True Love Ways

"True Love Ways"
Single by Buddy Holly
from the album The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2
B-side	"That Makes It Tough"
Released	June 29, 1960
Recorded	October 21, 1958, Pythian Temple studio, New York City
Genre	Pop
Length	2:47
Label	Coral 9-62210
Writer(s)	Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
Buddy Holly singles chronology
"Peggy Sue Got Married" (1959) "True Love Ways" (1960) "Reminiscing" (1962)

"True Love Ways" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and recorded with the Dick Jacobs Orchestra in October 1958, four months before the singer's death. Some argue that this song is the most played "first song" at weddings. It was first released on the posthumous album The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2 (Coral 57326/757326), in March 1960. The song was a hit in Britain in 1960, reaching number 25 on the pop singles chart.^[1]

In the extended version of the song, in the first ten seconds Holly can be heard preparing to sing. The audio starts with audio saying "Yeah, we're rolling." A piano player and a tenor saxophone player play some notes, and Holly mutters, "Okay," and clears his throat. The producer yells, "Quiet, boys!" to everyone else in the room, and at the end of the talkback, the producer says, "Pitch, Ernie", to signal the piano player to give Holly his starting note, a B-flat.

Along with "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" and "Raining in My Heart", this song was recorded at Holly's last recording session before his death on February 3, 1959.

The session took place at the Pythian Temple on October 21, 1958.^[2] The musicians were Al Caiola (guitar); Sanford Block (bass); Ernie Hayes (piano); Doris Johnson (harp); Abraham Richman (saxophone); Clifford Leeman (drums); Sylvan Shulman, Leo Kruczek, Leonard Posner, Irving Spice, Ray Free, Herbert Bourne, Julius Held and Paul Winter (violins); David Schwartz and Howard Kay (violas); and Maurice Brown and Maurice Bialkin (cellos).

Holly wrote "True Love Ways" for his wife, Maria Elena Holly, as a wedding gift. On April 29, 2011, she unveiled the never-before-seen "True Love Ways" photo of their wedding kiss, now displayed at P.J. Clarke's above Table 53, the table where they became engaged while on their first date, on June 20, 1958.^[3]

Single releases

• USA: "True Love Ways" b/w "That Makes It Tough" (Coral C62210, June 29, 1960).^[4]
• UK: "True Love Ways" b/w "Moondreams" (Coral Q72397, 20 May 1960).

Mickey Gilley version

"True Love Ways"
Single by Mickey Gilley
from the album That's All That Matters to Me
B-side	"That's All That Matters to Me"
Released	1980
Genre	Country
Length	2:54
Label	Epic
Producer(s)	Jim Ed Norman
Mickey Gilley singles chronology
"A Little Gettin' Used To" (1979) "True Love Ways" (1980) "Stand by Me" (1980)

Mickey Gilley, country singer, released a successful cover version in 1980 (during the height of his popularity). Gilley's version reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in July 1980.^[5]

Chart performance

Chart (1980)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	66
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Cliff Richard version

"True Love Ways"
Single by Cliff Richard with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
from the album Dressed for the Occasion
B-side	"Galadriel"
Released	April 1983
Recorded	23 November 1982
Genre	Pop
Length	3:10
Label	EMI
Producer(s)	Cliff Richard, Richard Hewson
Cliff Richard with the London Philharmonic Orchestra singles chronology
"She Means Nothing to Me" (1983) "True Love Ways" (1983) "Drifting" (1983)

British pop singer Cliff Richard released his cover as the lead single from his Dressed for the Occasion album in April 1983. The recording is of a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1982 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Richard's version reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and was a hit in several other countries.^[6]

Chart performance

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7]	8
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8]	35
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9]	24
Ireland (IRMA)[10]	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11]	41
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12]	45

Other notable versions

1960 UK sheet music cover, Southern Music Ltd., London.

• Bobby Vee recorded the song on his 1963 album I Remember Buddy Holly.^[13]
• Frank Ifield recorded it in the UK as the B-side of his October 1964, hit "Summer Is Over", on Columbia DB 7355.
• Peter and Gordon's 1965 Capitol remake hit #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #2 in the UK and #4 in Ireland, released in April 1965 on Columbia DB 7524.^[14]
• Dick Rivers, a French singer, recorded an adaptation (in French) as "Ne pleure pas" (1965)
• Gary Busey made a cover version of this song in the biographic film The Buddy Holly Story (1978) and its album.
• Ricky Nelson's version is recorded in winter 1978/1979, but was left unreleased from the album Rockabilly Renaissance. It was released in May 1986 after Nelson's death on the album Memphis sessions.
• Joan Jett in the film Light of Day (1987) performed the song.
• Johnny Mathis on the 1989 album In the Still of the Night.
• David Essex and Catherine Zeta-Jones made a duet on his 1994 album.
• The Mavericks covered the song on their 1996 tribute album, Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly).
• Aaron Watson recorded a version of the song on his 2006 album, San Angelo.
• My Morning Jacket covered the song for the tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly, released in June 2011.
• Jimmy Jones released the song as part of a 45 single.
• Skeeter Davis recorded the song in 1967.
• Martina McBride recorded the song in 2005.
• Jackson Browne recorded a cover version for his September 2011 tribute album, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly.
• Elvis Costello released a live version of the song in 2005 recorded in 1986.
• A series of commercials for the product Panda Cheese, from the Egyptian company Arab Dairy, uses the Buddy Holly & The Picks version of the song as the theme tune of its unpredictable and destructive panda mascot. The commercials featuring the song became an instant hit in the internet and now an internet meme.^[15]
• Robson & Jerome recorded a version for their 1996 album Take Two (Robson & Jerome album)

References

1. "Buddy Holly Singles in the UK". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
2. The Pythian Temple Sessions. superoldies.com.
3. "True Love Ways Unveiled – Buddy Holly's Great Music, Great Romance » Listen to Me". True Great Original. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
4. .True Love Ways. Buddy Holly. 45cat.com.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 551.
6. Lewry, Peter; Nigel, Goodall (2004). Dressed for the Occasion (CD Digital Remaster) (Liner notes). Cliff Richard. EMI.
7. "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "Ultratop.be – Cliff Richard with The London Philharmonic Orchestra – True Love Ways" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
10. "Ireland singles charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2014-12-30.
11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Cliff Richard with The London Philharmonic Orchestra – True Love Ways" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
12. "Charts.org.nz – Cliff Richard with The London Philharmonic Orchestra – True Love Ways". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
13. "Original versions of True Love Ways by Jackson Browne". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
14. "Cover version of True Love Ways by Peter and Gordon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
15. Metcalfe, John (2010-09-23). "Creepy Egyptian Cheese Ads Explain Geopolitics - The Wire". Theatlanticwire.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics