This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.
RS: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.
Song #392: Everyday by Buddy Holly.
“Everyday” by Buddy Holly was released waaaaay back in the day in 1957. Musically speaking, those were much simpler times when it came to the complexity of the songs being released; from a recording point of view, as well as, a lyrical perspective. This song is, essentially, a song about a young man hoping to find true love one day. That’s it. It is simple and sweet and earnestly sung by Holly who, at the time, was one of the singers introducing the world to a genre of tunes called Rock n’ Roll. Initially, Holly was a solo singer who performed in shows that also featured the likes of Bill Haley and his Comets, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Richie Valens. But, eventually, he gathered a band around him called, “The Crickets”. It was with his bandmates that he recorded, “Everyday”. At the time of release, “Everyday” was, actually, the B-side to his hit song, “Peggy Sue”. Because people were so enthralled with “Peggy Sue”, they got to hear “Everyday” and before too long, it became as popular as any song Holly ever released.
There is some interesting trivia associated with this song. 1- For starters, one of the songwriters listed on the 45-single was someone named Charles Hardin. As it turns out, “Charles Hardin” was “Buddy” Holly’s real name. His full, legal name was Charles Hardin Holley. *Note: He even changed the spelling of his last name by removing the “e”. 2- When “Everyday” was recorded, one of the instruments used was something called a “celesta”. This is a keyboard-like instrument that makes the same glockenspiel type notes that can be heard in “The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy” from The Nutcracker Ballet. 3- When songs were recorded back in the 1950s, there weren’t huge mixing boards used to record each instrument separately. Instead, they usually recorded all instruments at once and, in addition, they often had only one or two microphones to catch the audio for all singers and all instruments. So, to help record all sounds clearly, producers would often stagger or, physically space, the performers according to the loudness of the sounds they were making i.e., the loudest sounds would be furthest from the microphone and the softer sounds would be closer. Anyway, when “Everyday” was recorded, the sound of the drummer kept drowning out Holly’s voice so, to compensate, they had the drummer add percussion by simply slapping the side of his leg. So, if you listen carefully, you will hear leg slaps where there should have been drums. 4- One final piece of trivia, which has nothing to do with this song is, that the UK band, “The Hollies”, were so named in honour of Buddy Holly.
He was a quiet young man who left us far too soon but, his legacy as one of the pioneering figures in the introduction of Rock n’ Roll ensures that he will never be forgotten. So, please enjoy a song about finding true love. Here is Buddy Holly and The Crickets with, “Everyday”.
A link for the video for “Everyday” by Buddy Holly can be found here.
A link to the website devoted to all things, Buddy Holly, can be found here.
Thanks, as always to KEXP, for helping to inspire the writing of this post. A link to their website can be found here.
Tom MacInnes, Writer 