Oh, Boy! (The Crickets song): Difference between revisions

"Oh, Boy!"
"Oh, Boy!"
Single by the Crickets
from the album The "Chirping" Crickets
B-side	"Not Fade Away"
Released	October 27, 1957; December 22, 1957 (UK)
Recorded	July 29 – August 1, 1957, Clovis, New Mexico
Genre	Rock and roll, rockabilly
Length	2:10
Label	Brunswick 9-55035
Songwriter(s)	Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Norman Petty
The Crickets singles chronology

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"Oh, Boy!" is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. The song was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts,^[1] number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958,^[2] and number 26 in Canada.^[3] (See 1958 in music for more context.)

Background

The song was originally recorded as a demo by Sonny West as "All My Love (Oh Boy!)" at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico in early 1957. Petty presented West's demo to Buddy Holly with the intention of Holly recording the song. On the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, West said, "I had a decision to make whether to say I want to do it myself and I said 'No, I want Buddy to do it', it can't hurt anything and if it didn't work I could go back and do it myself someday." It was subsequently recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Norman Petty Studios with Holly singing lead vocals and The Picks providing backing vocals. The song is in an A-A-B-A format with a 12-bar blues verse and an 8-bar bridge. (Holly also covered another West song, "Rave On".)

Lyrics change

West has stated that Holly made a small change to the original lyrics of the song. He told the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, "I said 'All my love, all my kissing, you're gonna see what you've been missing'. And with Buddy's verse, 'All my love, all my kissing, you don't know what you've been missing'. I have no idea, maybe it has more punch that way."

Covers

"Oh Boy!" was covered by British glam rock group Mud. It reached number 1 for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart in May 1975.^[4] It was the band's third and final UK number one. It was included on their album Mud Rock Volume 2, which reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart.^[5] Other versions include:

Bobby Vee recorded the song in 1963.
Jackie DeShannon released a version of the song on her album Breakin' It Up on the Beatles Tour! (1964).
The song was "revived" in an offbeat power ballad version by Starbabies, which reached the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1979.
Los Lobos recorded the song for the film La Bamba in 1987.

References

^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1958-02-01. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
^ "CHUM Hit Parade - February 3, 1958".
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 495. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 382. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

Sources

Amburn, Ellis (1996). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-14557-6.
Bustard, Anne (2005). Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4223-9302-4.
Dawson, Jim; Leigh, Spencer (1996). Memories of Buddy Holly. Big Nickel Publications. ISBN 978-0-936433-20-2.
Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? Togi Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-9800085-0-0.
Goldrosen, John (1975). Buddy Holly: His Life and Music. Popular Press. ISBN 0-85947-018-0
Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80715-7.
Gribbin, John (2009). Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly. London: Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84831-034-6

[1] Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X

[2] "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 1958-02-01. Retrieved 2022-03-17.

[3] "CHUM Hit Parade - February 3, 1958".

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums-4] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 495. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[British_Hit_Singles_&_Albums_2-5] Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 382. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|1957 song by The Crickets}}
-{{Refimprove|date=February 2013}}
 {{Infobox song
 | name       = Oh, Boy!
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 | B-side     = [[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]
 | released   = October 27, 1957<br>December 22, 1957 (UK)
+| recorded   = July 29{{snd}}August 1, 1957, [[Clovis, New Mexico]]
-| format     = 7" single
-| recorded   = June 29{{snd}}July 1, 1957, [[Clovis, New Mexico]]
 | studio     =
 | venue      =
@@ Line 24: / Line 23: @@
 | next_year  = 1958
 }}
-"'''Oh, Boy!'''"  is a song written by [[Sonny West (musician)|Sonny West]], Bill Tilghman and [[Norman Petty]]. The song was included on the album ''[[The "Chirping" Crickets]]'' and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "[[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts, and number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958. (See [[1958 in music]] for more context.)
+"'''Oh, Boy!'''"  is a song written by [[Sonny West (musician)|Sonny West]], Bill Tilghman and [[Norman Petty]]. The song was included on the album ''[[The "Chirping" Crickets]]'' and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "[[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts,<ref>''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' - {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}</ref> number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/oh-boy/ |title=Official Charts Company |website=Officialcharts.com |date=1958-02-01 |accessdate=2022-03-17}}</ref> and number 26 in [[CHUM Chart|Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/58-02-03-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - February 3, 1958}}</ref> (See [[1958 in music]] for more context.)
 ==Background==
-The song was originally recorded by Sonny West in the late 1950s but did not achieve commercial success. It was later recorded by [[Buddy Holly]] [[The Crickets|and the Crickets]] between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Petty Studios in [[Clovis, New Mexico]], with Holly singing lead vocals and the [[The Picks|Picks]] providing backing vocals. The song is in an A-A-B-A format with a [[12-bar blues]] verse and an 8-bar bridge. (Holly also covered another West song, "Rave On".)
+The song was originally recorded as a demo by Sonny West as "All My Love (Oh Boy!)" at [[Norman Petty Studios]] in [[Clovis, New Mexico]] in early 1957. Petty presented West's demo to [[Buddy Holly]] with the intention of Holly recording the song. On the [[BBC]]'s [[Classic Albums]] series in 2019, West said, "I had a decision to make whether to say I want to do it myself and I said 'No, I want Buddy to do it', it can't hurt anything and if it didn't work I could go back and do it myself someday." It was subsequently recorded by [[Buddy Holly]] [[The Crickets|and the Crickets]] between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Norman Petty Studios with Holly singing lead vocals and [[The Picks]] providing backing vocals. The song is in an A-A-B-A format with a [[12-bar blues]] verse and an 8-bar bridge. (Holly also covered another West song, "[[Rave On]]".)
+===Lyrics change===
+West has stated that Holly made a small change to the original lyrics of the song. He told the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, "I said 'All my love, all my kissing, you're gonna see what you've been missing'. And with Buddy's verse, 'All my love, all my kissing, you don't know what you've been missing'. I have no idea, maybe it has more punch that way."
 ==Covers==
 "Oh Boy!" was covered by British [[glam rock]] group [[Mud (band)|Mud]]. It reached number 1 for two weeks on the [[UK Singles Chart]] in May 1975.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book|title=[[British Hit Singles & Albums]]|last=Roberts|first=David|publisher=Guinness World Records|year=2006|isbn=1-904994-10-5|edition=19th|location=London|page=495}}</ref> It was the band's third and final UK number one. It was included on their album ''Mud Rock Volume 2'', which reached number 6 in the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums 2">{{cite book|title=[[British Hit Singles & Albums]]|last=Roberts|first=David|publisher=Guinness World Records|year=2006|isbn=1-904994-10-5|edition=19th|location=London|page=382}}</ref> Other versions include:
-*[[Sonny West (musician)|Sonny West]] recorded a demo version in February 1957 as "All My Love" on acetate, released in 2002.
-*[[Paul Rich]] recorded it in 1958.
 *[[Bobby Vee]] recorded the song in 1963.
 *[[Jackie DeShannon]] released a version of the song on her album ''Breakin' It Up on the Beatles Tour!'' (1964).
-*[[Pavel Bobek & Olympic]] released a version of the song on Supraphon label in 1964.
-*[[The Rivieras]] released a version of the song on their 1964 album, ''[[Let's Have A Party (album)|Let's Have a Party]]''.
-*[[The Everly Brothers]] recorded the song in 1967.
-*[[Skeeter Davis]] released a version of the song in 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secondhandsongs.com/performance/12686 |title=Cover versions of Oh, Boy! by The Crickets |publisher=SecondHandSongs |date= |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref>
-*The [[Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] released a version of the song on their 1974 album, ''Stars & Stripes Forever''.
-*This song was featured in [[Phil Ochs]]'s "Buddy Holly Medley", a cover of several of Holly's songs. It was featured in Ochs's 1974 live album, ''[[Gunfight at Carnegie Hall]]''.
-*[[Melanie Safka|Melanie]] released a version of the song in 1978.
 *The song was "revived" in an offbeat power ballad version by [[Starbabies]], which reached the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart in 1979.
-*The virtual synthpop band [[Silicon Teens]] cover the title 1980 on their album ''Music for Parties'', which features rock-and-roll classics as New Wave tracks.
-*[[The Shadows]] recorded the song in 1982.
-*[[Wanda Jackson]] recorded it in 1982.
-*[[Sir Douglas Quintet]] recorded it in 1983.
 *[[Los Lobos]] recorded the song for the film ''[[La Bamba (film)|La Bamba]]'' in 1987.
-*[[Alvin and the Chipmunks]] in the 1989 ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983 TV series)|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'' episode "Alvin in Neverland".
-*The [[Christian punk rock]] band [[MxPx]] covered the song on their 1995 covers EP, ''[[On the Cover]]''.
-*[[Connie Francis]] in 1996.
-*The [[Stray Cats]] in 1996.
-*[[Hank Marvin]] performed an instrumental version of the song for the album ''Hank Plays Holly'' in 1996.
-*The Irish singer [[Daniel O'Donnell]] in 2004.
-*[[John Prine]] with the Crickets in 2004.
-*The band [[She & Him]], with [[Zooey Deschanel]] as lead vocalist, recorded a cover of the song in 2011, for the tribute album ''[[Rave On Buddy Holly]]''.
-*[[The Grateful Dead]] performed their version of the song many times while touring.
 ==References==
@@ Line 72: / Line 53: @@
 {{Buddy Holly}}
 {{The Crickets}}
+{{Authority control}}
+[[Category:1957 songs]]
 [[Category:1957 singles]]
+[[Category:1975 singles]]
 [[Category:Buddy Holly songs]]
 [[Category:Mud (band) songs]]
 [[Category:Songs written by Norman Petty]]
 [[Category:Songs written by Sonny West]]
-[[Category: 1957 songs]]
+[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]
-[[Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles]]
+[[Category:The Crickets songs]]
+[[Category:Brunswick Records singles]]

v t e Buddy Holly
The Crickets
Singles	"Love Me" "That'll Be the Day" "Words of Love" (b/w "Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues") "Peggy Sue" (b/w "Everyday") "Oh, Boy!" "Not Fade Away" "I'm Gonna Love You Too" "Maybe Baby" "Rave On" "Think It Over" "Early in the Morning" "It's So Easy" "Heartbeat" "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (b/w "Raining in My Heart") "Peggy Sue Got Married" (b/w "Crying, Waiting, Hoping") "True Love Ways" "Valley of Tears" "Bo Diddley" "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" "Love Is Strange"
Studio albums	The "Chirping" Crickets Buddy Holly That'll Be The Day
Compilation albums	The Buddy Holly Story The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2 Reminiscing Showcase Holly in the Hills Giant 20 Golden Greats For the First Time Anywhere Words of Love Greatest Hits Down the Line: Rarities Memorial Collection
Tribute albums	Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly) Rave On Buddy Holly Listen to Me: Buddy Holly
Related articles	Buddy Holly discography List of songs Waylon Jennings Bob "Bobby" Montgomery María Elena Holly (wife) Norman Petty The Picks Surf Ballroom (site of final performance) The Day the Music Died (1959 plane crash) The Buddy Holly Story Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story "Buddy Holly" (song) Buddy Holly Center
Category Commons

v t e The Crickets
Buddy Holly Jerry Allison Joe B. Mauldin Niki Sullivan Earl Sinks Glen Hardin Jerry Naylor Sonny Curtis
Studio albums	The "Chirping" Crickets Buddy Holly In Style with the Crickets Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets Something Old, Something New, Something Blue, Somethin' Else California Sun / She Loves You Rockin' 50's Rock'n'Roll
Compilation albums	20 Golden Greats Words of Love A Collection
EPs	Just for Fun (1963)
Singles	"That'll Be the Day" "Oh, Boy!" (b/w "Not Fade Away") "Maybe Baby" "Think It Over" "It's So Easy" "Love's Made a Fool of You" (b/w "Someone, Someone") "When You Ask About Love" "More Than I Can Say" (b/w "Baby My Heart") "I Fought the Law" "Don't Ever Change (b/w "I'm Not A Bad Guy") "Punish Her" (Bobby Vee, solo, A-side) (b/w "Someday (When I'm Gone From You)" by Bobby Vee & the Crickets) "My Little Girl" (b/w "Teardrops Fall Like Rain") "Lonely Avenue" (b/w "You Can't Be In-Between" USA, "Playboy" UK) "From Me to You" (b/w "Please Please Me") "(They Call Her) La Bamba" (b/w "All Over You") "True Love Ways" (b/w "Rockin' 50's Rock And Roll")
Crickets solo records	The 1st of Sonny Curtis (1968)
Related articles	Discography Buddy Holly discography Norman Petty Brunswick Records Coral Records Philips Records The Picks David Box Tommy Allsup Joe Osborn Bob Montgomery (songwriter) The Buddy Holly Story (1978 film) Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (1989 musical)