Peak
3
Weeks
22
Score
4,049
Chart Year
1957
Holly had been kicking around his home town in Lubbock, Texas trying to write a hit song for his small rockabilly band since he had attended an Elvis Presley gig at his High School some time in 1955. His band in those days consisted of him on lead vocals and guitar, Jerry Allison on the drums and Joe B. Maudlin on upright bass. He and Jerry decided to get together and go see The Searchers, a Western movie starring John Wayne. In the movie, Wayne keeps replying, "That'll be the day," every time another character in the film predicts or proclaims something will happen when he felt it was not likely to happen. The phrase stuck in Jerry's mind, and when they were hanging out at Jerry's house one night, Buddy looked at Jerry and said that it sure would be nice if they could record a hit song. Jerry replied with, "That'll be the day," imitating John Wayne in the film. >> Holly and his band The Three Tunes recorded this in Nashville in 1956, but Decca records didn't like the result and refused to release it. A year later, Holly re-recorded it with The Crickets in a studio in Clovis, New Mexico owned by his new producer, Norman Petty. Backup vocalists were brought in and the key was lowered to fit Holly's voice a little better. This version became a huge hit and made Holly a star that summer. Norman Petty took a writing credit on this because he produced it. This meant Holly and Allison had to share royalties with him. This was Holly's first hit, but it was credited to The Crickets, Holly's band. They worked with two record labels, with one releasing Holly's songs as The Crickets and the other as Buddy Holly. Both labels were subsidiaries of Decca Records. This inspired the British 1973 movie of the same name, about a young man with dreams of becoming a rock star. This was the first song John Lennon learned to play on guitar. American rock stars like Holly and Little Richard were a big influence on The Beatles. The movie that inspired Holly and Allison to write this also provided the name for the British group The Searchers in 1964. When this became a hit, Decca records released Holly's earlier version as well. "That'll Be The Day" was the first song John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison recorded together. In 1958, when they were still known as the Quarrymen, they pooled their money, recorded the song at a local studio, and pressed one copy on a 78rpm disc, which they shared. The disc ended up in the possession of Duff Lowe, the piano player in group. In the early '80s, he sold it to McCartney; it was first heard in a 1985 documentary on Buddy Holly, and was released in 1995 on the Anthology 1 collection. Linda Ronstadt released her version as the lead single from her 1976 album Hasten Down the Wind. This came at the suggestion of her producer, Peter Asher, who recorded the song completely live, just as Holly's version was done in the days before multitracking. The song went to #11 in the US and marked a shift for Ronstadt away from country rock. On this version, listen for the guitar solo - Waddy Wachtel played the first four bars, then Andrew Gold took over for the last four. Wachtel's performance helped raise his profile in the Los Angeles music scene, where he soon became one of the top session players. In the US, a version by the Everly Brothers reached #111 in 1965; Pure Prairie League took it to #106 in 1976.
Well, that'll be the day, when you say goodbye Yes, that'll be the day, when you make me cry You say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie 'Cause that'll be the day when I die Well, you give me all your loving and your turtle doving All your hugs and kisses and your money too Well, you know you love me, baby, still you tell me maybe That some day, well, I'll be through Well, that'll be the day, when you say goodbye Yes, that'll be the day, when you make me cry You say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie 'Cause that'll be the day when I die Well, that'll be the day, when you say goodbye Yes, that'll be the day, when you make me cry You say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie 'Cause that'll be the day when I die Well, when Cupid shot his dart he shot it at your heart So if we ever part and I leave you You sit and hold me and you tell me boldly That some day, well, I'll be through Well, that'll be the day, when you say goodbye Yes, that'll be the day, when you make me cry You say you're gonna leave, you know it's a lie 'Cause that'll be the day when I die Well, that'll be the day, hoo-hoo Well, that'll be the day, hoo-hoo Well, that'll be the day, hoo-hoo Well, that'll be the day
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 12, 1957 | 65 | 61 |
| 2 | Aug 19, 1957 | 39 | 87 |
| 3 | Aug 26, 1957 | 15 | 111 |
| 4 | Sep 2, 1957 | 6 | 120 |
| 5 | Sep 9, 1957 | 5 | 121 |
| 6 | Sep 16, 1957 | 3 | 123 |
| 7 | Sep 23, 1957 | 3 | 123 |
| 8 | Sep 30, 1957 | 5 | 121 |
| 9 | Oct 7, 1957 | 3 | 123 |
| 10 | Oct 14, 1957 | 4 | 122 |
| 11 | Oct 21, 1957 | 7 | 119 |
| 12 | Oct 28, 1957 | 6 | 120 |
| 13 | Nov 4, 1957 | 12 | 114 |
| 14 | Nov 11, 1957 | 21 | 105 |
| 15 | Nov 18, 1957 | 25 | 101 |
| 16 | Nov 25, 1957 | 32 | 94 |
| 17 | Dec 2, 1957 | 36 | 90 |
| 18 | Dec 9, 1957 | 42 | 84 |
| 19 | Dec 16, 1957 | 41 | 85 |
| 20 | Dec 23, 1957 | 55 | 71 |