''I Remember Bobby Holly'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer,

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

, and was released in December 1963 by

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop music, pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s. B ...

arranged the album, while Snuff Garrett produced it. It is a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to the songs of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

singer

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

, whom Vee listed among his influences. After Holly was killed on February 3, 1959, along with

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...

the Big Bopper Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name The Big Bopper, was an American musician and disc jockey. His best-known compositions include " Chantilly Lace," " Running Bear", and " White Ligh ...

, and pilot Roger Peterson when their plane crashed in Iowa on their way to

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, Vee was selected to replace Holly on the tour, which led to the launch of his recording career. The album features a collection of Holly's greatest hits, including " Maybe Baby", "

That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' ver ...

", " Oh, Boy!", " Everyday" (which he previously recorded and appeared on his 1960 album, '' Bobby Vee Sings Your Favorites''), " Raining in My Heart" (which he also previously recorded and appeared on his 1962 album, '' Take Good Care of My Baby''), and a song titled "Buddy's Song" which Holly wrote, but never recorded. The album debuted on the '' Cashbox'' albums chart chart in the issue dated December 21, 1963, and remained on the album chart for 10 weeks, peaking at No. 54.

Reception

Bruce Eder of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called it an "inevitable development", and stated that the album contains "Vee's underrated vocal ability and Garrett's killer production work, which successfully encompasses pop/rock, rockabilly, straight-ahead rock & roll, and some surprisingly sophisticated balladry". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it " ee'ssalute to late great Holly, by giving his own treatments with an assist from the Eligibles". '' Cashbox'' gave a positive review, writing that Vee delivers the songs in a "successful Holly manner" with "these twelve favorites". ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' felt that Vee makes a "tribute to Buddy in the only possible way – by recording an album of his great songs". ''South Pasadena Review'' called it a "wonderful tribute" and stated that Vee "had wanted to make an album in tribute to Buddy for some time and finally has gotten around" to it.

Track listing

Charts

;

References

{{Authority control 1963 albums Bobby Vee albums Buddy Holly tribute albums Albums produced by Snuff Garrett Liberty Records albums