4 Buddy Holly Classics That Were Covered by Pop and Rock Legends

Buddy Holly only recorded for a few years before his untimely death in 1959. But in that time, he left behind a treasure trove of pristine pop songs and rockabilly-tinged ramblers for other artists to explore with cover versions. These four massive acts did justice and then some to the Holly originals that they tackled. Then again, they were working with staggeringly great source material.

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“Words Of Love” by The Beatles

The Beatles carried a lot of different influences into their recording career. Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley certainly stood tall, as well as Motown music and even more genteel genres like music hall and Broadway. But Buddy Holly’s music probably created the most impact on their early sound. They paid proper tribute with “Words Of Love”. On the original, Holly used primitive recording techniques to create the self-harmonizing he does on the pretty, country-tinged number. The Fab Four didn’t need to do that, simply letting their ace singers, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, tackle those harmonies. Their version emerged as one of the standouts on their unheralded 1964 album Beatles For Sale.

“Not Fade Away” by The Rolling Stones

Do you get the impression that The British Invasion thought pretty highly of Buddy Holly’s music? The Rolling Stones, wanting to make a splash in America, chose “Not Fade Away” as the A-side to their first-ever single in the US. It was tailor-made for Mick Jagger to do some wailing and for the instrumentalists to lend their bluesy swagger. Holly borrowed the earth-shaking rhythm for the song from the great Bo Diddley, which proves that the influence chain in rock and roll travels way down the line. While the Stones certainly do a great job with it, and many other bands have had a shot at the song as well, it’s hard to top the original by Holly and the Crickets. It’s somehow both stripped-down and incredibly powerful.

“It’s So Easy” by Linda Ronstadt

Here’s another one that Buddy Holly performed with the Crickets, earning a hit single in 1958 with it. The song’s construction is exceedingly clever. Note how it switches from more of a stop-and-start rhythm to a kind of gliding stroll on a dime, without ever seeming strained. Holly wrote it with his producer and collaborator Norman Petty. Cut to nearly 20 years later, when Linda Ronstadt scored a big hit out of it. It’s always perilous for a singer to take on a Holly song, simply because his vocal stylings were so iconic and original. Ronstadt had the chops to handle it, of course. She and her studio band delivered a rocked-up version that locates every bit of grit in the song.

“Everyday” by James Taylor

The original version of “Everyday” benefits from Buddy Holly’s vocals at their most delicate. That’s a celeste that you hear tinkling through the instrumental break. Jerry Allison provided the percussion by slapping his knee. All in all, a very gentle recording, but charming nonetheless, simply due to the sweet longing in the song and Holly’s vulnerable vocals. When James Taylor did his take on the song in 1985, he gave it his typical easy-going spin. In fact, when Taylor did a cover, he had a way of making it his that surprised you when you discovered that he didn’t write it himself. This was a nice hit for him at a time when he had lost some of his commercial mojo.

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