It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)

For other uses, see It's So Easy.
"It's So Easy!"
Single by The Crickets
B-side"Lonesome Tears"
ReleasedSeptember 12, 1958 (September 12, 1958)
RecordedJune–August 1958, Clovis, New Mexico
GenreRock and roll
LabelBrunswick
Songwriter(s)Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
Producer(s)Norman Petty
The Crickets singles chronology
"Think It Over"
(1958) 		"It's So Easy!"
(1958) 		"Love's Made a Fool of You"
(1959)

"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 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 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 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. 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"
ReleasedSeptember 20, 1977
GenreRock
Length2:27
LabelAsylum
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"Blue Bayou"
(1977) 		"It's So Easy"
(1977) 		"Poor Poor Pitiful Me"
(1978)
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 simultaneously with her recording of "Blue Bayou". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 in the United Kingdom.[1][2] Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Chart performance

Other versions

Bobby Vee, the Astronauts, Skeeter Davis, the Trashmen, Connie Francis, Hank Marvin, Mike Berry and the Outlaws, P.J. Proby, Hot Tuna and Chris Spedding recorded cover versions of the song.

The Beatles performed the song at the 1969 Let It Be sessions.

Gary Busey performed the song in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.

References

  1. ^ "Original versions of It's So Easy! written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty". SecondHandSongs.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  2. ^ "Song artist 414 - Linda Ronstadt". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  3. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 40, no. 42. 1 July 1978. p. 70. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Linda Ronstandt - It's So Easy Hitparade.ch
  5. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  6. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–2002.
  8. ^ "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  9. ^ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1978". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.

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.