Peak
3
Weeks
22
Score
4,018
Chart Year
1957
//
Buddy Holly wrote this song as "Cindy Lou." It went: If you knew Cindy Lou Then you'd know why I feel blue without Cindy When his drummer, Jerry Allison, heard it, he asked Buddy if he would change the name to "Peggy Sue" after a girl he had dated named Peggy Sue Gerron. Holly agreed; the song probably wouldn't be heard outside of Lubbock, Texas, and it would really mean some brownie points for Jerry. The gambit worked for Allison: he and Peggy Sue eloped in 1958, but they divorced nine years later. This was the first hit credited to Holly without his backing band, The Crickets. The Crickets did play on this, but Holly's songs were released on one of two labels, Coral Records crediting him as a solo artist and Brunswick with The Crickets. Both labels were owned by Decca Records. Drummer Jerry Allison had trouble keeping the right beat when they recorded this. The song had been written in cha-cha time. The engineer came on the mike and told Jerry: "If you don't get it right in the next take we're gonna change the name back to Cindy Lou." Jerry thought the guy might not be kidding so he asked for a few more minutes to "go through some exercises." He did just that. As he was going through the "new" warm-up, the beat to the song was changed from cha-cha to Jerry's new beat that was merely a part of his warm-up routine for the high school band. Buddy began to change the guitar licks to fit the beat and the new rhythm developed right there on the spot. "Peggy Sue" has been mentioned in they lyrics to several other songs, including "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin and "Barbara Ann" by The Regents and later by The Beach Boys. This song was a big influence on Tommy Roe's 1962 #1 hit "Sheila." Holly wrote a sequel to this called "Peggy Sue Got Married," which was released on a compilation album after he died. It inspired the 1986 movie Peggy Sue Got Married starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage. >> On September 8, 2001, 48,000 people in Lubbock, Texas, tried to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by singing this at the Texas Tech-New Mexico football game. Horn-rimmed glasses like Holly used to wear were distributed to get them in the mood. The day before the game is when Holly would have turned 65.
Play Video If you knew Peggy Sue Then you'd know why I feel blue without Peggy My Peggy Sue Oh well, I love you gal, yes, I love you Peggy Sue Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue Oh how my heart yearns for you Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue Oh well, I love you gal, yes, I love you Peggy Sue Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty Peggy Sue Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue Oh well, I love you gal and I need you Peggy Sue I love you Peggy Sue With a love so rare and true Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue Well I love you gal, I want you Peggy Sue Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty Peggy Sue Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue Oh well, I love you gal yes I need you Peggy Sue I love you Peggy Sue With a love so rare and true Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue Oh well I love you gal, and I want you Peggy Sue Oh well, I love you gal and I want you Peggy Sue
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 11, 1957 | 61 | 65 |
| 2 | Nov 18, 1957 | 35 | 91 |
| 3 | Nov 25, 1957 | 27 | 99 |
| 4 | Dec 2, 1957 | 18 | 108 |
| 5 | Dec 9, 1957 | 12 | 114 |
| 6 | Dec 16, 1957 | 10 | 116 |
| 7 | Dec 23, 1957 | 5 | 121 |
| 8 | Dec 30, 1957 | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | Jan 6, 1958 | 4 | 122 |
| 10 | Jan 13, 1958 | 4 | 122 |
| 11 | Jan 20, 1958 | 4 | 122 |
| 12 | Jan 27, 1958 | 3 | 123 |
| 13 | Feb 3, 1958 | 3 | 123 |
| 14 | Feb 10, 1958 | 10 | 116 |
| 15 | Feb 17, 1958 | 15 | 111 |
| 16 | Feb 24, 1958 | 17 | 109 |
| 17 | Mar 3, 1958 | 32 | 94 |
| 18 | Mar 10, 1958 | 55 | 71 |
| 19 | Mar 17, 1958 | 65 | 61 |
| 20 | Mar 24, 1958 | 78 | 48 |