"True Love Ways" is a song written by

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 ...

and

Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...

. Buddy Holly's original was recorded with the Dick Jacobs Orchestra in October 1958, four months before the singer's death. It was first released on the posthumous album '' The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2'' (Coral 57326/757326), in March 1960. The song was first released as a single in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in May 1960, reaching number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. It was released the following month in the US, but did not make the charts. In 1988, a UK re-release of the recording by MCA, the single reached no. 65 on the UK singles chart in a five-week chart run. In 1965,

Peter and Gordon Peter and Gordon were a British pop duo, composed of Peter Asher (b. 1944) and Gordon Waller (1945–2009), who achieved international fame in 1964 with their first single, the million-selling "A World Without Love". The duo had several subseq ...

's version became a hit internationally, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 14 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top 10 in numerous other countries. Other notable covers include Mickey Gilley's 1980 version which reached number 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

's version that reached the top 10 in the UK and Ireland in 1983 and was a minor hit internationally.

Buddy Holly original

Background and Recording

The 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 and also included the recordings of " It Doesn't Matter Anymore", " Raining in My Heart", and " Moondreams". 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. Holly biographer Bill Griggs points out that the melody borrows heavily from the gospel song "I'll Be All Right," a favorite of Holly's, and one that would be played at his funeral in 1959. According to Griggs, the framework of the melody was written by Buddy, with the remainder, and lyrics, added by Petty. Holly's widow, Maria Elena Holly, claimed that the song was written for her 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. A listing of producer Norman Petty's productions claims that Vi Petty, Norman's wife, recorded the first version of this song on June 4, 1958—two weeks prior to Buddy's engagement with Maria. However, only white label promotional copies were pressed (in July).

Personnel

* 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, Howard Kay – violas *Maurice Brown, Maurice Bialkin – cellos

Releases

*UK: "True Love Ways" b/w " Moondreams" (Coral Q72397, 20 May 1960). *USA: "True Love Ways" b/w "That Makes It Tough" (Coral C62210, June 29, 1960). Two compilation albums by Buddy Holly have used the title of the song. The 1989 Telstar album reached no. 8 on the UK album chart. The 2018 Decca album with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

reached no. 10 on the UK album chart.

Chart performance

Peter and Gordon version

British pop duo,

, released their version in 1965. It reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and is the only version of the song to have made the Top 40 of the US singles charts, reaching number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in June 1965 during the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

era. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a pretty, lyrical emotion-packed reading of the Buddy Holly-penned oldie."

Chart performance

Note, Canadian chart weeks following the song's climb up to number 3 on the Canadian chart are missing in the archive, so the song may have climbed higher.

Mickey Gilley version

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 ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in July 1980.

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Cliff Richard version

British pop singer

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 The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in 1982 with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

. Richard's version reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart and was a hit in several other countries.

Chart performance

Other notable versions

* Vi Petty, wife of co-writer Norman Petty, and pianist on many Petty productions, is believed to have recorded the first version in June 1958, with, initially, only limited promotional pressings made. * Dick Rivers, a French singer, recorded a French adaptation, "Ne pleure pas" (1965). It reached number 19 in Belgium's Wallonia (French) charts and 43 in France. * Randy Gurley recorded the song and it was a hit for her in 1978 on the ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' Country Singles Chart peaking peaked at no. 90 the on the week of September 30. It also made it to no. 77 on the ''Billboard'' Country chart. * David Essex and

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...

recorded a duet for Essex's 1994 album ''Back to Back''. The single reached no. 38 on the UK singles chart. *

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

recorded the song in 1985, five days before his death in a plane crash. It was his last recording before his death, although the recording remains unreleased. However, an earlier recording from 1978 is widely available.

Popular culture

* The '' Never Say No to Panda'' series of commercials for the product Panda Cheese, from the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian company Arab Dairy, uses the

& 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 on the internet and become an

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

References

{{Authority control 1958 songs 1960 singles 1980 singles Buddy Holly songs Bobby Vee songs Peter and Gordon songs Mickey Gilley songs Cliff Richard songs Johnny Mathis songs David Essex songs The Mavericks songs Martina McBride songs Jackson Browne songs Randy Gurley songs Song recordings produced by Harold Bradley Songs written by Buddy Holly Songs written by Norman Petty Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman Songs released posthumously Epic Records singles Coral Records singles EMI Records singles 1950s ballads London Philharmonic Orchestra