Maybe Baby (song)

"Maybe Baby"
Single by The Crickets
from the album The "Chirping" Crickets
B-side	"Tell Me How"
Released	1958
Recorded	15 October 1957, Clovis, New Mexico
Genre	Rock and roll
Label	Brunswick 9-55053
Writer(s)	Buddy Holly and Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Norman Petty[1]
The Crickets singles chronology
"Oh, Boy!" (1957) "Maybe Baby" (1958) "Think It Over" (1958)

"Maybe Baby" is a 1957 rock and roll song released by The Crickets. The single was a Top Forty hit in the U.S., the UK, and Canada.^[2]

Background

1957 sheet music cover, Nor Va Jak Music, Inc., New York.

"Maybe Baby" was originally recorded by The Crickets (with Buddy Holly) in 1957.^[3] It was written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and reached 17th in the US charts but 4th in the UK charts (where Holly toured that year) — see Buddy Holly discography. The single also reached no. 8 on the Billboard R&B chart and no. 9 on the Canadian charts.^[4] The rather simple lyrics are augmented by a characteristic twangy percussive accompaniment (rockabilly),^[1] especially effective in the 8-bar instrumental introduction, and the short conclusion.

Covers

• Jackie DeShannon released a version of the song on her 1964 Breakin' It Up On the Beatles Tour! album
• Folksinger Phil Ochs played the song in concert in early 1970, during a phase in which Ochs used electric instruments and covered many songs from the 1950s
• The cover by Gallery (band) was released on their 1972 album Nice to Be With You
• A cover was released in 1978 by country music artist Susie Allanson, whose version peaked at #7 on the U.S. country charts and #14 on the Canadian country chart.
• Bobby Vee released a version in 1963.
• The Hollies recorded the song in 1980.
• The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered the song in 1996.
• Skeeter Davis recorded the song in 1967.
• Queen guitarist Brian May covered the song on the b-side of his single "Business" in 1998 and released the song on his EMI album Red Special released only in Japan.
• Paul McCartney covered the song on the soundtrack for the British film Maybe Baby (2000 film)
• Hank Marvin released a version of the song in 1996.
• Esquerita covered this song in 2010, on the album Esquerita!
• Pat Monahan of Train contributed a cover version for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released in September 2011
• The Beatles recorded this song during the Let It Be/Get Back Sessions on January 29th, 1969.
• The Serbian band Eva Braun covered this song in an unplugged session in 1993.
• Connie Francis recorded the song in 1996.
• Don McLean recorded the song in 1989.^[5]
• The Beatles jammed a version at Apple during the Get Back sessions (Sulphy and Schweighardt 29.8)
• DNCE performed a cover of the song for the January 31, 2016 special Grease: Live, portraying Johnny Casino and the Gamblers.^[6]

References

1. Norman Petty interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
2. Song artist 320 - Buddy Holly.
3. Buddy Holly: The Complete Works.
4. Song artist 320 - Buddy Holly.
5. Maybe Baby. Second Hand Songs.
6. "Joe Jonas Talks DNCE's 'Grease: Live' Cameo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

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.
• 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

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics