Complete List Of Buddy Holly Songs From A to Z

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Buddy Holly’s recorded catalog helped define the sound and structure of early rock and roll, bringing together country, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, pop melody, vocal harmony, and innovative studio techniques. This complete A-to-Z guide gathers the songs released under Holly’s name and with the Crickets, including his major singles, album tracks, early recordings, apartment tapes, and posthumously issued performances.

Complete List Of Buddy Holly Songs From A to Z

Feature Photo: Brunswick Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Charles Hardin Holley, professionally known as Buddy Holly, was born in Lubbock, Texas, on September 7, 1936. The youngest of four children in a musical family, Holly was exposed to several styles of music from an early age. He performed country and western songs with his friend Bob Montgomery as the duo Buddy and Bob during their high school years. After appearing on bills with Elvis Presley in 1955, Holly increasingly turned his attention toward rock and roll.

In 1956, Holly’s talent caught the attention of Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, leading to a contract with Decca Records. Although his Nashville sessions did not bring immediate success, Holly returned to Lubbock and continued working with local musicians, including drummer Jerry Allison. The group that became the Crickets later recorded with producer Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico.

“That’ll Be the Day,” inspired by a line from the John Wayne film The Searchers, became Holly and the Crickets’ breakthrough hit. The success of that recording brought the group national attention and began a remarkable sequence of singles that included “Peggy Sue,” “Oh, Boy!,” “Maybe Baby,” “Everyday,” “Rave On!,” “Heartbeat,” and “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore.”

During his brief recording career, Holly released three principal albums: The “Chirping” Crickets in 1957, followed by Buddy Holly and That’ll Be the Day in 1958. His songwriting, guitar work, vocal arrangements, and approach to recording helped establish a model that influenced later rock bands and singer-songwriters.

Holly died at the age of 22 in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. His recordings continued to appear on posthumous singles, albums, and archival collections for decades. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his influence has been acknowledged by generations of artists, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan.

Holly’s legacy also extends into film, theater, museums, and popular culture. The Buddy Holly Story brought his life to the screen in 1978, while the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock preserves artifacts connected to his life and career. The songs below reflect the remarkable range of material he recorded in only a few years.

Complete List Of Buddy Holly Songs From A to Z

A–G

“Ain’t Got No Home” – Giant (1969)
“Baby, Won’t You Come Out Tonight” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Because I Love You” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Blue Days, Black Nights” – single (1956); That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“Blue Monday” – Giant (1969)
“Blue Suede Shoes” – Showcase (1964)
“Bo Diddley” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Brown Eyed Handsome Man” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Come Back Baby” – Showcase (1964)
“Crying, Waiting, Hoping” – single (1959); The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Don’t Come Back Knockin'” – That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“Door to My Heart” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Down the Line” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Early in the Morning” – The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“An Empty Cup (And a Broken Date)” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“Everyday” – Buddy Holly (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Flower of My Heart” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Fool’s Paradise” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Gambled My Heart” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Girl on My Mind” – That’ll Be the Day (1958); Showcase (1964)
“Gone” – Showcase (1964)
“Good Rockin’ Tonight” – Giant (1969)
“Gotta Get You Near Me Blues” – Holly in the Hills (1965)

H–L

“Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)” – Giant (1969)
“Heartbeat” – single (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Holly Hop” – Giant (1969)
“Honky Tonk” – Showcase (1964)
“I Guess I Was Just a Fool” – Showcase (1964)
“I Wanna Play House with You” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“I’m Changing All Those Changes” – That’ll Be the Day (1958); Reminiscing (1963)
“I’m Gonna Love You Too” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down” – Reminiscing (1963)
“I’m Looking for Someone to Love” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” – The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“It’s Not My Fault” – Reminiscing (1963)
“It’s So Easy!” – single (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“It’s Too Late” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“Last Night” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“Learning the Game” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Listen to Me” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“Little Baby” – Buddy Holly (1958); The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Lonesome Tears” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Look at Me” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“Love Is Strange” – Giant (1969)
“Love Me” – single (1956); That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“Love’s Made a Fool of You” – Showcase (1964)

M–R

“Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“Maybe Baby” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Midnight Shift” – That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“Modern Don Juan” – single (1956); That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“Moondreams” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Not Fade Away” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“Now We’re One” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Oh, Boy!” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Peggy Sue” – Buddy Holly (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Peggy Sue Got Married” – single (1959); The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Raining in My Heart” – The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Rave On!” – Buddy Holly (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Ready Teddy” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“Reminiscing” – single (1962); Reminiscing (1963)
“Rip It Up” – Showcase (1964)
“Rock-A-Bye Rock” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Rock Around with Ollie Vee” – single (1957); That’ll Be the Day (1958); Showcase (1964)
“Rock Me My Baby” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)

S–T

“Send Me Some Lovin'” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“Shake, Rattle and Roll” – Showcase (1964)
“Slippin’ and Slidin'” – Reminiscing (1963); Giant (1969)
“Smokey Joe’s Cafe” – Giant (1969)
“Soft Place in My Heart” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Take Your Time” – single (1958); The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Tell Me How” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)
“That Makes It Tough” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“That’ll Be the Day” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957); That’ll Be the Day (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“That’s What They Say” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“Think It Over” – single (1958); The Buddy Holly Story (1959)
“Ting-A-Ling” – That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“True Love Ways” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)

U–Z

“(Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest” – Showcase (1964); Giant (1969)
“Valley of Tears” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“Wait ‘Till the Sun Shines, Nellie” – Reminiscing (1963)
“Well…All Right” – single (1958); The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960)
“What to Do” – The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. II (1960); Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Wishing” – single (1959); Holly in the Hills (1965)
“Words of Love” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“You And I Are Through” – Holly in the Hills (1965)
“You Are My One Desire” – That’ll Be the Day (1958)
“You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care)” – Buddy Holly (1958)
“You’re the One” – Showcase (1964); Giant (1969)
“You’ve Got Love” – The “Chirping” Crickets (1957)