Video Classics: ‘That’ll Be the Day’ – Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly Statue, Lubbock TX (Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)

Here’s one to stump even some of the true Beatles fans out there the next time you want to hit them with some trivia. This classic by Buddy Holly also happened to be the very first song recorded by the Quarrymen, who would one day evolve into the Fab Four (after some lineup changes) …

It’s also one of the oldest songs on the Firecracker 500, and one of the last to make the list, just making it on board at spot #499 on the 1991 list. After the jump, catch a video and the story of the song’s genesis, courtesy of Wikipedia …

The song had its genesis in a trip to the movies by Holly, Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis in June 1956. The John Wayne film The Searchers was playing. Wayne’s frequently-used, world-weary catchphrase, “That’ll be the day.” inspired the young musicians.

Soon after, Holly along with Allison wrote a song centered on that phrase. They first recorded it on July 22, 1956, at the Decca Records studio in Nashville, Tennessee. The studio had produced some good Holly efforts, but the recording of That’ll Be the Day was not selected for release. After several singles failed, Decca dropped Holly from the label. The 1956 Nashville recording is different from the one most fans are familiar with. This is due to the producer’s insistence that Holly sing it at the upper limit of his range while playing it slowly, seemingly dragging it out.

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