Tribute to Buddy Holly

On 3 February 1959, a plane chartered by Holly during the "Winter Dance Party" crashed on a field near Clear Lake, Iowa, which killed Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry "The Big Bopper" Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson. Many artists looked up to Holly and paid their respects to him by writing songs, including Berry and the Outlaws. Joe Meek, producer of the session, claimed to have contact with Holly's spirit which helped him write songs. Meek would later end up committing a murder–suicide on the 1967 anniversary of Holly's death. The song was written by Meek's business associate Geoff Goddard, who had Berry in mind while writing the song. The single was released on His Master's Voice on 1 September 1961, and entered the UK Singles Chart on 18 October 1961, before peaking at number 24, a position it held for two weeks in November 1961. "Tribute to Buddy Holly" was the title track of an EP recorded by Berry, which was released in June 1963. A re-recording of the song was done in 1975, after his rendition of "Don't Be Cruel" had reached number 14 in the Netherlands. This cover reached number 2 on the Netherlands Nationale Hitparade, staying on the charts for eight weeks. Personnel • Mike Berry – lead vocals The Outlaws • Billy Kuy – lead guitar • Bobby Graham – drums • Chas Hodges – bass guitar • Reg Hawkins – rhythm guitar Chart positions == Chad Allan and the Reflections version ==

Canadian rock band Chad Allan and the Reflections recorded the song as their debut single in 1962, a cover of Mike Berry's 1960 original. Randy Bachman, lead guitarist of the band, recalled that he and some friends were going to drive to Buddy Holly's show in Fargo, North Dakota, when the news of his death emerged. The sessions took place in late 1962, with the band traveling to the United States in a Buick lent by Bachman's girlfriend's father. There was a mix-up with the master tapes, leading to a Chad Allan original "I Just Didn't Have the Heart" to be labeled "Tribute to Buddy Holly" on the first several hundred pressings of the single. "Tribute to Buddy Holly" was locally successful, reaching the top-10 on Winnipeg radio station CKY in 1963. However, the single failed to attract national attention. It was their only single on the Canadian-American label, with the group signing Quality Records for their follow-up record "Shy Guy". In 1965, the band changed their name to "Chad Allan and the Expressions" after securing a number 1 hit with "Shakin' All Over". Personnel • Chad Allan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar • Randy Bachman – lead guitar • Bob Ashley – keyboards • Jim Kale – bass guitar • Garry Peterson – drums == Hep Stars version ==

Swedish rock group Hep Stars recorded "Tribute to Buddy Holly" as their second single in December 1964. For the release, the song was retitled to "A Tribute to Buddy Holly". The sessions, which were the first by Benny Andersson, who would later go on to ABBA fame, were held in the assembly hall of Borgarskolan in Stockholm. The song was recorded in a six-hour session which also produced "Summertime Blues", Farmer John", "Bird Dog" "If You Need Me" and "Donna". All of these were intended for single release sometime in 1965, but were delayed. At the time, Hep Stars had only recorded one other single, "Kana Kapila", which only reached number 26 on Tio i Topp in 1964. Hep Stars version of the song is a radical departure from Berry's original in the opening. Berry's version opens with a guitar strum, while Hep Stars version opens with a drum beat played by drummer Christer Pettersson (not to be confused with Olof Palme murder suspect Christer Pettersson). The Hep Stars version also substitutes several guitar licks found throughout Berry's version with whistling, by regular lead vocalist Svenne Hedlund. Unlike almost all other recordings by Hep Stars, where Hedlund is the lead vocalist, "A Tribute to Buddy Holly" features their guitarist Janne Frisk on lead vocals. Frisk had previously acted as the lead vocalist before Hedlund joined the band. "A Tribute to Buddy Holly", along with the follow-up "Summertime Blues" were the only singles to feature Frisk on lead vocals. Olga Records released "A Tribute to Buddy Holly" as a single in February 1965. While it initially failed to chart, it managed to gain tractions later, in April. It first entered Kvällstoppen on 20 April 1965 at a position of number 15. It first entered the top-10 two weeks later, at number 10. It fared similarly well on Tio i Topp, where it reached number 4. This was a huge feat at the time, never broken by anyone else. Bruce Eder of AllMusic states that ""Tribute to Buddy Holly" was a less dramatic rendition of the song than Mike Berry's version." Personnel • Svenne Hedlund – whistling, backing vocals • Janne Frisk – lead vocals, guitar • Benny Andersson – keyboards • Christer Pettersson – drums, backing vocals • Lennart Hegland – bass guitar Charts == References ==