It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)
| "It's So Easy!" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Crickets | ||||
| B-side | "Lonesome Tears" | |||
| Released | September 12, 1958 | |||
| Recorded | June–August 1958, Clovis, New Mexico | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 2:10 | |||
| Label | Brunswick | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Buddy Holly, Norman Petty | |||
| Producer(s) | Norman Petty | |||
| The Crickets singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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 on Brunswick Records but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band.
A cover version recorded by Linda Ronstadt from her album Simple Dreams was released on September 20, 1977 and was a Top Five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Crickets version
Background
The song was recorded by Buddy 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 but 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) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Peter Asher | |||
| Linda Ronstadt singles chronology | ||||
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| 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 on the Hot 100 simultaneously with her recording of "Blue Bayou". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.[1][2] Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Other versions
The following musicians recorded cover versions of the song: Bobby Vee (on the 1963 album I Remember Buddy Holly), the Astronauts (on their 1964 album Everything is A-OK!), Jimmy Gilmer and Waylon Jennings in 1964, Tommy Allsup on the album The Buddy Holly Songbook in 1964, Skeeter Davis (on her 1967 album Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly), the Trashmen (on their 1964 album Surfin' Bird), Connie Francis (on her 1996 album With Love to Buddy), Phil Ochs in 1974 in a live medley, Hank Marvin (on his 1996 album Hank Plays Holly), Mike Berry and The Outlaws (on the 1998 album Rock 'n' Roll Daze), Denny Laine of Wings in a medley in 1977, Waylon Jennings with The Crickets in a medley on his 1978 album I've Always Been Crazy, P. J. Proby (on his 2003 album Memories), Hot Tuna (on their 1976 album Hoppkorv), Chris Spedding (on the 1989 compilation Every Day is a Holly Day), Zooey Deschanel and Paul McCartney in 2011, and Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in 2018.[14]
The Beatles performed the song at the 1969 Let It Be sessions. According to Mark Lewisohn in The Complete Beatles Chronicle, The Beatles – first as The Quarrymen – performed “It’s So Easy” regularly in live performances between 1958 and 1962.[15]
Gary Busey (portraying Buddy Holly) performed the song in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.
References
- ^ "Original versions of It's So Easy! written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty". SecondHandSongs.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ "Song artist 414 - Linda Ronstadt". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 40, no. 42. 1 July 1978. p. 70. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Linda Ronstandt - It's So Easy Hitparade.ch
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5504a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ "Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Linda Ronstadt Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1978". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ "It's So Easy". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
- ^ The Paul McCartney Project. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
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.