Track Listing

1. That'll Be the Day
2. I'm Lookin' for Someone to Love
3. Words of Love
4. Not Fade Away
5. Everyday
6. Oh, Boy!
7. Peggy Sue
8. I'm Gonna Love You Too
9. Maybe Baby
10. Rave On
11. Think It Over
12. Fool's Paradise
13. Early in the Morning
14. It's So Easy
15. Heartbeat
16. True Love Ways
17. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
18. Raining in My Heart

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54468 in Music
• Released on: 1996-09-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
The early Elvis was often moony-eyed, and the Platters had their share (and someone else's, too) of romantic ballad hits, but it was Buddy Holly who all but single-handedly introduced the concept of sweetness to rock & roll. Not just on hushed near-ballads like "Everyday" either, but in many of his fastest numbers as well: "Peggy Sue," "I'm Gonna Love You Too." Even when he plays the tough guy on "Rave On," he comes on like a secret teddy bear. That understanding of love's currents, along with Holly's ingeniously calibrated performances and straightforward songwriting, make his records as timeless as anything from the '50s he didn't live through--more timeless, in most cases. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Wonderful but incomplete
This is a marvelous collection if you're only sampling Buddy Holly's music. It contains his greatest hits, but still omits some of his best music, so beware. Most people listening to Buddy's music for the first time can never stop at just one CD, so this will serve as a fine introduction to some of the best music you'll ever hear. Though these songs are all more than 40 years old, they wear well and are timeless.

Most casual rock fans can name only a few Holly tunes: That'll Be the Day and Peggy Sue, but there is so much more than that. This collection includes two of his most haunting, beautiful ballads, True Love Ways and Raining in My Heart. Listen to the innovative string arrangements on these tunes and you'll plainly know why Paul McCartney (who owns the Holly musical catalogue)adopted these arrangements ten years later as a Beatle.

Perhaps the best song on the album is the amazing It Doesn't Matter Anymore, about a love gone wrong. Again, the string arrangement is years ahead of its time and makes you ponder what might have been had Holly's life not ended so tragically and prematurely. He was a genuine innovator and talent. This compilation proves that.

One of the great figures in American music
Buddy Holly's "Greatest Hits" is an excellent collection. Holly is a true cultural icon, and this collection has great historical importance. But it's fine to momentarily forget about the legend and just enjoy the music. Four decades after these songs were recorded, they remain fresh and full of irrepressible life.

Holly is considered a rock and roll pioneer, but the musical palette on this CD also contains, to my ear at least, elements of country and big band style. Holly's talent is simply too expansive to pigeonhole.

Holly wrote or co-wrote many of the songs on this CD. He was a versatile and engaging vocalist. Superb on rousing fast-tempo songs, Holly is tender and haunting on a slow love song like "True Love Ways." And his "hiccupping" vocal effect on "Peggy Sue" is delightful.

It never ceases to amaze me that Holly was not yet 23 years old when he died in 1959, leaving behind an immortal musical legacy. But every time I play this wonderful CD, Buddy is alive to me.

The music never died... and it never will
I adore Buddy Holly and this has quickly become my favorite CD. I'm a 13 year old, so that should prove just how versatile this music is. The whole CD is just filled with timeless Buddy Holly classics that will never be left in the past. I's amazing to realize how much talent was in someone so young! The songs "Everday", "Heartbeat" "It's So Easy", "Not Fade Away", "Words Of Love", "True Love Ways", "Raining In My Heart" and of course "That'll Be the Day", "Oh Boy" and "Peggy Sue" are incredible! I highly recomend this CD to all Buddy Holly fans and even people who aren't cause I know you will become one! Remember, this is coming from a 13 year old! Even though Buddy is gone, his spirit and talent will live always and he will never be forgotten.