He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Records.
Holly's recording sessions at Decca were produced by Owen Bradley. Unhappy with Bradley's control in the studio and with the sound he achieved there, he went to producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico, and recorded a demo of "That'll Be the Day", among other songs. Petty became the band's manager and sent the demo to Brunswick Records, which released it as a single credited to "The Crickets", which became the name of Holly's band. In September 1957, as the band toured, "That'll Be the Day" topped the US "Best Sellers in Stores" chart and the UK Singles Chart. Its success was followed in October by another major hit, "Peggy Sue".
The album Chirping Crickets, released in November 1957, reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. Holly made his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in January 1958 and soon after, toured Australia and then the UK. In early 1959, he assembled a new band, consisting of future country music star Waylon Jennings (bass), famed session musician Tommy Allsup (guitar), and Carl Bunch (drums), and embarked on a tour of the midwestern U.S. After a show in Clear Lake, Iowa, he chartered an airplane to travel to his next show, in Moorhead, Minnesota. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing him, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson in a tragedy later referred to by Don McLean as "The Day the Music Died".
During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. He was a major influence on later popular music artists, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Weezer, and Elton John. He was among the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1986. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 13 in its list of "100 Greatest Artists".
You're The One
Buddy Holly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're the one I don't want to lose
You're the one that I'd always choose
You're the one that's a-meant for me
A-you're the one that I'm thinking of
You're the one that I'll always love
You're the one sent from heaven above
Sometimes you make me feel so bad
You make me cry deep in my heart
I feel like an actor in a play
Who doesn't fit the part
A-you're the one and I want you to know
You're the one that thrills-a me so
You're the one, I can't let you go
You're the one that's a-meant for me
Sometimes you make me feel so bad
You make me cry deep in my heart
I feel like an actor in a play
Who doesn't fit the part
A-you're the one and I want you to know
You're the one that thrills-a me so
You're the one, I can't let you go
You're the one that's a-meant for me
In Buddy Holly’s song “You’re the One,” the singer expresses his undying love for someone who seems to be the source of his emotional pain. The opening lyrics, “You’re the one that’s a-causing my blues, You’re the one I don't want to lose,” indicate that this person is causing him emotional distress, yet he cannot imagine life without them. This is further emphasized in the lyric “You’re the one that I'd always choose, You're the one that's a-meant for me,” revealing that the singer has made a conscious decision to stick with this person despite the pain they cause him.
The song’s chorus relays the message that this person is significant to the singer, even sent from “heaven above” by a higher being. However, sometimes this person’s words and actions make him “feel so bad” that it results in tears and internal struggle. The line “I feel like an actor in a play who doesn’t fit the part” paints a vivid picture of the singer’s internal dilemma, where he is unsure of whether he can continue to play the lead role in this relationship.
Overall, “You’re the One” is a complex and layered love song that portrays the complexities of relationships, including the problems and pain that inevitably come with it. The singer’s undying love for this person is evident despite the difficulties, and he believes that they are the only one meant for him.
Line by Line Meaning
A-you're the one that's a-causing my blues
You're the reason for my sadness
You're the one I don't want to lose
I don't want to be without you
You're the one that I'd always choose
I choose you above anyone else
You're the one that's a-meant for me
You're the one I'm destined to be with
A-you're the one that I'm thinking of
You're always on my mind
You're the one that I'll always love
My love for you is eternal
You're the one sent from heaven above
You're a gift from God
Sometimes you make me feel so bad
Your actions hurt me deeply
You make me cry deep in my heart
You cause me emotional pain
I feel like an actor in a play
I feel like a fake, not true to myself
Who doesn't fit the part
I don't fit into the role I'm expected to play
A-you're the one and I want you to know
I need you to understand
You're the one that thrills-a me so
Being with you brings me joy
You're the one, I can't let you go
I can't bear the thought of losing you
You're the one that's a-meant for me
We're meant to be together
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: NATALIE NICOLE ALVARADO, NATHAN PEREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeffrey Lipinski
I Love this so much by BUDDY.
THERE ARE 42 BUDDY HOLLY SONGS
ON KARAOKE AND I HAVE ALL THE TRACKS
ON MY KARAOKE DISKS..
BUT THIS ONE IS NOT ONE OF THEM
AND FOR THE LIFE OF ME
I'LL NEVER KNOW WHY..
THIS IS ONE OF HIS BEST SONGS !!!
I AM WAITING FOR THIS TO COME TO KARAOKE
PLEASE COME NOW !!!!!
PJ Riverdale
Norman Petty on keyboard strings, overdubbed in the late 60s as the bottom of the barrel was being reached for " new" Holly material.
By this point, even song fragments were being extended and augmented to make suitable releasable material.
Had Holly lived, these demos and acetates would have been fully realized or just as likely, scrapped.
Marketing possibilities in the years after he was killed made any songs he left behind potentially saleable .
" New" material was released for about ten years after his passing.
Additionally, his 1956 Decca Nashville sessions were repackaged without proper liner notes to differentiate the tracks from the post 1957
period.
The 1956 Nashville version of That I'll Be The Day was never presented as a "second/alternate/non-hit" version during that time
Anything was fair game for the UK releases as Holly continued to have charting records there throughout the 1960s.
While American Decca maintained there was only limited demand for Holly tracks,
multiple versions of basic demos and 1954-56 band recordings were overdubbed by Norman Petty and also the Jack Hansen Combo independently of one another up until c.1969.
The Petty versions remain somewhat closer to Holly's feel if not his exact vision of given songs while the Hansen versions are usually disconnected in feel.
All of these are probably posted elsewhere on YT and are worth hearing if for no other reason than these overdubbed recordings represent the last releases of Holly's work even though they were not( at first) chronologically presented.
Some of the reconstructed songs date to Holly's earliest days while others were recorded by him at home just days or weeks before 2/3/59.
With the release now of at least one song from c.1949, it is unlikely any more new material will surface save for the remote possibilities of yet unknown live recordings being discovered.
Jed Hawkins
This was Buddy Holly's last song he wrote before he died. And it sounds great.
Knowledge Truth
Every time I think I have heard every song Buddy Holly made I come across a new one. He made such a staggering amount of great music in such a short time.
Darren Paris
Seriously, I never knew he had SO MUCH music
elige brown
This was his last song he ever wrote and this was done on a bet. Waylon Jennings bet hom he couldnt write a song in 20 minutes.
Wesley Cook
@elige brown It was the last song he wrote but That Makes It Tough was the last one he recorded. This was issued after his death. He had made a tape of it.
Queen Bee
I have this on a cd in my car ... I actually only really heard it for the first time last night on my way to see The Buddy Holly Story! I now can't stop listening to it!! What a fabulous song xx
David IOW
He's still the greatest. Whenever I hear his songs I get a tingle down my spine.
FF Luigi shots
Every Song IS amazing
Kevin Casson
Same as me David😮
Unknown Citizen
I am and have always been a big fan of, Buddy Holly's music! ⭐👍
Thanks, for sharing your videos on your YouTube channel. 👍