Buddy Holly (song)

"Buddy Holly"
Single by Weezer
from the album Weezer
Released	September 7, 1994
Format	CD, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded	August–September, 1993 at Electric Lady Studios, New York City
Genre	Alternative rock, power pop
Length	2:40
Label	DGC
Writer(s)	Rivers Cuomo
Producer	Ric Ocasek
Weezer singles chronology
"Undone – The Sweater Song" (1994) "Buddy Holly" (1994) "Say It Ain't So" (1995)

"Buddy Holly" is a song by the rock group Weezer, written by Rivers Cuomo. It was released as the second single from the band's debut album Weezer (The Blue Album) in 1994. The single was released on what would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. The lyrics reference the song's 1950s namesake and actress Mary Tyler Moore. It reached #2 and #34 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, respectively. It also reached #12 in the UK. Rolling Stone ranked "Buddy Holly" #499 in its 2010 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in 2006. VH1 ranked it as one of the 100 Greatest Songs Of The 90s at #59 in 2007.

Song development

Rivers Cuomo stated in one of his MySpace blogs from 2006^{[citation needed]} that he remembers questioning whether or not to include this song on Weezer. He almost kept it off the final track list, but encouragement from producer Ric Ocasek soon changed his mind. In the book River's Edge, Ocasek is quoted as saying, "I remember at one point he was hesitant to do 'Buddy Holly' and I was like, 'Rivers, we can talk about it. Do it anyway, and if you don't like it when it's done, we won't use it. But I think you should try. You did write it and it is a great song.'" Cuomo said that he felt the song was "too cheesy" and didn't know if the song represented the sound he was going for with the band's music. Matt Sharp recalls:

...Ric said we'd be stupid to leave it off the album. We'd come into the studio in the morning and find little pieces of paper with doodles on them: WE WANT BUDDY HOLLY.

An early demo of "Buddy Holly" recorded by Cuomo in 1993 has a different feel, as the song is played at a much slower tempo than the version that appears on the album. This version appeared on Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo. The liner notes for Alone explain that the chorus, in its most primitive form, originally was sung as: "Oo-wee-oo you look just like Ginger Rogers/Oh, oh, I move just like Fred Astaire," the rest of the chorus the way it appears even in the Blue Album version.

Music video

The music video for "Buddy Holly" was directed by Spike Jonze and filmed at Charlie Chaplin Studios in Hollywood over the course of one full day of shooting.

The video portrayed Weezer performing at the original Arnold's Drive-In diner from the popular '70s television show Happy Days. The video combined contemporary footage of the band with clips from the show. Happy Days cast member Al Molinaro made a cameo appearance in the video. Al plugs his hometown, Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the introduction. In the memorable climax, editing and a body double allowed Fonzie to dance to the band's performance. The video also features brief cameos by some members of the band as dancers at Arnold's. Initially, actor Anson Williams, who played Potsie on Happy Days, objected to footage of him appearing in the video, but relented after a letter from David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records.

The video was met with great popularity and heavy rotation on MTV. The innovative video scored four awards at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, including prizes for Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Video.

The Microsoft Windows 95 release included a number of "Fun Stuff" items on the CD, including Buddy Holly, resulting in a sudden skyrocket in the popularity of the video and song that won Weezer a place in MTV Music Video Awards history.

The music video appears at the Museum of Modern Art's music exhibit.

Cover Art

The original cover art for the single was an early photograph of Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo with an unidentified female friend (shown at top of page). The cover art was soon changed, however, as the woman on the cover sued Weezer for usage of her photo without legal permission. The cover art was quickly changed to a childhood picture of Cuomo next to his younger brother Leaves Cuomo.

Tracklist

Promo Only Radio Single

1. "Buddy Holly"- 2:40

UK Retail CD

1. "Buddy Holly" - 2:40
2. "My Name Is Jonas" (Live) - 3:40
3. "Surf Wax America" (Live) - 4:09
4. "Jamie" - 4:18

UK Retail Cassette/UK Retail 7" Single (Black Vinyl)

1. "Buddy Holly" - 2:40
2. "Jamie" - 4:18

Australian Retail CD

1. "Buddy Holly" - 2:40
2. "Holiday"

Dutch Retail CD

1. "Buddy Holly" - 2:40
2. "Surf Wax America" (Live) - 4:09

Live tracks recorded at Horizontal Boogie Bar, Rochester, NY on November 27, 1994.

Chart positions

Chart (1995)	Peak Position
Canadian RPM Singles Chart	6
Dutch Charts	27
Swedish Charts	14
UK Singles Chart	12
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	18
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	36
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	17

Personnel

• Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
• Brian Bell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Matt Sharp – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Patrick Wilson – percussion
• Ric Ocasek – producer

External links

• Buddy Holly Lyrics
• Weezer's Website
• "Buddy Holly" Official music video on YouTube