Words of Love

"Words of Love"
45-rpm record released by Coral Records, 1957
Single by Buddy Holly
B-side	"Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues"
Released	June 20, 1957
Format	7" single
Recorded	April 8, 1957
Genre	Pop rock
Length	1:56
Label	Coral 61852
Writer(s)	Buddy Holly
Producer(s)	Norman Petty
Buddy Holly singles chronology
"Modern Don Juan" (1956) "Words of Love" (1957) "That'll Be the Day" (1957)

"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized with himself, by combining tape recordings of each part. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings and is available in most standard Holly collections.^[1]

A version by the Diamonds, released by Mercury Records on May 20, 1957, reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1957. The Diamonds also performed the song live on the ABC television show Circus Time on June 27, 1957, and included it on the 1962 Mercury LP album Pop Hits (MGW 12178).

"Words of Love", released by the Diamonds as a 45-rpm single (Mercury 71128X45) in 1957, with a label crediting "Buddy Holley" as the songwriter

A compilation album, Words of Love, released by PolyGram in the UK in 1993, reached number 1 and was certified as a gold record.^[2]

The Beatles' version

The Beatles recorded a cover version of the song for the album Beatles for Sale. It was not included on the U.S. version of the album (entitled Beatles '65) and first appeared in the U.S. on the album Beatles VI. It was also on a 7-inch extended play, Beatles for Sale No. 2, released by Parlophone/EMI in 1965. This version was recorded on October 18, 1964. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, sang in harmony, holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly's original as well as they could. When they had played this song in their early days at the Cavern Club in 1961 and 1962, Lennon and George Harrison were the vocalists. Ringo Starr played a packing case on this song as well as drums, to achieve a similar sound to Holly's "Everyday".<ref Official Beatles' version

Personnel

• John Lennon, lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney, lead vocal, bass
• George Harrison, backing vocals, lead guitar
• Ringo Starr, drums, packing case

Personnel according to Ian MacDonald^[3]

Other recordings

A 1963 performance of "Words of Love" recorded for BBC broadcast is included on the 2013 compilation album On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2. The recording was also included on a five-song promotional EP from the album, and on a DVD or Blu-ray included with the 2015 album 1+.

Other cover versions

• Jessica Lea Mayfield recorded a cover version of the song for the Starbucks compilation Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.
• Paul McCartney recorded a version in 1985 on acoustic guitar. His version was featured in the documentary The Real Buddy Holly Story.
• Pat DiNizio covered the song for his tribute CD, Pat DiNizio/Buddy Holly, in 2009.
• The power pop band Shoes covered the song for the 1989 Buddy Holly tribute album Everyday Is a Holly-Day.
• Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs released a recording of the song in 1964 on the album Buddy's Buddy.
• Mike Berry recorded the song in 1999 for the tribute album Buddy—A Life in Music, released on the Hallmark label.^[4]
• The Pete Best Band recorded the song in 1999.
• Jeremy Jay recorded the song in 2009.
• Patti Smith's cover of the song is featured on the 2011 release Rave on Buddy Holly, a tribute album featuring performances of Holly's music by various artists.
• Jeff Lynne contributed a cover version to the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released in 2011.

Notes

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics