It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)

"It's So Easy!" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. It was originally released as a single in 1958 by the Crickets but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band.

"It's So Easy!"
Single by The Crickets
B-side	"Lonesome Tears"
Released	September 12, 1958 (September 12, 1958)
Recorded	June–August 1958, Clovis, New Mexico
Genre	Rock and roll
Label	Brunswick
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Norman Petty
The Crickets singles chronology
"Think It Over" (1958) "It's So Easy!" (1958) "Love's Made a Fool of You" (1959)

A cover version of by Linda Ronstadt in 1977 was a Top Five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Crickets version

Background

The song was recorded by Holly and the Crickets from June to August 1958 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico.

Holly lip-synched to recordings of "It's So Easy!" and his song "Heartbeat" on the television program American Bandstand on October 28, 1958.

The Crickets recorded "It's So Easy!" for Brunswick Records, which released it as a 45-rpm single in 1958. It did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears". Tommy Allsup played the lead guitar parts on both recordings.

Linda Ronstadt version

"It's So Easy"
Single by Linda Ronstadt
from the album Simple Dreams
B-side	"Lo Siento Mi Vida"
Released	September 20, 1977
Genre	Rock
Length	2:27
Label	Asylum
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"Blue Bayou" (1977) "It's So Easy" (1977) "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (1978)
45 RPM side label
U.S release by Linda Ronstadt

Background

Linda Ronstadt recorded "It's So Easy" in 1977 for her album Simple Dreams, produced by Peter Asher. Her recording was released as a single by Asylum Records in the autumn of that year. It hit the Billboard Top Five simultaneously with her recording of "Blue Bayou". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 in the United Kingdom.[1][2] Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1977–78) Peak position Belgium[3] 4 Canada RPM Top Singles 9 Denmark[3] 6 Germany[3] 47 Netherlands 13 New Zealand[4] 11 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[5] 4 Switzerland [3] 6 UK 11 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] 5 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 37 U.S. Billboard Country 81

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Rank Canada [7] 107 Chart (1978) Rank Canada [8] 178 Switzerland [9] 26 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[10] 90

Other versions

• Bobby Vee, the Astronauts, Skeeter Davis, the Trashmen, Connie Francis, Hank Marvin, Mike Berry and the Outlaws, P.J. Proby, and Chris Spedding recorded cover versions of the song.
• The Beatles performed the song at the 1969 Let It Be sessions.
• Denny Laine released it as a 45-rpm single (EMI 2523), produced by Paul McCartney, in 1976.
• Gary Busey performed the song in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.
• Waylon Jennings and the Crickets also recorded it, as did Zooey Deschanel.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song in 1987 for the episode "Theodore Lucks Out" of thetelevison series Alvin and the Chipmunks.
• Paul McCartney recorded two versions of the song for a 75th anniversary tribute to Buddy Holly in 2011.

References

1. "Original versions of It's So Easy! written by Buddy Holly,Norman Petty". SecondHandSongs.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
2. "Song artist 414 - Linda Ronstadt". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
3. Linda Ronstandt - It's So Easy Hitparade.ch
4. http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=2776
5. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
6. Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–2002.
7. "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
8. "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
9. Swiss Year-End Charts, 1978
10. "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.

Sources

• Amburn, Ellis (1996). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-14557-6.
• Bustard, Anne (2005). Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4223-9302-4.
• Dawson, Jim; Leigh, Spencer (1996). Memories of Buddy Holly. Big Nickel Publications. ISBN 978-0-936433-20-2.
• Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? Togi Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-9800085-0-0.
• Goldrosen, John (1975). Buddy Holly: His Life and Music. Popular Press. ISBN 0-85947-018-0.
• Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80715-7.
• Gribbin, John (2009). Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly. London: Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84831-034-6.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics