That'll Be the Day

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Written by: Jerry Allison, Holly, Norman Petty
Produced by: Petty
Released: May '57 on Brunswick
Charts: 1 weeks
Top spot: No. 1

Recorded in Clovis, New Mexico, in February 1957, the song took its title from a recurring line in the John Wayne movie The Searchers. "We were cutting 'That'll Be the Day' just as a demo to send to New York, to see if they liked the sound of the group -- not for a master record," recalled Crickets drummer Allison. "So we just went in and set up and sort of shucked through it." Allison credits Holly's guitar-picking on the track to the influence of bluesman Lonnie Johnson.

Appears on: Greatest Hits (MCA)

Next: Dancing in the Street

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