Buddy Holly and The Crickets - The "Chirping" Crickets (1957)

With the release of the song "Bo Diddley", Bo Diddley popularized a particular beat with which he would forever be associated. Several early rock songs that followed used the "Bo Diddley Beat" as a starting point in song composition including Buddy Holly's classic "Not Fade Away" released in 1957 with his band The Crickets.

Buddy Holly began playing music at a young age with a strong background in bluegrass music. As the young Holly began performing in 1955, he picked up influences from rising acts he'd tour with like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets shifting his act to rock and roll. He eventually formed his own band The Crickets which consisted of himself as lead guitarist and vocalist, drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. This lineup for the rock and roll band would eventually hold as the basic blueprint for all rock and roll bands to follow.

Although Buddy Holly started releasing singles as a solo artist in 1956, 1957 was the breakout year for Holly. He rose to prominence with a chart-topping hit "That'll Be the Day" and two other top ten hits "Peggy Sue" and "Oh, Boy!" (the latter with The Crickets). Oddly enough during this rush of releases, Holly released singles through three different record labels: Decca, Coral, and Brunswick. At the end of the year, it is with Brunswick that Buddy Holly and the Crickets would release their debut album The "Chirping" Crickets.

The album is a great collection of original songs and covers of Roy Orbison, Chuck Willis, and others. Buddy Holly was the principal songwriter for The Crickets, but the album features songs from Allison and Mauldin as well, giving it the feel of a work by the group rather than by just Holly.

Here is the discography surrounding Buddy Holly and the Crickets's debut album:

Blue Days, Black Nights (1956 single by Buddy Holly)
Modern Don Juan (1956 single by Buddy Holly)
That'll Be the Day (1957 single by Buddy Holly)
Words of Love (1957 single by Buddy Holly)
Rocking Around With Ollie Vee (1957 single by Buddy Holly)
Peggy Sue (1957 single by Buddy Holly)
Oh, Boy! (1957 single)
The "Chirping" Crickets





The Musical History Tour keeps on plugging along (albeit slowly) but feel free to suggest possible next courses of action. A great recommendation can easily sway the project into a new direction. Just remember, it has to be related to Buddy Holly and the Crickets (and their debut album) in some/any way.

I hope you like what you hear.