Buddy Holly discography
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Cataloguing of published recordings by Buddy Holly

Studio albums3Compilation albums29Singles28

Buddy Holly recorded under several names and with several different backing bands. The Crickets played on almost all of his singles in 1957 and 1958.[1]

Holly recorded prolifically before his death in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. He released three albums in his lifetime. Coral Records was able to release archival new albums and singles for 10 years after his death, but their technical quality was mixed, some being studio recordings and others home recordings.

Holly's records were promoted after his death and had a loyal following, especially in Europe. The demand for unissued recordings by Holly was so great that his producer, Norman Petty, resorted to overdubbing whatever he could find: alternate takes of studio recordings, originally rejected masters, "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and the other five 1959 tracks (adding new surf-guitar arrangements), and even Holly's amateur demos from 1954 (in which the low-fidelity vocals are often muffled behind added orchestrations). The last new Holly album was Giant (featuring the single "Love Is Strange"), issued in 1969. Between the 1959–1960 overdubs produced by Jack Hansen (with vocal backings imitating the Crickets' sound), the 1960s overdubs produced by Petty, various alternate takes, and Holly's undubbed originals, multiple versions of the same songs are available. There are also many different versions of Holly's Greatest Hits as well as covers and compilation albums of his songs performed by various artists. Many singles and albums of his material have been released posthumously, beginning with "Peggy Sue Got Married" in July 1959 and the successful 6-disc collectors box set Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings, 50 years later in 2009.

Albums

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Studio albums

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Year Title Artist Album details Peak chart

positions UK

[2][3] 1957 The "Chirping" Crickets The Crickets

Released: November 1957

Label: Brunswick (BL 54038) (mono)

Format: Vinyl

5 1958 Buddy Holly Buddy Holly

Released: March 1958

Label: Coral (CRL 57210) (mono)

Format: Vinyl

— That'll Be the Day Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes

Released: April 1958

Label: Decca (DL 8707) (mono)

Format: Vinyl

5 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

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Decade Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US

[4] NZ

[5] UK

[2][3] 1950s The Buddy Holly Story

Released: February 28, 1959

Label: Coral (CRL 57279) (mono)

Format: Vinyl

11 — 2 US: Gold[6] 1960s The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2

Released: April 1960

Label: Coral (CRL 57326) (mono)

Format: Vinyl

41

[7] — 7 Reminiscing

Released: February 1963

Label: Coral (CRL 57426/757426) (mono/stereo)

Format: Vinyl

40 — 2 Showcase

Released: May 1964

Label: Coral (CRL 57450/757450) (mono/stereo)

Format: Vinyl

— — 3 Holly in the Hills

Released: January 1965

Label: Coral (CRL 57463/757463) (mono/stereo)

Format: Vinyl

— — 13 The Best of Buddy Holly

Released: April 1966

Label: Coral (CXB-8, mono)/(7CXSB-8, stereo)

Format: Vinyl (2 LPs)

— — — UK: Gold[8] Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits

Released: March 1967

Label: Coral (CRL 57492/757492) (mono/stereo)

Format: Vinyl

— — 9 Giant

Released: March 1969

Label: Coral (CRL 757504) (stereo)

Format: Vinyl

— — 13 1970s Buddy Holly: A Rock & Roll Collection

Released: August 1972

Label: Decca (DSXE7-207) (stereo)

Format: Vinyl

— — — Buddy Holly: Legend

Released: 1974

Label: MCA

Format: Vinyl (2 LPs)

TBD TBD TBD 20 Golden Greats

also known as Buddy Holly Lives

Released: February 17, 1978

Label: EMI (EMTV 8)

Format: Vinyl

55 — 1 US: Gold[6]

UK: Platinum[8] The Complete Buddy Holly

Released: 1979

Label: MCA (6-80000)

Format: Vinyl (box set)

— — — 1980s Love Songs

20 Love Song (US title)

Released: 1981

Label: MCA

Format: Vinyl

— — — UK: Gold[8] The Great Buddy Holly

Released: November 1982

Label: MCA (31037)

Format: Vinyl

— — — For the First Time Anywhere

Released: February 1983

Label: MCA (MCA-27059)

Format: Vinyl

— — — From the Original Master Tapes

Released: 1985

Label: MCA (MCAD-5540)

Format: CD

— — — True Love Ways

Released: February 1989

Label: Telstar (STAR 2339)

Format: Vinyl

— 24 8 UK: Gold[8] 1990s Words of Love

Released: February 8, 1993

Label: PolyGram (TV 5144872)

Format: CD

— 20 1 UK: Gold[8] The Buddy Holly Collection

Released: September 28, 1993

Label: MCA (B000002OPE)

Format: CD (2 discs)

— — — Greatest Hits

Released: September 24, 1996

Label: MCA (MCAD-11536)

Format: CD

— — — The Very Best of Buddy Holly

Released: November 25, 1996

Label: Dino (DINCD 133)

Format: CD

— — 24 UK: Gold[8] 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Buddy Holly

Released: April 20, 1999

Label: MCA (B00000I9CN)

Format: CD

— — — The Very Best of Buddy Holly & the Crickets

Released: August 1999

Label: Universal Music TV (112 046-2/4)

Format: CD/Cassette

— 12 13 2000s Buddy Holly Gold

Released: 2005

Label: Geffen/Decca (B000ATJZ4S)

Format: CD (2 discs)

— — — Not Fade Away

Released: 2008

Label: Universal Music Special Markets (B009424-02)

Format: CD

101 — — Down the Line: Rarities

Released: January 27, 2009

Label: Decca/Geffen (B0011675-02)

Format: CD (2 discs)

— — — Memorial Collection

Released: February 10, 2009

Label: Decca/Geffen (B0011337-02)

Format: CD (3 discs)

— — — Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings And More

Released: October 30, 2009

Label: Hip-O Select (B0011337-02)

Format: CD (6 discs)

— — — 2010s The Very Best of Buddy Holly and the Crickets

Released: April 28, 2014

Label: Not Now (B00J90AD36)

Format: CD (3 discs)

— — — True Love Ways

(with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)

Released: November 16, 2018[9]

Label: Decca Records

Format: CD, digital download

— — 10 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

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Year Titles (A-side / B-side)

(both sides from same album except as noted) Artist Label Chart Positions Album US Hot 100 US R&B UK 1956 "Love Me"

"Blue Days, Black Nights" Buddy Holly Decca — — — That'll Be the Day "Modern Don Juan"

"You Are My One Desire" — — — 1957 "That'll Be the Day"

"I'm Looking for Someone to Love" The Crickets Brunswick 1 2 1 The "Chirping" Crickets "Words of Love"

"Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues" Buddy Holly Coral — — — Buddy Holly "Rock Around with Ollie Vee"

"That'll Be the Day" Decca — — — That'll Be the Day "Peggy Sue"

"Everyday"[10] Coral 3 3 6 Buddy Holly "Oh, Boy!"

"Not Fade Away" The Crickets Brunswick 10 15 3 The "Chirping" Crickets 1958 "Love Me"

"You Are My One Desire" Buddy Holly Decca — — — That'll Be the Day "I'm Gonna Love You Too"

"Listen to Me" Coral — — — Buddy Holly "Maybe Baby"

"Tell Me How" The Crickets Brunswick 17 8 4 The "Chirping" Crickets "Rave On"

"Take Your Time" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) Buddy Holly Coral 37 — 5 Buddy Holly "Think It Over" The Crickets Brunswick 27 9 11 The Buddy Holly Story "Fool's Paradise"[10] (from Holly in the Hills) 58 — — "Girl on My Mind"

"Ting-a-Ling" Buddy Holly Decca — — — That'll Be the Day "Early in the Morning"

"Now We're One" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) Coral 32 — 17 The Buddy Holly Story "It's So Easy"

"Lonesome Tears" (from Holly in the Hills) The Crickets Brunswick — — — "Real Wild Child"

"Oh, You Beautiful Doll" Ivan

(pseudonym for Jerry Allison) Coral 85 — — Non-LP tracks "Heartbeat"

"Well... All Right" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) Buddy Holly 82 4 30 The Buddy Holly Story 1959 "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" 13 — 1 "Raining in My Heart" 88 — — "Peggy Sue Got Married"/

"Crying, Waiting, Hoping" — — 13 / — The Buddy Holly Story Volume II 1960 "True Love Ways"

"That Makes It Tough" — — 25 1962 "Reminiscing"

"Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie" — — 17 Reminiscing 1963 "Bo Diddley"

"True Love Ways" (from The Buddy Holly Story Volume II) 116 — 4 "Brown Eyed Handsome Man"

"Wishing" (from Holly in the Hills) 113 — 3 1964 "I'm Gonna Love You Too" (from Buddy Holly)

"Rock Around with Ollie Vee" — — — Showcase

1.^ Charted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

Billboard Year-End performances

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Buddy Holly

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Year Song Year-End

Position 1958 "Peggy Sue" 50

The Crickets

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Year Song Year-End

Position 1957 "That'll Be the Day" 30

References

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