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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney explained the appeal of Buddy Holly’s songs compared to Elvis Presley’s songs.
  • He named his favorite song by Holly.
  • The tune in question became a No. 1 single in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Buddy Holly with a guitar
Buddy Holly | Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer

Paul McCartney revealed his favorite among Buddy Holly’s songs. In addition, he discussed playing Holly’s songs with John Lennon and George Harrison when they were young. Notably, Paul’s favorite Holly song became a massive hit in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Paul McCartney contrasted Buddy Holly with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis

In the 2015 book Conversations with McCartney, Paul discussed his feelings regarding Holly. “The big attraction as well with Buddy was that he wrote his own stuff,” he said. “Whereas Elvis didn’t. Jerry Lee [Lewis] did, a lot of it, but Buddy seemed to write all his own stuff and it was three chords.” 

Paul discussed why Holly’s songs resonated with aspiring songwriters. “For people looking at this idea of writing our own stuff, which we were starting to do, the three-chord idea was great, cuz we didn’t know more than four or five,” he said.

Paul also said Holly’s look had an impact on John. Before Holly became famous, wearing glasses was so taboo John would walk around bumping into lampposts rather than wear spectacles. After Holly became a star, John could wear his glasses with pride.

Paul McCartney loved Buddy Holly’s songs but called 1 of them ‘the killer’ in his discography

Paul discussed his feelings about some of Holly’s songs. “We got into Buddy and his songs were easy to learn: ‘Rave On,’ ‘Think It Over,’ ‘Listen To Me,’ ‘Words of Love,’ ‘I’m Gonna Love You Too,’ ‘That’ll Be the Day,’ ‘Oh Boy!,’ ‘Peggy Sue,’ ‘Maybe Baby,’ we knew all of them,” he said. Paul opined “That’ll Be the Day” was “the killer” in Holly’s discography. Notably, Paul has played “Peggy Sue” and “Words of Love” since he became famous.

Paul also discussed playing Holly’s songs with John and George. “We did them at a talent contest in Manchester, only three of us and John didn’t have a guitar,” Paul remembered. “That’s right, he borrowed one, don’t think he gave it back either. But that’s another story.”

How the song performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “That’ll Be the Day” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 for one week. The Billboard Top 100 was the predecessor to the Billboard Hot 100. 

According to The Official Charts Company, “That’ll Be the Day” was a big hit in Paul’s native United Kingdom as well. There, the tune was No. 1 for three of its 15 weeks on the chart. The song appeared on the album The “Chirping” Crickets, which reached No. 5 in the U.K. and lasted on the chart for a single week.

Holly released many classic songs but to Paul, “That’ll Be the Day” was the best.

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