It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)

For other uses, see It's So Easy.

"It's So Easy!" is a rock and roll song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. The song was originally released as a single in 1958 by the Crickets that failed to chart. A cover version of the song by Linda Ronstadt in 1977 was a Top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was the final release put out by the Crickets with Buddy Holly still in the band. Paul McCartney controls the publishing rights to the song through MPL Communications.

The Crickets version

Background

The song was recorded in June-August 1958 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Buddy Holly lip-synched the song on the October 28, 1958 episode of American Bandstand along with "Heartbeat".

The Crickets released "It's So Easy!" as a 45 single on Brunswick Records in 1958. It did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears".

Linda Ronstadt version

Background

"It's So Easy" was covered by Linda Ronstadt in 1977 for her album Simple Dreams. It was released as a single by Asylum Records in the fall. Produced by Peter Asher, it simultaneously hit Billboard's Top Five with "Blue Bayou". It also reached number 9 in Canada, and number 11 in the United Kingdom. Ronstadt's version appeared in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1977-78)	Peak position
Canada	9
Netherlands	13
New Zealand	11
UK	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	37
U.S. Billboard Country	81

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Rank
Canada	107

Chart (1978)	Rank
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	90

Other versions

• Bobby Vee, The Astronauts, Skeeter Davis, The Trashmen, Connie Francis, Hank Marvin, Mike Berry and the Outlaws, P.J. Proby, and Chris Spedding did covers.
• The Beatles performed the song at the 1969 Let It Be sessions.
• Denny Laine released it as a 45 single in 1976 as EMI 2523 produced by Paul McCartney.
• Gary Busey performed the song in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.
• Waylon Jennings and the Crickets, and Zooey Deschanel have also recorded the song.
• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song in 1987 for their TV series episode "Theodore Lucks Out."
• Paul McCartney recorded two versions of the song for a 75th anniversary tribute to Buddy Holly in 2011.

Sources

• Amburn, Ellis (1996). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-14557-6.
• Bustard, Anne (2005). Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4223-9302-4.
• Dawson, Jim; Leigh, Spencer (1996). Memories of Buddy Holly. Big Nickel Publications. ISBN 978-0-936433-20-2.
• Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue?. Togi Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-9800085-0-0.
• Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80715-7.
• Goldrosen, John (1975). Buddy Holly: His Life and Music. Popular Press. ISBN 0-85947-018-0
• Gribbin, John (2009). Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly. London: Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84831-034-6

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics