – bass (tracks 9-10)
Hank Rowland – piano (tracks 9-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Dreamin’(1960) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Dreamin’” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“Kaw-Liga” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“You’re Sixteen” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“I Beg Your Pardon” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“Singing The Blues” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
SIDE B
“It’s My Way” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“That’s The Way I Feel” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“Little Boy Sad” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“I Love My Baby” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“(I Go) Down The River (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Howard Roberts – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Johnny Mann Singers – backing vocals (tracks 1-2)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 3-10)
Vincent Terri – guitar (tracks 3-4, 6)
George Callender – bass (tracks 3-10)
Ernie Freeman – piano (tracks 3-4, 6)
Milton Pitman – guitar (track 5, 7-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Let’s Think About Living (1961) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Let’s Think About Living” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“It’s Only Make Believe” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Oh Lonesome Me” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Dream Lover” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“You’re So Fine” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
SIDE B
“Blue Blue Morning” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Pledge Of Love” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Honestly I Do” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“Fools Like Me” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“God, Country And My Baby” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Milton Pitman – guitar (tracks 1-7)
George Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Dick Glasser – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Clifford A. Hils – bass (tracks 8-10)
unknown – mandolin (tracks 8-10)
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Rock Around With Bobby Vee (1961) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Stagger Lee” (Recorded September 12th, 1961)
“Party Doll” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Come On Baby” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Lonely Weekends” (Version 2) (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“Mountain Of Love” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
SIDE B
“No One Knows” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“I’m Feeling Better” (Recorded September 28th, 1961)
“Shanghaied” (Recorded September 1961)
“Keep A Knockin’” (Recorded September 1961)
“It’s Too Late” (Version 2) (Recorded September 1961)
PERSONNEL
Bobby Vee – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Red Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Cliff Crofford – lead vocals (track 7)
Sonny Curtis, Joe B. Mauldin, Howard Roberts, Earl Palmer, Ernie Freeman, and Gene Garf have been credited as being part of both sets of Bobby Vee recordings. The main four players listed above are probably on at least most of all the Bobby Vee tracks.
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets (1962) – YouTube, Spotify (Personnel matches the previous Bobby Vee album.)
Despite Bobby Vee’s recordings with Allison being credited as The Crickets, the reunion of Sonny Curtis, along with newbies Jerry Naylor and Glen Hardin, is in my eyes the closest we get to more of the Crickets sound. Mauldin is sometimes credited as being part of the group from the early to mid 60s, but that does not seem to be true. Oftentimes, other players are credited as having partaken in them. There’s some very barebones recordings from 1961 of Allison singing that I suspect were recorded with help from the Bobby Vee-era lineup, but that’s just speculation. If there had been an album of this, I would have made them a Jerry solo album, but as just three recordings, they’re included here. This album probably would have only been released like this if the band needed material quickly, as the flow isn’t great. Still, these songs, as well as the whole Naylor era, are mostly good.
The Crickets – Fell In Love With A Face (1962) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Fell In Love With A Face” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Never Ever Told Me” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“There’s No Better Way To Die” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Bottom Of The Sea” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“I’m Not A Bad Guy” (Recorded March 9th, 1962)
“I Don’t Need A Friend” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
SIDE B
“I Believe In You” (Recorded March 19th, 1962)
“The Real Thing” (Recorded June 4th, 1962)
“My Little Kim Ruth” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“It’s All Right With Me” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“Smooth Guy” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“So You’re In Love” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“Break It Easy” (Recorded June 19th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 11-12)
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 6, 9-10)
“Looking All Over Town” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Teardrops Fall Like Rain” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Farewell, My Bluebell” (Recorded October 23rd, 1962)
“The Ballad of Batman” (Recorded 1962)
“Batmobile” (Recorded 1962)
SIDE B
“Lost And All Alone” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Don’t Try To Change Me” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Surfin’ Special” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“April Avenue” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“A Harlem Girl” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
“Brand New Doll” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 5-6)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
The Crickets – California Sun / She Loves You (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
unknown – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Buzz Cason – backing vocals
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
Despite my criticism of some of the one-off projects, this album is solid other than the Everly Brothers tracks. If it wasn’t obvious, Eddie Cochran is rivaled only by Holly himself and a few others, but that track is out of place for the Crickets. Still two great cuts, regardless.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 4 (1964) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Eddie Cochran – “Cut Across Shorty” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “Dardanella” (Released November 1961)
The Everly Brothers – “No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
The Everly Brothers – “Dancing On My Feet” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
Lucille Starr – “The French Song” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
Joe Carson – “Be A Good Girl” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
SIDE B
Eddie Cochran – “Three Steps To Heaven” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “What Time Is It?” (Released November 1961)
Lucille Starr – “Sit Down And Write A Letter To Me” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
The Everly Brothers – “The Facts Of Life” (Recorded January 16th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Guess You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-11) (Possibly not on track 10)
Eddie Cochran – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 3-7, 9-11)
Conrad ‘Guybo’ Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
Unknown other musicians, possibly Bobby Keys on sax (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Billy Strange – guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Red Callendar and/or Pat Vegas – bass (tracks 3-4)
Ray Johnson – piano (tracks 5, 9)
Lucille Starr – lead vocals (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Maphis – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Bill Pitman – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Wilbur Pitman – bass (tracks 5, 9)
Herb Alpert – trumpet (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 6, 11)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 6, 11)
Ray Pohlman – bass (track 10)
Hal Blaine – drums (probably on track 10)
Leon Russell – keyboard (tracks 10)
Harold Cliner – trombone (track 10)
Kenneth Shroyer – trombone (track 10)
John Audino – trumpet (track 10)
Anthony Terram – trumpet (track 10)
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – Beatle Hits Flamenco Guitar Style (1964) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Tommy Allsup & The Crickets – The Buddy Holly Songbook (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Lynn Bailey – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
George Tomsco – guitar
Tommy Allsup – guitar
Buzz Cason – piano
The Crickets – Surfing, Bo Diddley, and Beatles!! (1964) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Don’t Breathe A Word” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Bring Back My Surfboard” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Don’t Say You Love Me” (Recorded June 28th, 1963)
“A Beatle I Want To Be” (Recorded Late 1963)
“So Used To Loving You” (Recorded Summer 1963)
“Right Or Wrong” (Recorded August 1st, 1963)
SIDE B
“Playboy” (Recorded December 12th, 1963)
“(They Call Her) La Bamba” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“All Over You” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“I Think I’ve Caught The Blues” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Bo Diddley Bach” (Recorded June 1964)
“I Pledge My Love To You” (Recorded June 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (track 10)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (absent from track 10)
Red Callender – bass (absent from track 10)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (absent from track 10)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (absent from track 10)
Buzz Cason – backing vocals, lead vocals (track 10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (track 10)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 10)
Stan Lark – bass (track 10)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
“Lord Of The Manor” and the Carson tracks are the ones here I like.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 5 (1968) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Joe Carson – “Release Me” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Who’ll Buy The Wine” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
The Everly Brothers – “I Used To Love You” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
The Everly Brothers – “It’s All Over” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
Rusty Steagall – “Motel Rooms And Coffee Shops” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
SIDE B
Joe Carson – “I’ll Be There” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Fraulein” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Rusty Steagall – “Playboy Heart” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
The Everly Brothers – “Lord Of The Manor” (Recorded February 27th, 1968)
Jammë – “Empty Feelings” (Recorded 1968)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10) (Possibly not on tracks 3-4)
Sonny Curtis – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Doris Hallcom – bass (tracks 3-4)
Jim Gordon – drums (probably on tracks 3-4)
Don Randi – harpsichord (tracks 3-4)
Leon Russell – keyboard (track 4)
Rusty Steagall – lead vocals (tracks 5, 8)
Don Lanier – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Larry Knechtel – bass (tracks 5, 8)
Don Randi – keyboard (tracks 5, 8)
Terry Slater – bass (track 9)
Don Adey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (track 10)
Timmy Smyser – bass (track 10)
Paul Downing – lead guitar (track 10)
These two Sonny Curtis albums, as well as some Crickets or Sonny material from around this time, are incredibly strong and deserved to have been released on Crickets albums. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that Style is the best work covered in this post, being comparable in quality with Buddy Holly.
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The 1st Of Sonny Curtis (1968) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The Sonny Curtis Style (1969) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – El Camino Real (1969) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Rick Cathaway – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
Lee Dresser – lead vocals, guitar
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Eric Clapton & The Crickets – Eric Clapton (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Eric Clapton – lead guitar, lead vocals
Delaney Bramlett – rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Stephen Stills – guitars, bass (track 11), backing vocals
Leon Russell – piano
John Simon – piano
Bobby Whitlock – organ, backing vocals
Carl Radle – bass
Jim Gordon – drums
Bobby Keys – saxophones
Jim Price – trumpet
Jerry Allison – backing vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – backing vocals
Rita Coolidge – backing vocals
Sonny Curtis – backing vocals
The 70s is the beginning of the downfall of the Crickets. This era is consistently okay, with this album of mostly Buddy Holly covers being one of the better efforts.
The Crickets – Rockin’ 50’s Rock’n’Roll (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums, vocals
Jerry Scheff – bass
Glen D. Hardin – piano
This is one of the weaker albums I constructed simply because it spans from the mid 60s to the early 70s. It was one reason I found issue with this “stray track” idea. Note there’s two 1972 Sonny Curtis tracks I could not find: “Sunny Mornin’” and “Lights Of L.A.”.
The Crickets – Million Dollar Movie (1971) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Million Dollar Movie” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“We Gotta Get Together” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Everybody’s Got A Little Problem” (Recorded August 28th, 1964)
“Now Hear This” (Recorded January 1st, 1965)
“Thoughtless” (Recorded January 2nd, 1965)
“Rave On” (Recorded January 3rd, 1965)
SIDE B
“A Million Miles Apart” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“Last Call” (Recorded July 1966)
“Love Is All Around” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Here, There And Everywhere” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Unsaintly Judy” (Recorded Spring 1971)
“You Don’t Belong In This Place” (Recorded Spring 1971)
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (tracks 4-6)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 7-12), lead vocals (tracks 7-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 2-6) (Probably on every track), lead vocals (track 2)
Glen D. Hardin – (Possibly plays piano on tracks 1, 7-12)
Buzz Cason – lead vocals (tracks 2-3)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-6)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 2)
Stan Lark – bass (track 2)
Lynn Bailey – bass (tracks 3-6)
Johnny Rivers & The Crickets – L.A. Reggae(1972) – YouTube
PERSONNEL
Joe Osborn – bass
Miss Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos
Jerry Allison and/or Jim Gordon – drums
Dean Parks and/or Larry Carlton – guitar
Herb Pedersen and/or Michael Georgiades – backing vocals
Gary Coleman – percussion
Larry Knechtel and/or Jim Webb and/or Michael O’Martian – piano/organ
A Long Way from Lubbock is an officially released album, though one frustrating issue is that it pointlessly takes recordings from the previous two 1973 albums. There were two much better ideas that could have been used for a follow up. There’s basically one album’s worth of strays listed below that have no overlap with previous albums. The other idea is to cut out the dud tracks and make these albums all much shorter. The Remnants album is bizarrely forty minutes long. The album listed below was all recorded in 1973, except for “Carolyn Walking Away”, where that’s just a guess.
The Crickets – A Long Way from Lubbock(1973) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“That Is Not What I Need”
“Carolyn Walking Away”
“Rock’n Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)” (Recorded October 1973)
“My Mama Sure Left Me Some Good Old Days” (Recorded October 1973)
“An American Love Affair”
“He’s Got A Way With Women”
SIDE B
“You Make It Way Too Hard”
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Demo version)
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Band version)
“Bony Moronie”
“I Like Your Music”
“Now & Then It’s Gonna Rain”
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Ric Grech – lead vocals, bass, piano
Jerry Allison – lead vocals, drums
Nick Van Maarth – lead vocals, guitar
Albert Lee – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Steve Krikorian – vocals
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – To Touch The Wind (1975) – Can’t find
PERSONNEL
Lee Dresser – lead vocals (tracks 1-12), guitar, banjo, harmonica (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Larry McNeely – banjo (tracks 1-12)
Pat Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Al Garibaldi – drums (tracks 1, 7)
Dan Crary – guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Pete Jolly – piano (tracks 1, 7)
Red Rhodes – steel guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Joe Osborn – bass (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Jerry Allison – drums, hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Ron Dasaro – organ (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Doug Gilmore – hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Al Perkins – steel guitar (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
The Teesdale Street Choir – backing vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Originally this album spanned into the 80s with a few solo Sonny singles. Two issues with that is that those 80s tracks almost certainly lacked Jerry Allison and Sonny’s real solo career where Jerry was absent is quite confusing. Many of the released albums are unavailable online and I later found more stray tracks. There’s also some repeats from one album to another. Thus, you can think of this as the last release of his for quite a while with Jerry before they went separate ways into less documented music, though it’s quite short. I liked that the 1973 strays perfectly make up their own album, while this is everything after in the 70s. Note that a track called “When It’s Just You And Me” is from 1975, but isn’t accessible. If it was, it would make this one a bit longer.
The Crickets – Reunion(1978) – Archive.org (All tracks recorded in 1978 except where noted otherwise.)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“It’s Only A Question Of Time” (Recorded July 10th, 1975)
“Where’s Patricia Now” (Recorded February 1976)
“The Breeze”
SIDE B
“Mulholland Drive”
“It’s Only Rock’n’Roll”
“Cruise In It”
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee”
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 3-7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 3-7)
Mauldin, Curtis, Jennings, and Allison
Note that half of Rollin’ and a 1982 track called “Dream Well All Of You Children” are missing. Also, the three Sonny Curtis albums listed below are not fan albums and instead are official. I’m writing out the tracklisting to make it more explicit what I do have. The personnel notes will be absent for solo Sonny due to this article being more about Jerry.
Sonny Curtis (1979) – Archive.org (Missing Two Tracks)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“The Cowboy Singer”
“Walk Right Back”
“So Used To Loving You”
“Tennessee”
“Do You Remember Roll Over Beethoven”
SIDE B
“It’s Not Easy Being Fifteen”
“I Fought The Law”
“I’ll Stay With You” (Can’t find)
“Cheatin’ Clouds” (Can’t find)
“Ain’t Nobody Honest”
Sonny Curtis – Love Is All Around (1980) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Love Is All Around”
“You Made My Life A Song”
“Eager For The Edge”
“The Real Buddy Holly Story”
“Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover”
SIDE B
“Wild Side Of Life”
“The Cowboy Singer” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“I Fought The Law” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“Walk Right Back” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“The Clone Song”
With one exception, the personnel for the Waylon Jennings albums won’t be listed due to how confusing it all is.
Sonny Curtis – 1981 and 1982 loose tracks – Archive.org
“Good Ol’ Girls” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Married Women” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Rollin’” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“More Than I Can Say” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“I Like Your Music” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“The Christmas Song” (Chestnut Roasting On A Open Fire) (1981)
“Together Alone” (1982)
“Love is All Around” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Hung Up In Your Eyes” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“My Worst Enemy” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Party Of The First Part” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & The Crickets – WWII(1982) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Waylon Jennings – guitar, vocals
Jerry Allison – drums
Gene Chrisman – drums, percussion
Chips Moman – guitar
Reggie Young – guitar
Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
Bobby Emmons – keyboards
Johnny Christopher – guitar, backing vocals
Bobby Wood – piano
Toni White – backing vocals
Mike Leech – bass
Jerry Bridges – bass
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – It’s Only Rock & Roll (1983) – YouTube, Spotify
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – Never Could Toe the Mark(1984) – YouTube, Spotify
Most of the Payne stuff feels like a parody of the band, with the new lead singer doing a bad Holly impression. It’s a shame Allison and Mauldin didn’t make Crickets albums with Waylon Jennings or Sonny, especially because most of the Crickets’ 60s and 70s songs lack Mauldin and now that he’s back they’re either inactive or making such poor material.
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Jigger, Crank & Jive (1988) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Back Home In Tennessee” (Released 1988)
“Blackmail” (Released 1988)
“I Can’t Hold On Any Longer” (Released 1988)
“For A While We Helped Each Other Out” (Released 1988)
SIDE B
“I Got A Woman” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“She’s Got A Right To Cry” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Do You Ever Think Of Me” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Let’s Do It Again” (Released 1988)
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-8)
Jerry Bridges – bass (tracks 5-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-8)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-4, 8)
The Payne lineup
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – T-Shirt (1988) – Archive.org
“I Think I’m In Love” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Now I’ve Got A Heart Of Gold” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Monetta” (Recorded 1990)
“Evening Shade” (Recording date guessed 1990)
“I Fought The Law” (Recorded June 1990 in Torino, ITA)
Sonny Curtis – No Stranger to the Rain (Released September 1990) – Archive.org
“I’m No Stranger to the Rain” (Possibly the same recording that was on the previous album, Spectrum)
“Hello Mary Lou”
“You’re the Lesson I Never Learned”
“When Amarillo Blows”
“Back When Has Been Lover”
“I Saved My Last Name for You”
“Bad Case of Love”
“Think It Over”
“That’ll Be the Day”
“More Than I Can Say”
“Well, All Right”
“Rock Around with Ollie Vee”
“Midnight Shift”
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Double Exposure (1993) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, probably guitar
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums
Joe B. Mauldin – bass
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Too Much Monday Morning is a shockingly good album that goes to show how much a shame it was that this lineup wasn’t more often all together. Naylor, and especially Sinks and Box are good, but Curtis’ voice feels more at home with the Crickets. After this album, the band would go back to being an oldies act, often redoing their own songs needlessly. Admittedly, not many people are out asking for the next hot Sonny Curtis and the Crickets album.
The Crickets – Too Much Monday Morning (1996) – YouTube, Spotify
The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Nanci Griffith, Bobby Vee, Albert Lee, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Rivers – guest vocals
Many, many more guest performers. Only ones that have previously worked with the Crickets are listed here.
Mike Berry & The Crickets – About Time Too! (2005) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals
Joe B. Mauldin – bass, backing vocals
Mike Berry – lead vocals, backing vocals
Chas Hodges – piano, backing vocals, guitar
Chad Hodges & Jerry Allison – Before We Grow Too Old (2007) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Jack Clement – dobro
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 7, 10)
Chas Hodges – piano, lead vocals, guitar
There seems to have been a whole album of John Beland tracks recorded, but this is the only one I could find. The Limitations’ “Well… All Right” I also can’t find.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Over The Years (2013) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
J.J. Cale – “I’m A Gypsy Man” (Released 1976)
John Beland – “True Love Never Runs Dry” (Recorded 1978)
Bobby Vee – “Buddy Holly Medley” (Recorded April 16th, 1989)
Dale Hawkins – “Rain On The Roof” (Recorded 1990s)
David Falconi (Might be misspelling his name) – keyboard (track 3)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (track 3), possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
Dale Hawkins – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 4-7)
Ray Flack – lead guitar (tracks 4-7)
Joe Osborn – possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
unknown – piano (tracks 4-7)
Joell Le Sonier – accordion (tracks 8-9)
Margot Buchanan – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sam Brown – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sonia Jones – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Gerry Conway – drums (tracks 8-9)
Brian Hodgson – bass (track 8)
Paul Henry – guitar (track 8)
Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle (tracks 8-9)
Nick Payne – harmonica (track 8)
Lonnie Donegan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (tracks 8-9)
Sticky Wicket – washboard (track 8)
Vic Pitt – bass (track 9)
Chad Hodges – performer (track 10)
Dave Peacock – performer (track 10)
Albert Lee – guitar (track 10)
Track 2’s personnel information is especially confusing, but it does seem Allison, Mauldin, and Curtis are on it in some capacity.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
Skip to links if you don’t care about the reading.
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
I’ve decided to make a few revisions to my earlier fan albuming of the great Buddy Holly. 50s LPs’ common track sequencing is better than I’ve given it credit for, so I’ve decided to respect that. Thus, all these albums have twelve or thirteen tracks. I’ve also left alone the two official albums, so they can be slotted in. Conveniently, the amount of tracks recorded before those albums and the ones after fit the twelve or thirteen track rule nicely, so I won’t have to have pre and post “the main two” album tracks on the same LP. I’m unsure of what to do with the later official albums by the Crickets without Holly. Maybe I’ll do a stray track version and also a version that fixes the weak sequences?
As I like to do, I want to define what counts as a band track or a solo track. Based on the nature of these recordings, every track without Bob Montgomery is more or less solo Buddy, seeing as he was clearly the intended star of the show and most recordings credit him as a solo artist. However, seeing as there were band names and bandmates that have been unfortunately understated historically, “The Two Tones” name will be utilized for the period where the backing band was reasonably in flux, such as when Bob, Sonny, Jerry, and the various bass players were sometimes there and sometimes not. The members were mostly just Buddy’s friends and not session players. When Jerry and Joe are present, that’s what counts as “The Crickets”. Originally, I was going to utilize the fact that every Crickets track has Jerry and say he was the only necessary player to make something the Crickets, but defining a band by one person drives me crazy.
This next idea might be a little controversial. Seeing as Holly’s fellow musicians had identities and musical statements, I’ve decided to include recordings where Holly is backing another vocalist, specifically one of his bandmates. I will not be including every track to ever feature Holly, just the ones where someone was really in his circle. If Buddy and the Crickets formed in the 70s, they might’ve taken this approach, with someone else occasionally getting vocals for the sake of it. Finally, let’s have a little fun and build some alt history around this! There is certainly a lot of untrue information below, so be warned!
The History of Buddy Holly, as it pertains to his LPs
A young boy named Buddy Holley became interested in music in the late 40s. After recording a twelve-track album at home in 1949, he submitted it to Columbia Records to be released, but they responded back saying, “This sound quality is worse than a Charley Patton record.” Upon asking for the tracks back, Columbia admitted that confusing it for their own material, they junked it. Fortunately, one track was preserved on what Holley had intended to be a single for the album, “My Two-Timin’ Woman”. While future historians were hopeful there’d be a b-side, on the other end was merely “Chattanooga Choo Choo” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, albeit falsely credited to Buddy. As his interest in music grew, Holley began performing with artists. The first notable one was Bob Montgomery. While initially only doing informal jams, in mid 1952 they decided to become an official group. The two credited themselves, “Buddy and Bob” and at points under both of their full names. For the sake of symmetry, an “e” was added to the first letter of their names. Due to another artist being named “Buddey Folley and Bobe Montgomeery”, this was changed the other way, with both “e”s being removed. The two failed to obtain a recording contract, though continued to tape informal performances. Frequently during Montgomery’s hyena howling, the tape recorded burst, rendering the material lost. In a later interview, he went on to say, “I wish I wasn’t too cowardly to simply destroy all our recordings upfront, instead of being sneaky about it.”
Interested in other projects, Montgomery would occasionally leave the group. After a particularly thoughtless incident of him not showing up to a performance, Holly fired him. He was replaced by Jack Neal. During a recording session where the two cut two tracks, Montgomery returned to announce that he had a car now. Back in the fold, Buddy and Bob would continue to record and busk. Deciding to expand their group, the duo searched for more players. They only got as far as up the street, as Bob’s car broke down. Through the window they saw high school associates Sonny Curtis, Larry Welborn, and Don Guess, allegedly under the name, “The Beatles”. After a sprint under the name “Buddy & Bob & The Pidles”, Holly decided the name was too long and Montgomery’s name should be removed. After a disagreement and a power struggle, Montgomery left and took Welborn with him. When asked why, Welborn said, “I won’t be on some of these recordings, so I gotta go for this story to make sense.” After offering some wine and chocolates, Buddy won back the two, though not consistently. Curtis and Guess also were inconstant, with different people being available at any given time.
By the time thirteen tracks were finished, the group signed with Sun Records, who would distribute, after Buddy Holly strummed his guitar for three hours to get the record deal while Bob Montgomery and Sonny Curtis whistled “Sweet Adeline”. They were surprised this worked as they needed the talent scout to fill in on fourth. In trying to think of a name for the group, Buddy Holly came up with “Buddy Holly and his Holy Buddies”. Montgomery wanted it to go “Bob Montgomery is the most important member of this band.” Curtis reached a compromise between the two with “The Two Tones”. Holly thought his name would be included, which the others disagreed with doing. The encounter went as follows: “But there’s three of us, that name suggests there’s two. “Okay, then it refers to guitar tones.” “What’s that to do with anything?” “I don’t know, but we’ll kick you out if you keep at it.”
BUDDY HOLLY & THE TWO TONES – FOR THE LOVE OF TEXAS (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name and was in a white sleeve.)
While the record didn’t make great waves commercially, it was considered strong enough for a follow-up to be put into motion, though the boys would have to record their own way as before. Holly tired of the folk sound and was determined to move on. Deciding to embrace more of the new genre of rock upon hearing Elvis Costello, Holly recruited drummer Jerry Allison. “He was so small, but could bang so loud,” he later said. Montgomery and Welborn soon left the group due to not wanting to leave folk. Holly, Curtis, Guess, and Allison proceeded to complete the album, with one folk side and one rock side.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE TWO TONES – BABY, WON’T YOU COME OUT TONIGHT? (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name and was in a white sleeve.)
Decca, impressed with Holly’s singing ability, offered him a contract. It was agreed between him and Decca that he should be the sole singer and namesake. Curtis and Guess promptly left for this reason. “I’ve finally done it, I’m a star!” Due to poor rehearsals, Holly and Allison were fired and Curtis and Guess were brought in as a new act. When they didn’t gel as a duo, Holly was brought back in to stabilize them. Curtis’ country leanings proved problematic for what Decca wanted, so in Holly’s willingness to be the lead, accepted the poppier sound, as that meant he could sing lead. After a stint with percussionist Doug Kirkham, Allison was brought back as to quote Guess in an interview, “He was able to hit the drum.” The single “Blue Days, Black Nights” proved a success and more material was produced. Guess was considered to be an ill fit and flexing his clout, Holly had him briefly fired. As Curtis began to exert dominance, he had Guess come back. Holly then fired him again, to which Curtis again rehired him. After being rererefired and rererehired, Curtis proceeded to quit along with Guess.
Holly, not wanting to be pigeonholed to being considered part of a band, recorded some material with session men. Unbeknownst to him, Guess was among them, having been since hired by Decca for such recordings. It’s suspected by Holly historians that he had not noticed him due to having grown out a Walrus mustache. To the horror of the singer, the record was credited as “Buddy Holly & The Two Tones”. WIth the record done, Holly took two takeaways from his experience, he is sick of the Two Tones name and the material without Allison is simply too lacking for that reason. And thus, Jerry would be affixed to the fold, rendering Holly a member of a band.
Wanting to leave the band name behind him, Holly left Decca. Working on ideas for songs, Allison and Holly jammed out a series of covers over one night. Looking for a reliable bassist, they then got Larry Welborn. When asked why he rejoined due to originally leaving over a disagreement with the musical direction, Welborn simply said, “Money.” Despite these recordings not being intended for release, Sun Records obtained them through a bootlegger whose name, while not identified, used the pseudonym, “Todd From Germany”. For a quick buck due to his success at Decca, the material was released. While Holly was horrified, finally something was credited to “Buddy Holly”. The release just credited to “Buddy Holly” was a misprint that Holly himself witnessed. Afterwards, the name was changed to “Buddy Holly & The Two Tones”.
Upon release of Rip It Up, Holly shamefully announced it was a failure and he feared the worst for his career. Welborn promptly quit, but Allison later claimed to have had enough faith in Holly to think things would work out. Despite this, he auditioned to appear in other bands, though he was only accepted by vocal groups, who promptly fired him after hearing him sing. While Holly stayed home and practiced music, Allison was more sociable, often trying to meet new people. Through this he met Niki Sullivan. When Holly discovered Sullivan shortly thereafter, he was impressed. Allison later confessed that he thought Sullivan was Holly due to their similar appearance, and when he learned of his mistake, he pretended he knew all along. A recording of the “That’ll Be The Day” track was overdubbed with Sullivan’s vocals before being sent to producer Norman Petty. Petty liked the song so much that the group was recruited to record more. Needing a new bassist, Buddy Holly searched, ultimately finding the teenage Joe B. Mauldin. Upon Sonny Curtis turning down the offer, Niki Sullivan was christened as the group’s rhythm guitar player.
Before committing to the band, Petty had them back other artists, often without Niki, who was often not interested. These recordings were later released on an album. During the sessions for the group’s first LP, Norman Petty made a deal. Allison discussed it in a 2001 interview, “Norman knew that as just one act, our airplay was limited, so tracks were credited to different names: ‘Buddy Holly’, ‘The Crickets’, ‘Buddy Holly & The Crickets’, ‘B. Holley’, ‘Buddy, Jerry, n’ Joe’, ‘Buddy & The Hollies’, etc.” “That’ll Be The Day” was released as “The Crickets”, to distinguish it from the recent tarnish to Holly’s name and became a huge hit. Fans often confused Buddy for Niki, which frustrated Buddy as Niki was apparently absent from many tracks and thus didn’t deserve to be considered the star of the show. Niki in turn was sick of being pelted with flowers on the street. Still, the group was rejuvenated. They kept working and ultimately finished…
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – THE “CHIRPING” CRICKETS (Same as official version) (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted Holly’s name.)
The success of the record caused the band to hit the road and begin touring extensively. While some feared this would cause Holly to become irritated, the opposite happened. He was so happy to be winning that he was reported as always having a smile, saving kittens from trees, and fixing Niki Sullivan’s glasses. Still, the touring and lack of obscurity caused the others to become exhausted. This got to the point of everyone wanting to take a break. To aid in stress, outtakes from the first album were used to fill some slots on the second Crickets album. Notably, the material was incomplete to the point of lacking much guitar. Speaking of guitar, Niki Sullivan while on break fell in love with a pretty fair maiden, whose name he did not know. He thus quit the group. Holly, Allison, and Mauldin then cut a few tracks from scratch and Holly overdubbed guitar lines on the outtakes.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – BUDDY HOLLY (Same as official version) (Cover and title of re-release. Original omitted The Cricket’s name.)
Buddy Holly was praised for its distinct and innovative playing and more emotional and ballad-driven tracks, which had been considered not commercial enough for The “Chirping” Crickets. In the views of some, it was considered Holly’s magnum opus. Holly finally felt like he had made it. When Joe asked how he felt about an LP being credited to just his name, Buddy was said to act like he didn’t care, then was later heard cheering on the toilet. He licensed his image to commercials and merchandise and received increasing respect from his bandmates. He had essentially made two teenagers celebrities. Thus, Jerry and Joe had begun to show interest in recording their own music or backing other artists. They had to put a pause on this for the time being, as the next Buddy Holly & The Crickets record was due soon. In exchange for more money, they had to get the album out as soon as possible. The result focused on more lighthearted songs, even featuring two novelty numbers with lead vocals by Jerry Allison. Holly was lukewarm on them, but wanted to keep the peace, especially as that meant there were two fewer songs to come up with. This also meant he had more pull for a controversial decision.
Holly became interested in session players or otherwise new talent he hadn’t worked with. He felt limited by mostly having worked with teenagers with often different interests to him. To dip the toe in this new sound, he had three lead guitar parts played by Tommy Allsup, who was recruited as the band’s new guitar player, replacing Niki. Sonny Curtis had asked to rejoin, but was turned down. Joe was frustrated at not being featured on “Heartbeat”, which instead included George Atwood on bass. Buddy said Joe’s performance wasn’t up to his liking.
After listening to what had been finished, The Crickets felt they could do better. Unsure of where to go, the group focused on a second album of backing other people. Buddy was not particularly interested, but put his name to it, anyways. In looking for options for the next proper LP, Joe and Jerry felt they should reconnect with their past and start out by jamming with people they used to play with or see where trends were going with teenagers (which they of course were in tune with, being teenagers themselves). Buddy was interested in pop, especially that didn’t originate from Texas and thus he became interested in the New York music scene. Hoping to get a fresh start, Buddy formed a new band in secret consisting of Allsup, George Atwood, and Bo Clarke on drums, all of whom had appeared on the last Crickets record. This lineup cut two tracks before Holly felt it wasn’t working and fired them. Due to contracting reasons, Allsup remained a Cricket.
Holly was given a reminder his album of backing other artists was late. He then formed a new band with Sanford Bloch on bass, Ernest Hayes on piano, and Panama Francis on drums. After some recording, Francis proved an issue and was replaced with Phillip Kraus. After some recording, Kraus proved an issue and was replaced with Clifford Leeman. Holly returned to The Crickets and powered through to the end. The tracks without The Crickets would be saved for a solo project.
Niki Sullivan is not on this record.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – THE SOUND OF THE CENTURY
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Well… All Right” (3-31)
“Take Your Time” (4-5)
“Fool’s Paradise” (4-6)
“Think It Over” (4-7)
“Real Wild Child”
“Mona” (3-28)
SIDE B
“Lonesome Tears” (4-8)
“It’s So Easy” (4-9)
“Oh, You Beautiful Doll”
“Heartbeat” (4-10)
“Come Back Baby” (4-15)
“Reminiscing” (4-16)
“That’s My Desire” (From Buddy Holly (1958) bonus tracks)
Norman Petty – organ (tracks 2-4), percussion (track 9), piano (track 13)
Vi Petty – piano (tracks 3-4)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bigham) – backing vocals (tracks 3-5, 7-9)
Glen “Bob” Clarke – drums (tracks 5, 9)
Tommy Allsup – lead guitar (tracks 7-8, 10)
George Atwood – bass (track 10)
King Curtis – tenor saxophone (tracks 11-12)
Al Caiola – guitar (track 13)
Donald Amone – rhythm guitar (track 13)
William Marihe – backing vocals (track 13)
Robert Bollinger – backing vocals (track 13)
Robert Harter – backing vocals (track 13)
Merrill Ostrus – backing vocals (track 13)
Abby Hoffer – backing vocals (track 13)
The Sound Of The Century was finished late, but still received massive acclaim, which put the pressure on for the group to best themselves. Holly, still determined to try a new style, went to his band, saying he wanted to go to New York and embrace more trends. Tommy felt Buddy had a stronger musical vision and thus wanted to go with him. The group, unable to meet in the middle, said they’d split for now. Jerry and Joe could continue as the Crickets, while Buddy would finally go solo. He was said to have missed them and that it’d be strange not having their names or the band listed on his future records. Buddy returned to work. After some recording, now with strings, asked to be included by executives, Bloch, Hayes, and Leeman proved to be an issue and were fired. With neither the backing other artists album or his solo album done, Holly felt desperate. He considered calling Joe, Jerry, and maybe Niki or Sonny, to finish his records, but he wasn’t willing to give up so easily and would try something slightly less desperate.
Following a lead, Holly went to Clear Lake, Iowa to the “Surf Ballroom”. He went to see up and coming country artist Waylon Jennings. He knew he had teamed up with Atwood and Clarke. During their performance, Buddy fell in love with Waylon’s style. Despite allegedly having intended to take the others and leave Jennings, Holly instead decided to have the three of them and Allsup back him. When asked why Buddy was asking for the others back, he said he wanted to do what was most comfortable for Waylon. Thus, the quintet did two tracks Waylon was working on. Buddy liked them so much he wanted them on his solo album, instead of the secondary release. Waylon then became sick and was unable to play, which caused the others to finish both records without him. Holly & His Buddies Volume 2 was released to decent rates, though not being considered as interesting or desirable. Holly was at least proud to have released it before 1958 and to have received a letter of congratulations from Jerry and Joe, who sent him a copy of their new single credited to “Sonny Curtis & The Crickets”.
BUDDY HOLLY – TRUE LOVE WAYS
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Love’s Made A Fool Of You” (4-11)
“Wishing” (6-20)
“Early In The Morning” (4-12)
“Now We’re One” (4-14)
“When Sin Stops”
“That’s What They Say” (5-28)
SIDE B
“True Love Ways” (4-17)
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” (4-19)
“Raining In My Heart” (4-21)
“Moondreams” (4-23)
“Jole Blon”
“What To Do” (5-24)
PERSONNEL
Buddy Holly – lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 6-10, 12), rhythm guitar (tracks 1-2), lead guitar (tracks 5-6, 11-12)
Tommy Allsup – lead guitar (tracks 1-2), guitar (tracks 5, 11)
George Atwood – bass (tracks 1-2, 5, 11)
Bo Clarke – drums (tracks 1-2, 5, 11)
Unknown – rhythm guitar (track 2)
Al Chernet – guitar (tracks 3-4)
George Barnes – lead guitar (tracks 3-4)
Sanford Bloch – bass (tracks 3-4, 7-10)
Ernest Hayes – piano (tracks 3-4, 7-10)
David “Panama” Francis – drums (tracks 3-4)
Phillip Kraus – drums (tracks 3-4)
Sam Taylor – alto saxophone (tracks 3-4)
Helen Way – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Harriet Young – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Maeretha Stewart – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Theresa Merritt – backing vocals (tracks 3-4)
Waylon Jennings – lead vocals (tracks 5, 11)
King Curtis – saxophone (tracks 5, 11)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bigham) – backing vocals (tracks 5, 11)
George Tomsco – guitar (tracks 6, 12)
Stan Lark – bass (tracks 6, 12)
Doug Roberts or Eric Budd – drums (tracks 6, 12)
Al Caiola – guitar (tracks 7-10)
Doris Johnson – harp (tracks 7-10)
Clifford Leeman – drums (tracks 7-10)
Abraham Richman – tenor saxophone (tracks 7-10)
Sylvan Shulman, Leo Kruczek, Leonard Posner, Irving Spice, Ray Free, Herbert Bourne, Julius Held, Paul Winter – violins (tracks 7-10)
David Schwartz, Howard Kay – violas (tracks 7-10)
Maurice Brown, Maurice Bialkin – cellos (tracks 7-10)
True Love Ways was another hit. Holly had already gotten started on recording demos in his apartment for his next record. Due to slimy deals that resulted in him making very little money, he had to start touring as soon as possible. Holly then bought a bus from 1927 and hit the road. They were stressful and cramped and resulted in Clarke and Atwood quitting. Jennings, feeling indebted to Holly, said he wouldn’t leave. The group soon found the young and spirited Carl Bunch, who Holly called “Jerry 2”. Unable to find a bassist as soon as anyone would like, Jennings was recruited. Touring continued to be a stressful endeavor, with everyone missing the ease of flying. As much could be said for Carl, who got frostbite. Possibly due to a reported disliking of Carl, Holly then chartered a flight for only him, Jennings, and Allsup. Ultimately and infamously, through contrivances, Waylon and Tommy were replaced by popular artists Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. The plane soon crashed after takeoff. Holly’s body wasn’t found.
Those that knew Holly, and even those that didn’t, were shattered. Norman Petty, not to turn down an opportunity to make money, licensed several old recordings of Buddy Holly, mainly from the Two Tones era, and overdubbed them with a band called The Fireballs. These were considered shoddy and like cash-ins, with people really wanting new material. Petty then found the apartment tapes and overdubbed them. Jennings insisted on being an advisor for the sake of accuracy and managed to convince Petty to not overdub certain tracks, as he had heard Buddy say he wanted things “As they had been – stripped back.” He only got Petty to go along with this when he said it would cost less.
Giant was considered a fitting tribute to Holly, feeling like a culmination of his different styles. His past band members and friends were reported to have liked the record. After Holly, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup started solo careers. Niki Sullivan tried continuing his career, but soon essentially retired. Most of the minor players became session men and were always eager to do interviews and shows that focused on Holly. Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Sonny Curtis, and to a lesser extent Norman Petty weren’t so inclined to remain in the shadow of their friend and mentor, and their story continues…
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – HOLLY & HIS BUDDIES VOLUME 1
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Jim Robinson – “A Whole Lot Of Lovin’”
Jim Robinson – “It’s A Wonderful Feeling”
Jack Huddle – “Starlight”
Jack Huddle – “Believe Me”
Sherry Davis – “Broken Promises”
Sherry Davis – “Humble Heart”
Fred Crawford – “By The Mission Wall”
SIDE B
Buddy Knox – “Swingin’ Daddy”
Buddy Knox – “Whenever I’m Lonely”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Go Boy Go”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Gone”
Gary Dale Tollett – “The Golden Rocket”
Gary Dale Tollett – “I Overlooked An Orchid”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Look To The Future”
Gary Dale Tollett – “Honey Honey”
PERSONNEL
Jim Robinson – lead vocals (tracks 1-2)
Buddy Holly – guitar (tracks 1-15)
Jerry Allison – cardboard box (tracks 1-2), drums (tracks 2-15)
Vi Petty – piano (tracks 2, 4)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-4, 7-9, 14-15)
The Roses – backing vocals (track 1)
The Bowman Brothers – backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 7)
Jack Huddle – lead vocals (tracks 3-4)
Sherry Davis – lead vocals (5-6)
Jack Vaughn – rhythm guitar (tracks 5-6)
Unknown – bass (tracks 5-6)
The Picks – backing vocals (tracks 5-6, 14-15)
Gene Medley – backing vocals (track 6)
Fred Crawford – lead vocals (track 7)
Norman Petty – organ (track 7)
Buddy Knox – lead vocals (tracks 8-9)
Gary Dale Tollett – lead vocals (tracks 10-15), guitar (track 14)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Here is the last batch of Buddy Holly recordings. He started moving away from the flavor of rock and roll he was doing, leaning more into ballads. Despite these tracks being demos, they are generally very good and this is a worthy album to listen to. It probably was the start of what would’ve been a new chapter in Buddy Holly’s story if it wasn’t cut short so soon.
For fun, if material was to be used to make a follow-up album to the officially released 1958 album, Buddy Holly, it could go like, “True Love Ways”, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, “Raining In My Heart”, “Moondreams”, “You’re The One”, “Love’s Made A Fool Of You”, “Wishing”, “Early In The Morning”, “Now We’re One”, and overdubbed versions of “Peggy Sue Got Married”, “Dearest”, and finally “Smokey Joe’s Café”.
BUDDY HOLLY – TRUE LOVE WAYS
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“True Love Ways” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” (Paul Anka)
“Raining In My Heart” (Felice Bryant, Boudleaux Bryant)
“Moondreams” (Norman Petty)
“You’re The One” (Buddy Holly, Slim Corbin, Waylon Jennings)
“What To Do” (Buddy Holly)
“That Makes It Tough” (Buddy Holly)
“That’s What They Say” (Buddy Holly)
SIDE B
“Peggy Sue Got Married” (Buddy Holly)
“Crying, Waiting, Hoping” (Buddy Holly)
“Learning The Game” (Buddy Holly)
“Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie” (Harry Von Tilzer, Andrew B. Sterling)
“Slippin’ And Slidin’” (Little Richard, Eddie Bo, Al Collins, James Smith)
“Dearest” (Mickey Baker, Ellas McDaniel)
“Love Is Strange” (Mickey Baker, Sylvia Vanderpool, Ethel Smith)
“Buddy’s Guitar” (Buddy Holly)
“Smokey Joe’s Café” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
BONUS TRACKS
“True Love Ways (Stereo)”
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore (Stereo)”
“Raining In My Heart (Stereo)”
“Moondreams (Stereo)”
“Slippin’ And Slidin’ (Slow Version #1)”
“Slippin’ And Slidin’ (Slow Version #2)”
“Drown In My Own Tears (Fragment) / Buddy & Maria Elena Talking In Apartment”
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
This overdub fan album has the most right to exist as most of the tracks are demos with only guitar and drums. It’d be very easy to add rhythm guitar and bass. The tracks that were already full band are mostly left alone by The Fireballs. The Picks did overdub backing vocals on some of the full band tracks.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE FIREBALLS – RIP IT UP
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee” (The Picks Overdub) (Sonny Curtis)
“Modern Don Juan” (The Picks Overdub) (Don Guess, Jack Neal)
“You Are My One Desire” (The Picks Overdub) (Don Guess)
“Brown-Eyed Handsome Man” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to February 1963) (Chuck Berry)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Three Tunes/Sonny Curtis on guitar era of Buddy Holly yielded a period of growth. It’s interesting to hear the interpretation of the material by Buddy Holly backing vocalists, The Picks, in the 1980s and Buddy Holly producer, Norman Petty, in the 1960s. In cases where both The Picks and The Fireballs overdubbed a song, The Fireballs version was included on the album proper and The Picks only got bonus track status.
On the overdub album for the first Buddy album, The New Kid’s Rock Group, The Fireballs played on 11/15 tracks. Here they are only on 6/15, thus The Three Tunes garnered a title credit.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE FIREBALLS WITH THE THREE TUNES – BABY, WON’T YOU COME OUT TONIGHT?
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Baby Won’t You Come Out Tonight” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Midnight Shift” (The Picks Overdub) (Jimmy Ainsworth, Earl Lee)
“Don’t Come Back Knockin’” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly, Sue Parrish)
“Blue Days, Black Nights” (The Picks Overdub) (Ben Hall)
“Love Me” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly, Sue Parrish)
“I Guess I Was Just A Fool” (Buddy Holly)
“It’s Not My Fault” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Ben Hall, Weldon Myrick)
SIDE B
“I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock-A-Bye Rock” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Because I Love You” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee” (Sonny Curtis)
“I’m Changin’ All Those Changes” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“That’ll Be The Day” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison)
“Girl On My Mind” (The Picks Overdub) (Don Guess)
“Ting-A-Ling” (The Picks Overdub) (Ahmet Nugetre)
BONUS TRACKS
“It’s Not My Fault” (The Picks Overdub) (Ben Hall, Weldon Myrick)
“I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock-A-Bye Rock” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
“Because I Love You” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
I was struck with an idea for a fan album series that I couldn’t resist… People know Buddy Holly for his peak period of The Crickets. Many of his tracks, mainly non-Cricket tracks, have been overdubbed after Holly’s death, typically to make that material more in line with how people know him. I have taken those overdubbed recordings and put them in place on my fan albums. Not every track has been overdubbed, so the never dubbed will be left alone. This fan album covers the least rocking material of Buddy’s career. They are of course more rock-esque now.
The cover and the title are edited slightly to reflect that Bob Montgomery is emphasized less than Holly historically.
BUDDY HOLLY & The Fireballs – THE NEW KIDS’ ROCK GROUP
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Down The Line” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to December 1964) (Buddy Holly, Bob Montgomery, Norman Petty)
“I Gambled My Heart” (Clovis Overdub Possibly October 6th, 1963) (Buddy Holly, Bob Montgomery)
“I’ll Just Pretend” (Jessie Mae Martin)
“Take These Shackles From My Heart” (Traditional)
“Footprints In The Snow” (Traditional, arranged by Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery)
“Flower Of My Heart” (Clovis Overdub Possibly October 6th, 1963) (Bob Montgomery, Don Guess)
“Door To My Heart” (Clovis Overdub Possibly October 6th, 1963) (Bob Montgomery)
“My Two-Timin’ Woman” (Hank Snow)
SIDE B
“Gotta Get You Near Me Blues” (Clovis Overdub Possibly October 6th, 1963) (Bob Montgomery)
“Soft Place In My Heart” (Clovis Overdub Possibly October 6th, 1963) (Bob Montgomery)
“Memories” (Clovis Overdub Between October 1963 to December 1964) (Bob Montgomery)
“You And I Are Through” (Clovis Overdub Between October 1963 to December 1964) (Bob Montgomery, Ella Holley)
“Baby, It’s Love” (Clovis Overdub Between October 1963 to December 1964) (Buddy Holly, Bob Montgomery)
“Baby, Let’s Play House” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to December 1964) (Arthur Gunter)
“Queen Of The Ballroom” (Clovis Overdub Between October 1963 to December 1964) (Don Guess)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Welcome to the fifth of six Buddy Holly fan albums and the longest of the bunch. The starting point for Rave On is just after rhythm guitarist, Niki Sullivan, left and it runs all the way to the last Crickets recording. There is a little overlap with Holly’s solo era. After a good amount of Crickets cuts we get “Love’s Made A Fool Of You”, “Wishing”, “Early In The Morning”, and “Now We’re One”. They all feature Buddy backed by non-Crickets. I have really wanted to keep the albums sorted by when they were recorded, so they’ll stay.
A handful of the tracks are taken from the Buddy Holly album released in 1958, as they were recorded after Sullivan’s departure. They seem to suit this later era better than the tracks with Niki on the last fan album.
“That’s My Desire” is sourced from a rerelease of Buddy Holly because the version on the Not Fade Away box set includes studio chatter. The studio chatter version is included as a bonus track. “Wishing” without overdubs is apparently lost, so a version with overdubs from after Holly’s death is included. The version of “Mona” used is “Version 3”.
1/28/2022 Edit: I found the undubbed “Wishing” and it has replaced the overdubbed version.
Just for fun, I made a fan album of what the second “Crickets” album would be like, a sequel to the first Crickets album, which was released in 1957. I couldn’t get twelve Crickets tracks after the recording of the first one, so I went back to when Larry Welborn was in a proto-version of The Crickets. This can be justified as some of the Welborn-era songs were on that first Crickets album. The tracklist goes > “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”, “Mona”, “Well… All Right”, “Take Your Time”, “Fool’s Paradise”, “Think It Over”, “Lonesome Tears”, “It’s So Easy”, “Heartbeat”, “Come Back Baby”, “Reminiscing”, “That’s My Desire”.
Rave On is given its name from one of the songs and the cover is based on a random compilation that I took the cover of.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – RAVE ON
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Little Baby” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty, C.W. Kendall Jr.)
“(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care” (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
“Look At Me” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Norman Petty)
“Mona” (Ellas McDaniel)
“Rave On” (Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty)
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
This is the record filled with most of Buddy Holly’s big hits and most famous songs that people in the now know. People who listen to studio albums and don’t really go to non-album tracks or comps will know these songs as this fan album is basically the first two released Buddy LPs, The “Chirping” Crickets (1957) and Buddy Holly (1958). Six tracks were excluded and the remaining eighteen make up one album at a 1970s album length. The tracks on The Sound Of The Century are from the era where Joe B. Mauldin had joined the band on bass and Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar. The two of them with Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison make the classic line-up of The Crickets and of Buddy Holly’s career. These eighteen songs cover the period before Niki Sullivan left, though some tracks lack him. I am keeping them here as they’re from the era he was in. The band didn’t need any time to warm up on record. All these tracks are very tight and show why these are Buddy’s most famous songs. Some of the not-as-famous songs were overlooked by me on my listens of the proper albums, but their brilliance was very apparent this time around. Buddy Holly kept besting himself!
The tracklisting is heavily based on the tracklists for the two Buddy Holly albums mentioned. They were sorted in the order of: The “Chirping” Crickets side a, Buddy Holly, The “Chirping” Crickets side b. There were a few rearranged tracks. “Not Fade Away” seemed a more appropriate album closer, so it was moved there from its side a track 2 position on Chirping. “Everyday” had ended up as side b track 2 of this fan album, but it was moved to side b track 1 as it is a really standout cut.
The album cover is of the Australian cover to The “Chirping” Crickets with different words. There was a different picture I wanted to use, but I could only find it in too low a quality for my standards. It is posted below. It was hard to think of a title that captured the legacy and influence of these tracks. I thought of “The Sound Of 1957” to suggest that the shot was being called that this was the music of the time, but that gave the suggestion that these are 65 years out of date. “The Sound Of The Century” has a good ring. One could take that as meaning they’re out of date by twenty-two years, but I rebuttal that that could be applied to any or all centuries.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS – THE SOUND OF THE CENTURY
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Oh Boy!” (Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty)
“You’ve Got Love” (Roy Orbison, Johnny Wilson, Norman Petty)
“Maybe Baby” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
“It’s Too Late” (Chuck Willis)
“Tell Me How” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Norman Petty)
“I’m Gonna Love You Too” (Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, Norman Petty)
“Peggy Sue” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Norman Petty)
“Listen To Me” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
“Valley Of Tears” (Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew)
SIDE B
“Everyday” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
“Ready Teddy” (Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco)
“Mailman Bring Me No More Blues” (Ruth Roberts, Bill Katz, Stanley Clayton)
“Words Of Love” (Buddy Holly)
“An Empty Cup (And A Broken Date)” (Roy Orbison, Norman Petty)
“Send Me Some Lovin’” (John Marascalco, Leo Price)
“Last Night” (Joe B. Mauldin, Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
“Rock Me My Baby” (Shorty Long, Susan Heather)
“Not Fade Away” (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty)
BONUS TRACKS
“Oh Boy!” (Undubbed)
“Maybe Baby” (First Version)
“It’s Too Late” (Undubbed)
“Peggy Sue” (Alternate Take)
“Send Me Some Lovin’” (Undubbed)
“Last Night” (Undubbed)
“Not Fade Away” (Alternate Overdub)
“That’ll Be The Day” (Greetings To Bob Thiele)
“That’ll Be The Day” (Greetings To Murray Deutsch)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
The Filme Diary 