Oh, Boy! (The Crickets song)

"Oh, Boy!" is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. The song was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts, and number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958. (See 1958 in music for more context.)

"Oh, Boy!"
Single by the Crickets
from the album The "Chirping" Crickets
B-side"Not Fade Away"
ReleasedOctober 27, 1957
December 22, 1957 (UK)
RecordedJune 29 – July 1, 1957, Clovis, New Mexico
GenreRock and roll, rockabilly
Length2:10
LabelBrunswick 9-55035
Songwriter(s)Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty
Producer(s)Norman Petty
The Crickets singles chronology
"That'll Be the Day"
(1957)		 "Oh, Boy!"
(1957)		 "Maybe Baby"
(1958)

Background

The song was originally recorded as a demo by Sonny West as All My Love (Oh Boy!) at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico in early 1957. Petty presented West's demo to Buddy Holly with the intention of Holly recording the song. On the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, West said, "I had a decision to make whether to say I want to do it myself and I said 'No, I want Buddy to do it', it can't hurt anything and if it didn't work I could go back and do it myself someday." It was subsequently recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Norman Petty Studios with Holly singing lead vocals and the The Picks providing backing vocals. The song is in an A-A-B-A format with a 12-bar blues verse and an 8-bar bridge. (Holly also covered another West song, "Rave On".)

Lyrics Change

West has stated that Holly made a small change to the original lyrics of the song. He told the BBC's Classic Albums series in 2019, "I said 'All my love, all my kissing, you're gonna see what you've been missing'. And with Buddy's verse, 'All my love, all my kissing, you don't know what you've been missing'. I have no idea, maybe it has more punch that way."

Covers

"Oh Boy!" was covered by British glam rock group Mud. It reached number 1 for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart in May 1975.[1] It was the band's third and final UK number one. It was included on their album Mud Rock Volume 2, which reached number 6 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] Other versions include:

  • Sonny West recorded a demo version in February 1957 as "All My Love" on acetate, released in 2002.
  • Paul Rich recorded it in 1958.
  • Bobby Vee recorded the song in 1963.
  • Jackie DeShannon released a version of the song on her album Breakin' It Up on the Beatles Tour! (1964).
  • Pavel Bobek & Olympic released a version of the song on Supraphon label in 1964.
  • The Rivieras released a version of the song on their 1964 album, Let's Have a Party.
  • The Everly Brothers recorded the song in 1967.
  • Skeeter Davis released a version of the song in 1967.[3]
  • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released a version of the song on their 1974 album, Stars & Stripes Forever.
  • This song was featured in Phil Ochs's "Buddy Holly Medley", a cover of several of Holly's songs. It was featured in Ochs's 1974 live album, Gunfight at Carnegie Hall.
  • Melanie released a version of the song in 1978.
  • The song was "revived" in an offbeat power ballad version by Starbabies, which reached the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1979.
  • The virtual synthpop band Silicon Teens cover the title 1980 on their album Music for Parties, which features rock-and-roll classics as New Wave tracks.
  • The Shadows recorded the song in 1982.
  • Wanda Jackson recorded it in 1982.
  • Sir Douglas Quintet recorded it in 1983.
  • Los Lobos recorded the song for the film La Bamba in 1987.
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks in the 1989 Alvin and the Chipmunks episode "Alvin in Neverland".
  • The Christian punk rock band MxPx covered the song on their 1995 covers EP, On the Cover.
  • Connie Francis in 1996.
  • The Stray Cats in 1996.
  • Hank Marvin performed an instrumental version of the song for the album Hank Plays Holly in 1996.
  • The Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell in 2004.
  • John Prine with the Crickets in 2004.
  • The band She & Him, with Zooey Deschanel as lead vocalist, recorded a cover of the song in 2011, for the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly.
  • The Grateful Dead performed their version of the song many times while touring.
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References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 495. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 382. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. "Cover versions of Oh, Boy! by The Crickets". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2014-03-27.

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
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