Editing Buddy Holly (section)

===The Crickets (1956–1957) ===
{{Main article|The Crickets}}
[[File:Buddy Holly & The Crickets publicity portrait - cropped.jpg|Buddy Holly and the Crickets in 1957 (top to bottom: Allison, Holly and Mauldin)|thumb]]
Holly was unhappy with the results of his time with Decca, and inspired by the success of [[Buddy Knox]]'s "[[Party Doll]]" and [[Jimmy Bowen]]'s "[[I'm Stickin' with You]]", he visited [[Norman Petty]], who had produced and promoted both records. Together with Allison, bassist [[Joe B. Mauldin]], and rhythm guitarist [[Niki Sullivan]], he went to Petty's studio in [[Clovis, New Mexico]]. The group recorded a demo of "[[That'll Be the Day]]", a song they had previously recorded in Nashville. In June 1956, Holly along with his older brother Larry as well as Allison and [[Sonny Curtis]] had gone to see the film ''[[The Searchers]]'', starring [[John Wayne]], in which Wayne repeatedly used the phrase "That'll be the day". This line of dialogue inspired the young musicians.<ref>Trzcinski, Matthew (February 10, 2022). [https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-wayne-movie-inspired-buddy-hollys-thatll-be-the-day.html/ "How a John Wayne Movie Inspired Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be the Day'"]. ''CheatSheet''.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2013 |title=My brother, Buddy Holly |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2cHUkUsoKo |access-date=May 23, 2024 |website=YouTube}}</ref> Now playing lead guitar, Holly achieved the sound he desired. Petty became his manager and sent the record to [[Brunswick Records]] in New York City. Holly, still under contract with Decca, could not release the record under his name, so a band name was used; Allison proposed the name "Crickets." Brunswick gave Holly a basic agreement to release "That'll Be the Day", leaving him with both artistic control and financial responsibility for future recordings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amburn |first=Ellis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EAGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 |title=Buddy Holly: A Biography |date=April 22, 2014 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=9781466868564 |page=101 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Impressed with the demo, the label's executives released it without recording a new version. "I'm Looking for Someone to Love" was the B-side; the single was credited to [[The Crickets]]. Petty and Holly later learned that Brunswick was a subsidiary of Decca, which legally cleared future recordings under the name Buddy Holly. Recordings credited to the Crickets would be released on Brunswick, while the recordings under Holly's name were released on another subsidiary label, [[Coral Records]]. Holly concurrently held a recording contract with both labels.{{sfn|Carr, Joseph|Munde, Alan|1997|p=131}}

Norman Petty reasoned correctly that disc jockeys would be reluctant to play and promote multiple new records by the same artist, but would have no problem playing these same records if they were credited to different performers. Holly himself was unaware of this strategy; in a 1957 radio interview with Dale Lowery, Holly said, "We have three records going out right now. Of course, the first one was 'That'll Be the Day', the first one released. Then we have a new one out by The Crickets, called 'Oh Boy!' and 'Not Fade Away', and then there's one out, it's the same group but it's under my name -- I don't know why they did it that way, but it went out under my name -- called 'Peggy Sue' and 'Everyday'."<ref>Buddy Holly interviewed by Dale Lowery for KTOP radio (Topeka, Kansas), 1957.</ref> Holly's records were released with labels reading "Buddy Holly" ''or'' "The Crickets"; the band was never credited on records as "Buddy Holly ''and'' the Crickets" until 1962, when a compilation album was released.

"That'll Be the Day" was released on July 27, 1957. Petty booked Holly and the Crickets for a tour with [[Irvin Feld]], who had noticed the band after "That'll Be the Day" appeared on the R&B chart. He booked them for appearances in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City.{{sfn|Lehmer|2003|p=16}} The band was booked to play at New York's [[Apollo Theater]] on August 16–22. During the opening performances, the group did not impress the audience, but they were accepted after they included "[[Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley song)|Bo Diddley]]". By the end of their run at the Apollo, "That'll Be the Day" was climbing the charts. Encouraged by the single's success, Petty started to prepare two album releases; a solo album for Holly and another for the Crickets.{{sfn|Lehmer|2003|p=17}} Holly appeared on ''[[American Bandstand]]'', hosted by [[Dick Clark]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], on August 26. Before leaving New York, the band befriended [[The Everly Brothers]].{{sfn|Lehmer|2003|p=18}}
[[File:That'll Be the Day ad - Cash Box 1957.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' advertisement, August 3, 1957]] 
"That'll Be the Day" topped the [[Number-one hits of 1957 (United States)|US "Best Sellers in Stores"]] chart on September 23 and was number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in November.{{sfn|Lehmer|2003|p=19}} Three days prior, Coral released "[[Peggy Sue]]", backed with "[[Everyday (Buddy Holly song)|Everyday]]", with Holly credited as the performer. By October, "Peggy Sue" had reached number three on ''Billboard''{{'}}s pop chart and number two on the R&B chart; it peaked at number six on the UK Singles chart. As the success of the song grew, it brought more attention to Holly, with the band at the time being billed as "Buddy Holly and the Crickets"{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=57}} (although never on records during Holly's lifetime).

In the last week of September, the band members flew to Lubbock to visit their families.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=58}} Holly's high school girlfriend, Echo McGuire, had left him for a fellow student.{{sfn|Norman|p=156|1996}} Aside from McGuire, Holly had a relationship with Lubbock fan June Clark.{{sfn|Norman|p=127|1996}} After Clark ended their relationship, Holly realized the importance of his relationship with McGuire and considered his relationship with Clark a temporary one.{{sfn|Norman|p=156|1996}} Meanwhile, for their return to recording, Petty arranged a session in [[Oklahoma City]], where he was performing with his own band. While the band drove to the location, the producer set up a makeshift studio. The rest of the songs needed for an album and singles were recorded; Petty later dubbed the material in Clovis.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=58}} The resulting album, ''[[The "Chirping" Crickets]]'', was released on November 27, 1957. It reached number five on the UK Albums Chart. In October, Brunswick released the second single by the Crickets, "[[Oh, Boy! (The Crickets song)|Oh, Boy!]]", with "[[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]" on the B-side. The single reached number 10 on the pop chart and 13 on the R&B chart.{{sfn|Gribbin|2012|p=57}} Holly and the Crickets performed "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' on December 1, 1957. Following the appearance, Niki Sullivan left the group because he was tired of the intensive touring, and wished to resume his education. On December 29, Holly and the Crickets performed "Peggy Sue" on ''[[The Arthur Murray Party]]''.{{sfn|Moore|2011|p=127}}