In reading the song writting credits on the back of one of my Buddy Holly C.Ds, I noticed that True Love Ways and Rave On(along with others) are both credidted to Norman Petty. Iv'e heard that he aided in the writing of some songs, such writing the bridge in True Love Ways, but not enough to have his name in front of Buddys, or to not have Buddys there at all.I recall that Buddy kind of got taken in signing his contract(money wise) but i didnt realize that it extended into the song writting!

"True Love Ways" was written by Buddy Holly.
"Rave On" was written by rockabilly singer/songwriter Sonny West.

Norman Petty, while he is sometimes credited with changing up a word here or there, couldn't write a hit song if his life depended on it. Most often, the extent of his writing had to do with listing himself as co-writer on every song that came through his studio, in order to collect royalties.

I hate that guy, man.

You're not alone, dude. There are a few rock & roll historians out there who still defend Norman Petty---having got the story straight from Norman's mouth, as it were. Well, hell, Norman always painted himself as a well-meaning producer/manager who always had the boys' best interests at heart.

But when you look at the big picture, something else becomes apparent---it wasn't just Buddy who got screwed by Petty. Just about every musician or band that came through Norman Petty's Nor Va Jak studios signed a "contract" that allowed Norman to list himself as a co-writer on their work. Whether they knew it or not. "Hey, they knew what they were doing," was Norman's usual argument. "We agreed on everything."

But if you look down a playlist of Buddy Holly hit songs, you see Norman Petty's name more often than Buddy's. You would think that Norman was the most prolific songwriter of the 20th century. Except for one little thing---why couldn't Norman write a hit song WITHOUT Buddy Holly performing it? I mean, where are all the huge hit songs that Norman wrote, performed by other artists?

The answer is easy. Norman was a button-pushing opportunist who leeched royalties off of everyone who crossed his path, and he couldn't write his way out of a paper bag.

Buddy's last days were a testament to how much of a parasite Norman had become---Holly didn't even want to do the Winter Dance Party, but he was hurting for money. Why? How could this be? He had 7 songs in the Top 40 within a year-and-a-half (which is staggering, even by today's standards), he toured internationally, and his records were selling worldwide. Where was the money going?

Well... Norman controlled the bank account of Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Norman was drawing co-writer royalties away from Buddy. Norman was bleeding Buddy dry, which was part of the reason The Crickets broke up---Buddy wanted to move on, Norman wouldn't pull his hooks out of the group, and The Crickets decided to stick with Norman.

So, when he died on Feb. 3, 1959, the great Buddy Holly had a grand total of $7000 in The Crickets bank account. Seven lousy grand for an international rock star. Pathetic. Yet Norman Petty continued drawing royalties on Buddy's songs, and THEN started releasing NEW Buddy Holly tracks, overdubs of demo recordings, and drew royalties on those songs for years after Buddy died.

Interestingly, Norman's whole claim to fame is that he hitched his wagon to Buddy's star---Petty couldn't produce another star of Buddy's caliber if he wanted to... And he wanted to. But Buddy was the secret ingredient to success. Norman Petty was a dime-a-dozen hack.

Here's a good question to ask: why does Norm Petty's name appear on the writing of That'll Be The Day, when if I recall correctly, the boys hadn't even gone to Norm's studios yet? You don't mean to tell me that Norm went to the movie The Searchers too, with Jerry and Buddy, do you? Cause that's what it seems to imply when you look at the songwriting credits. Quick! Someone call all the people who have published a bio of Buddy Holly. They've got to change that piece of info! Norm Petty went with Jerry and Buddy to the Searchers, and then the three went to Jerry's house, inspired to write That'll Be the Day.
Forgive me, I can't help but be sarcastic when the topic of Norm Petty comes up. I have heard rumours that Buddy dropped off True Love Ways to Norm's studio when Buddy was on his way somewhere and asked Norm to help him out with some phrases. I think about this for a second, think about Norm's track record when it comes to claiming what he wrote, and then I think about whether I believe it or not........nope.

You are correct, That'll Be The Day was written in 1956, and If Im not mistaken it was used in that failed recordind session with Decca. As for the rest of Buddys songs, I too found it extreamly odd that Norman Pettys name came up on nearly all of the hits,and yet after Buddys death he was never able to recapture that magic. Writting skills dont just fly away there, Norm(no pun intended.)I was aware of the fact that Buddy was in desperate need of money,and that that in itself would have been a good reason to tell Petty to go and shove it.I know that perhaps I shouldnt, but I blame Petty for Buddys untimley death.As you said,he didnt want to go on the tour, but was forced to due to the situation that Petty put him in. As for True Love Ways, I dont know as to whether Norman Petty wrote the bridge or whatever or not, all I know is that Petty was a money hungry oppertunist, and Buddy Holly was one hell of an oppertunity.