Oh, Boy! (song)

Not to be confused with Oh Boy (song).

"Oh, Boy!"
Single by The Crickets
from the album The "Chirping" Crickets
B-side	"Not Fade Away"
Released	October 27, 1957 December 22, 1957 (UK)
Format	7" single
Recorded	June 29 - July 1, 1957, Clovis, New Mexico
Genre	Rock and roll
Writer(s)	Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty
Buddy Holly/The Crickets chronology
"Peggy Sue" (1957) "Oh, Boy!" (1957) "Love Me" (1958)

"Oh, Boy!" is a song originally performed by Buddy Holly's band The Crickets. It was written by Sonny West and Bill Tilghman; the band's manager Norman Petty added his name as co-composer. The song was recorded between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico, with Holly singing lead vocals and The Picks providing backing vocals. The song is in an A-A-B-A format with a 12-bar blues verse and an 8-bar bridge.

Buddy Holly performing "Oh, Boy!" on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957

The song appeared on the album The "Chirping" Crickets, and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at #10 on the US Charts, and #3 on the UK Charts in early 1958. (See 1958 in music for more context.)

Mud version

"Oh Boy" was covered by British group Mud. It reached #1 for two weeks in May 1975. A virtually a cappella cover of the song, it was the band's third and final UK number one.

Other versions

• Jackie DeShannon released a version of the song on her Breakin' It Up On the Beatles Tour! album (1964).
• The virtual Snthypop Band Silicon Teens cover the title 1980 on their album Music for Parties, which features Rock´n´Roll Classics as New Wave tracks.
• Melanie released a version of the song in 1978, as did the Stray Cats in 1996.
• The song was "revived" in an offbeat power ballad version by Starbabies that hit the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1979.
• Christian punk rock band MxPx covered the song on their 1995 covers EP On The Cover.
• Hank Marvin did an instrumental version of the song on Hank Plays Holly in 1996.

References

Preceded by "Bye Bye Baby" by Bay City Rollers

UK number one single Mud version 3 May 1975 for two weeks

Succeeded by "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette