the following are the songs listed in the group's notebook, in Buddy's handwriting:

(spelling errors are copied exactly as written by Buddy)

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Songs:

Let the Good Times Roll
I Feel Good
Money Honey
Shake Rattle and Roll
Roll Over Beethoven
Honky Tonk
Forty Cups of Coffee
Lost Dreams
Hey Doll Baby
That'll be the Day
Love Me
Blue Days Black Nights
Modern Don Juan
My One Desire
Brown-eyed Handsome Man
Razzle Dazzle
Blue Suede Shoes
Ting-a-ling
Ooby-Dooby
I'll Never Let You Go
Harbor Lites
Smoky Joe's Cafe'
Annie Had a Baby
Sexy Ways
Baby Let's Play House
Good Rockin' Tonight
Tutti-Frutti
I'm Left You're Rite She's Gone
Rip it Up
Long Tall Sally
Ready Teddy
Slipin' and Slidin'
Bo Diddley
*Cindy Lou
Makin Me a Used to Be
I Got a Woman
Why Did You Leave
Hound Dog
Don't be Cruel
Be Bop a Lulu
That's All Right
Rock Around with Olivee
I Forgot to Remember
The Great Pretender
Trying to Get to You
Lawdy Miss Clawdy

*(later recorded as "Peggy Sue")

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the following songs are listed as "Songs to Learn":

Rock House
All Around the World
The Girl Can't Help it
Drown in my Own Tears
Aint that Love
Jem Dandee
Tick Tock
Rock Around the Clock
Maybellene
Too Much Monkey Business
Going Home
Love is Strange
Why Oh Why
Ain't Got no Home
Blue Monday
Young Love
You're the Reason I'm in Love
Butterfly

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It's too bad many of these songs were never recorded, but it's a sure bet that people who attended a Crickets' live performance were able to hear some of them from time to time.

Here are the original Rock & Roll artists who recorded the songs on Buddy Holly & The Crickets' play list. Almost all the songs are from 1956 or earlier, with a few from early 1957. Any guesses as to who recorded the remaining songs?

Just look at how many Elvis songs Buddy covered. He also covers a lot of songs that Elvis covered on record during 1956. Of those covers, look at how many were originally Little Richard songs.

It seems once he'd been bitten by the Rock & Roll bug, Buddy immersed himself heavily in R&B;, and didn't include nearly as many Country-based songs in his live show as one might expect. No wonder they were a hit with the Apollo audience. Who wouldn't love to be on the dancefloor when this group plugged in? Judging by these classic rockers, The Crickets put on one seriously high-energy show. What a great song list!

Songs (this time with the original Rock & Roll artists listed):

Let the Good Times Roll...Shirley & Lee
I Feel Good...Shirley & Lee
Money Honey...The Drifters, Elvis Presley
Shake Rattle and Roll...Big Joe Turner, Bill Haley & His Comets, Elvis Presley
Roll Over Beethoven...Chuck Berry
Honky Tonk...Bill Doggett
Forty Cups of Coffee...Bill Haley & His Comets
Lost Dreams...Fats Domino
Hey Doll Baby...The Everly Brothers
That'll be the Day...The Crickets
Love Me...The Crickets
Blue Days Black Nights...The Crickets
Modern Don Juan...The Crickets
My One Desire...The Crickets
Brown-eyed Handsome Man...Chuck Berry
Razzle Dazzle...Bill Haley & His Comets
Blue Suede Shoes...Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley
Ting-a-ling...Larry Williams
Ooby-Dooby...Roy Orbison
I'll Never Let You Go...Elvis Presley
Harbor Lights...The Platters, Elvis Presley
Smoky Joe's Cafe'...The Robins
Annie Had a Baby...Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
Sexy Ways...Hank Ballard & The Midnighters
Baby Let's Play House...Elvis Presley
Good Rockin' Tonight...Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley
Tutti-Frutti...Little Richard, Elvis Presley
I'm Left You're Rite She's Gone...Elvis Presley
Rip it Up...Little Richard, Elvis Presley
Long Tall Sally...Little Richard
Ready Teddy...Little Richard, Elvis Presley
Slippin' and Slidin'...Little Richard
Bo Diddley...Bo Diddley
*Cindy Lou...Crickets
Makin Me a Used to Be...?
I Got a Woman...Ray Charles, Elvis Presley
Why Did You Leave...?
Hound Dog...Big Mama Thornton, Elvis Presley
Don't be Cruel...Elvis Presley
Be Bop a Lula...Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
That's All Right...Big Boy Crudop, Elvis Presley
Rock Around with Olivee...Crickets
I Forgot to Remember...Elvis Presley
The Great Pretender...The Platters
Trying to Get to You (Elvis Presley)
Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Lloyd Price, Elvis Presley)

the following songs are listed as "Songs to Learn":

Rock House...Roy Orbison
All Around the World...Little Richard
The Girl Can't Help it...Little Richard
Drown in my Own Tears...Ray Charles
Ain't that Love...Ray Charles
Jim Dandee...LaVerne Baker & The Gliders
Tick Tock...Marvin & Johnny

*** What is interesting about 1955's "Tick Tock" are the bridge lyrics:
"I'll give you my lovin' baby,
and all my turtle dovin'.
All my money' honey,
and that ain't funny".

Sound a little familiar? Odd that it's on Buddy's "songs to learn list". Seems he already knew this song. But...back to the list.

Rock Around the Clock...Bill Haley & His Comets
Maybellene...Chuck Berry
Too Much Monkey Business...Chuck Berry
Going Home...Fats Domino
Love is Strange...Mickey & Sylvia
Why Oh Why...?
Ain't Got No Home...Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Blue Monday...Fats Domino
Young Love...Sonny James
You're the Reason I'm in Love...?
Butterfly...Andy Williams

Balcony Buddy

quote:

Originally posted by Balcony Buddy:
Just look at how many Elvis songs Buddy covered. He also covers a lot of songs that Elvis covered on record during 1956. Of those covers, look at how many were originally Little Richard songs.

The best thing I think that Buddy brougt to the covers of Elvis/Little Richard was his energy. Can't really say anything about Little Richard's records cause about the only one I've heard by him is Tutti Frutti. But I have heard the Elvis songs that Buddy covered, ie Ready Teddy, Rip It Up and Blue Suede Shoes, duig out from my mom's old records. For me, it's very obvious that Elvis is the donkey with the carrot over his nose, but in this case the carrot is a check. The same energy isn't there. But if you make the mistake of having the volume too high when you turn on Ready Teddy by Buddy for example, there's a good chance your speakers might be blown out.
Now, speaking of "being on the dancefloor when this act hit the stage" I don't think there's one person on here who would disagree with you about that. Probably the main thing I'm curious about is that did Buddy talk to JI and Joe B on the stage, joking around verbally (because they sure did it physically....just watch some of the home video footage of their stage show on the Real Buddy Holly Story..no sound though ), and if Buddy talked to the audience, what did he say? According to Des O'Conner, he was a naturally funny guy...even in the morning when Dews had to wake him up cause Buddy was not a morning person. To wake him up one morning Des started tugging on the feet at the end of the bed, and a lazy Texan voice from under teh covers replied, "Don't do that Des, I'm tall enough already."

thanks everyone., lots of good info in this thread...

here's a quote from a letter Buddy wrote his parents from England, while on the tour:

"We had three good shows today. The last one especially. We are getting to where we can carry on pretty good on the stage what with a few little jokes and all. Everyone comments on how my jokes get bigger laughs than the comedian on the show, Des O'Conner. Who knows, we might change and be comedians instead of rock n' roll stars."

also, here's a word for word introduction Buddy gave in England just before launching into "Rip it Up":

"Here's a sad little song with tender lyrics that really tell a story. This tune is likely to reduce ya'll to tears, not because of the sadness of the words, but on account of the pathetic way we sing it!"

no question, Holly was a great entertainer, with wit and charm that rivaled any of his contemporaries.

it's true that Buddy covered a lot of Little Richard material. and lo and behold, so did Elvis. they both covered much of the popular material of the time. when Buddy covered a song, though, he had to learn the guitar parts for it and the vocal part(s). Elvis simply had to step up to a mic and sing his part. and i agree with Buddy Blue - the energy Buddy Holly brought to these covers (at least the ones that survive in recorded form) is second to none.

In writing back home to his folks, Buddy also complained of the cold and rainy weather that was constant in England.
Here's two other possible Buddy anecdotes that I have seen circulating other boards but have no proof to back it up on, well, there's a better chance than not that they're funny figments of someone's imagination...just think that they're cute even if they're not true...
"The next song will bring tears to your eyes...not because it's sad but because it has four chords and we only know three of them!" and
[between Buddy and a tour promotor] "Buddy, before I book you on a tour I'd like to recommend you start wearing glasses."
"Will it help me sell out more shows?"
"No, but it'll stop you talking to hat stands!"

not sure what the weather in England has to do with this discussion, but the quote from Buddy i referenced was from an article written in September 1958 by a reporter who was present for the very first show, at the London Paladium. here is his account:

"An official called for silence, the producer crocked his finger in Buddy's direction, and the singer picked out the introductory notes to
"That'll be the Day". By the end of the first chorus, the sound was overpowering.

But at the same time, it was fierce, blistering, exciting - and - authentic! This was no carbon copy - this was the real, genuine, finished article.

So close was the group's 'in person' sound to their disc performances that on one occassion, if you closed your eyes for a brief second, you were momentarily convinced that you were listening to a Cricket's recording being played over an elaborate hi-fi system!"

where are you guys getting this info from? It's good stuff.., I love these "behind the scenes" posts...., keep it up

~ DDK

Hey man, how's the tatoo? Did you get the color done yet?

I'm not sure where Jerry located the songlist. I used to have the Buddy Holly box set on MCA (vinyl), and in the accompanying booklet was a photo of the list in Buddy's handwriting. That booklet was big, it was fat, it was full of inside information and great photos, and it was by far the best I've seen on any music artist. It was an incredible compilation - well worth the $50-100 you might have to pay to score a copy today.

As for my adding the artists' names in - most of them I just knew whose songs they were and when they came out - 95% of them were pre-1957. Two or three of them I hadn't a clue, but they may have had a different title than what Buddy was calling them. Internet searches also came up empty for these.

There are two songs in the repertoir that stand out from the rest.The first would be Bill Doggett's 1956 instrumental "Honky Tonk (Part II), which was probably the side of the record The Crickets covered, since Honky Tonk (Part I) was predominently a saxophone solo. A guitarist has really got to have his chops down to pull off this tasty guitar piece. Buddy does. It was also covered very nicely a few years later by The Ventures.

The most ambitious song on the list would have been Frogman Henry's "I Ain't Got A Home". The vocal required him to generally sing tenor, his normal range - but then he has to "sing like a girl", which he pulls off with a convincing falsetto - and then Buddy has to "sing like a frog", which is hysterical. He comes very close here to nailing Henry's trademark frog voice, which is no mean feat for a twenty year-old white kid. I can't believe Buddy actually had the tenacity to pull this off live!

Balcony Buddy

it's true that "Ain't Got No Home" is an amazing performance. especially when you consider that it was recorded either in Larry Holley's garage or the Holley home, with Buddy on guitar and vocals and JI on drums. the vocal performance is incredible, but considering that he's playing guitar too, well....what can you say?

and yes, the guitar proficiency illustrated on "Honky Tonk" demonstrates that Buddy was no slouch on guitar.

the information i have dates this list as January 1957, just a month before Buddy and the boys travelled to Clovis to record "That'll be the Day" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love".

If this list is January 1957, as you've discovered, there may be a problem with "Hey Doll Baby" by The Everly Brothers and "Butterfly", by Andy Williams. Andy Williams' "Butterfly" charted in April 1957, so his hit may be a cover version of the song. "Hey Doll Baby", was on the first Everly Brothers' LP, which I think came out later in the year than January. Could it have come out on 45 during 1956, prior to "Bye Bye Love"?

Balcony Buddy

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regarding "butterfly", this was originally a Charlie Gracie song, later copied by Andy Williams.

info about Charlie is available at the following site:

Charlie Gracie

here's some brief text referencing the song:

"....but Gracie, who grew up around South Eighth Street and attended Southwark elementary school and Southern High, also knows he made a contribution. When he recorded "Butterfly" in December 1956, the 5-foot-4 Gracie was already a young artist on the rise, a visible part of the Paul Whiteman revue who'd won the family its first refrigerator in a talent contest, and was developing a reputation via rockabilly-tinged singles recorded for Cadillac.

At that time, Cameo was one of a bunch of fledgling independent labels trying to break into rock-and-roll; it hadn't had a hit of any consequence yet. "We opened the door," Gracie says flatly. "If we don't have that hit, none of the other things that came along at Cameo-Parkway would have happened." Including, later stars such as Chubby Checker.

"Butterfly" rocketed up the charts. By March 1957, it had displaced "All Shook Up" at No. 1, and inspired a copycat version from pre-rock star Andy Williams (whose recording also went to No. 1). Gracie followed that with the B-side, "99 Ways," and then other singles, including "Fabulous" and "Cool Baby".

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although the info on the Holly notebook gives the approximate date of January 1957, given that "butterfly" is listed last, it's possible that Holly added that later after the song became a hit. but in any case, it was actually recorded in late 1956.

on "hey doll baby", the following link references that song:

The Clovers

here is some basic text from that site about the song:


The Clovers did another session on November 11, 1955, at which they recorded "Devil Or Angel" (by Blanche Carter), "Hey Doll Baby" (by Titus Turner, who would record his own version in 1961), and "Baby Baby, Oh My Darling" (by Paul Winley). This time they recorded at Capitol Studios in New York. Once again, all sides were led by Buddy.

When you think about it, "Hey Doll Baby" was a true Clovers' song. It's the story of a guy who's so happy to be home after a prolonged absence that he's going into denial about what's going on around him. ("Hey doll baby, whose coat's hanging in the closet?/I don't remember when I bought it/Tell me that your brother was here today/I don't wanna take it no other way.")

"Devil Or Angel," on the other hand, was completely out of character for them. It isn't a Clovers-type arrangement, nor a Clovers-type tune. The writer, Blanche Carter, a Florida native, would receive a BMI award for writing one of the biggest R&B; hits of 1956. She claimed that for years she'd been mailing songs to New York, with no results. This is the one that did it for her. As far as I can determine, however, she never again wrote a hit song. (Jerry Wexler has said that this is the only unsolicited song that ever became a hit for Atlantic.) While "Hey Doll Baby" appealed to the Clovers more than "Devil Or Angel," the latter was the side they really spent time working on.

The Clovers were back at the Apollo for Christmas week, along with Ruth Brown, and the newly-separated-from-the-Drifters Clyde McPhatter.

"Devil Or Angel" and "Hey Doll Baby" were released in January 1956. It would be the last double-sided hit for the Clovers: "Devil" went to #3, and "Doll" leveled off at #8. Note that while this is probably the song most associated with the Clovers, it was never a national Pop hit, only making the R&B; charts.

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(incidentally, the "Buddy" mentioned in paragraph one of the "hey doll baby" text is Buddy Bailey, not Buddy Holly)

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