The "Chirping" Crickets

The "Chirping" Crickets
Studio album by
the Crickets
ReleasedNovember 27, 1957[1]
RecordedFebruary 25 – September 27, 1957[2]
Studio
Genre
Length26:02
LabelBrunswick
ProducerNorman Petty
The Crickets chronology
The "Chirping" Crickets
(1957) 		Buddy Holly
(1958)
Alternative Cover
Australian cover
Reissue Cover
Buddy Holly and the Crickets (Coral, 1962)
Singles from The "Chirping" Crickets
  1. "That'll Be the Day"
    Released: July 1957
  2. "Oh, Boy!"
    Released: 27 October 1957
  3. "Maybe Baby"
    Released: January 1958
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
The Rolling Stone Record Guide[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]

The "Chirping" Crickets is the only studio album credited to the American rock and roll band the Crickets from the period when they were led by Buddy Holly.[4] It was also the only album released under the group's name during Holly's lifetime.[4] It was issued by Brunswick Records in the U.S. on November 27, 1957,[1] and by Coral Records in the UK in March 1958.[7] It was re-released by Coral Records in 1962, under the title Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

The album contains the group's U.S. and UK number one single "That'll Be the Day", along with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Oh, Boy!" and the U.S. Top 20 hit "Maybe Baby".[4] Writing for the AllMusic website, critic William Ruhlmann described the album's three singles, along with the tracks "Not Fade Away" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love", as being "among the best rock & roll songs of the 1950s or ever, making this one of the most significant album debuts in rock & roll history."[4]

In 2012, the album was ranked at number 420 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[8] It also appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In July 2019, the album was the subject for the BBC Four documentary Classic Albums: The Crickets: The 'Chirping' Crickets.[9]

After being out of print for many years, The "Chirping" Crickets was reissued as a remastered CD in 2004 with bonus tracks. In 2023, the album was reissued by Rollercoaster Records as The Alternative "Chirping" Crickets in a CD package containing remixed mono and stereo versions of the album, along with the twelve tracks in stereo without the backing vocals by vocal group the Picks, which the Crickets felt were intrusive and inappropriate.

Track listing

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oh, Boy!"Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty2:08
2."Not Fade Away"Buddy Holly, Petty2:23
3."You've Got Love"Roy Orbison, Johnny Wilson, Petty2:08
4."Maybe Baby"Holly, Petty2:03
5."It's Too Late"Chuck Willis2:24
6."Tell Me How"Holly, Petty, Jerry Allison2:01
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."That'll Be the Day" (May 27, 1957 Brunswick version)Holly, Allison, Petty2:16
8."I'm Looking for Someone to Love"Holly, Petty1:59
9."An Empty Cup (And a Broken Date)"Orbison, Petty2:15
10."Send Me Some Lovin'"John Marascalco, Leo Price2:37
11."Last Night"Joe B. Mauldin, Petty1:56
12."Rock Me My Baby"Shorty Long, Susan Heather1:52

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of the 1992 Sequel Records CD reissue of the album:[2]

Buddy Holly and the Crickets
  • Buddy Holly – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on "It's Too Late", backing vocals on "Not Fade Away"
  • Jerry Allison – drums; cardboard box percussion and backing vocals on "Not Fade Away"
  • Joe B. Mauldin – double bass (except "That'll Be the Day" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love"), backing vocals on "Not Fade Away"
  • Niki Sullivan – rhythm guitar (except on "Oh, Boy!", "Not Fade Away", "It's Too Late", and "An Empty Cup (And a Broken Date)"; backing vocals on “Not Fade Away”, “That’ll Be the Day”, and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”
Additional personnel
  • Larry Welborn – double bass on "That'll Be the Day" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love"
  • The Picks (Bill Pickering, John Pickering and Bob Lapham) – backing vocals, except on "Not Fade Away", "That'll Be the Day", and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love"
  • Ramona and Gary Tollett – backing vocals on "That'll Be the Day" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love"
  • June Clark – possible backing vocals on "That'll Be the Day" and "I'm Looking for Someone to Love"

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1958 UK Albums Chart 5[10]

Singles

Year Single Position
Billboard Hot 100[11] R&B Singles[12] UK Singles Chart[13]
1957 "That'll Be the Day" 1 2 1
1958 "Oh Boy" 10 13 3
1958 "Maybe Baby" 17 8 4

References

  1. ^ a b The "Chirping" Crickets (CD booklet). The Crickets. London: Sequel Records. 1992. p. 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b c The "Chirping" Crickets (CD booklet). The Crickets. London: Sequel Records. 1992. p. 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Vnuk, Paul (September 2025). "Norman Petty Recording Studios". Recording. pp. 22–31.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ruhlmann, William. "The "Chirping" Crickets album review". AllMusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  5. ^ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 174.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  7. ^ Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy. London: Omnibus Press. p. 194. ISBN 0-7119-5702-9.
  8. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  9. ^ "Classic Albums - The Crickets: The 'Chirping' Crickets". July 12, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Crickets - Chirping Crickets". Official Charts Company. April 19, 1958. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  11. ^ Buddy Holly at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  12. ^ The Crickets at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
  13. ^ "Crickets". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
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