Buddy Holly’s great legacy

Idly browsing the supermarket CD racks to see what pap the populace is currently wasting its money on, my attention was grabbed by The Very Best Of Buddy Holly and The Crickets, a new 50 track double CD retailing at under £10.

I was probably attracted by the strikingly lovely cover artwork – red background to a pair of those geeky “library frame” spectacles which were Buddy’s trademark.

But it was also the sheer surprise of seeing a Holly disc in the top 50 racks.

Then the penny dropped – it’s the 50th anniversary of the Texan rockabilly’s death, so a prime catalogue exploitation opportunity for whichever multinational conglomerate now owns the legacy.

Along with the Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison, Holly created the definitive late ‘50s soundscape (oh, forget Elvis). The new album is a fine sampler of Buddy Holly’s great art (track list below) - it has his best-known work.

But there is an earlier, single disc, album of the same name; it has the first 36 of these tracks and is all the Holly most people will ever need. As it’s widely available - eg from play.com – at a mere £5, it’s a better choice, and highly recommended.


The Very Best Of Buddy Holly & The Crickets (2009)
Disc: 1
1. Heartbeat
2. That'll Be The Day
3. Peggy Sue
4. Oh, Boy!
5. Rave On
6. Think It Over
7. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
8. Love's Made A Fool Of You
9. True Love Ways - Buddy Holly
10. Raining In My Heart
11. Everyday
12. Wishing
13. It's So Easy
14. Listen To Me
15. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
16. Words Of Love
17. I'm Gonna Love You Too
18. Well...All Right
19. Bo Diddley
20. Blue Suede Shoes
21. Shake Rattle & Roll
22. What To Do
23. Midnight Shift
24. Love Is Strange
25. Crying, Waiting, Hoping

Disc: 2
1. Peggy Sue Got Married
2. Maybe Baby
3. Early In The Morning
4. You're So Square (Baby, I Don't Care)
5. Reminiscing
6. Valley Of Tears
7. Learning The Game
8. Look At Me
9. Fool's Paradise
10. Take Your Time
11. Not Fade Away
12. Blue Monday
13. Girl On My Mind
14. Love Me
15. Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
16. Rock-A-Bye Rock
17. Send Me Some Lovin'
18. Moondreams
19. You've Got Love
20. Ready Teddy
21. You're The One
22. You Are My One Desire
23. Changing All Those Changes
24. That Makes It Tough
25. It's Too Late




Gerry Smith