It's So Easy! (The Crickets song)

For other uses, see It's So Easy.

"It's So Easy!"
Single by The Crickets
B-side	"Lonesome Tears"
Released	September 12, 1958 (September 12, 1958)
Recorded	June–August 1958, Clovis, New Mexico
Genre	Rock and roll
Label	Brunswick
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly, Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Norman Petty
The Crickets singles chronology
"Think It Over" (1958) "It's So Easy!" (1958) "Love's Made a Fool of You" (1959)

"It's So Easy!" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty. It was originally released as a single in 1958 by the Crickets but failed to chart. It was the final release by the Crickets when Holly was still in the band.

A cover version recorded by Linda Ronstadt was released on September 20, 1977 and was a Top Five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Crickets version

Background

The song was recorded by Holly and the Crickets from June to August 1958 at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico.

Holly lip-synched to recordings of "It's So Easy!" and his song "Heartbeat" on the television program American Bandstand on October 28, 1958.

The Crickets recorded "It's So Easy!" for Brunswick Records, which released it as a 45-rpm single in 1958. It did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears". Tommy Allsup played the lead guitar parts on both recordings.

Linda Ronstadt version

"It's So Easy"
Single by Linda Ronstadt
from the album Simple Dreams
B-side	"Lo Siento Mi Vida"
Released	September 20, 1977
Genre	Rock
Length	2:27
Label	Asylum
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly Norman Petty
Producer(s)	Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"Blue Bayou" (1977) "It's So Easy" (1977) "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (1978)
45 RPM side label
U.S. release by Linda Ronstadt

Background

Linda Ronstadt recorded "It's So Easy" in 1977 for her album Simple Dreams, produced by Peter Asher. Her recording was released as a single by Asylum Records in the autumn of that year. It hit the Billboard Top Five simultaneously with her recording of "Blue Bayou". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 in the United Kingdom. Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–1978)	Peak position
Argentina (Cash Box)	10
Belgium	4
Canada RPM Top Singles	9
Denmark	6
Germany	47
Netherlands	13
New Zealand	11
South Africa (Springbok Radio)	4
Switzerland	6
UK	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	37
U.S. Billboard Country	81

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Rank
Canada	107

Chart (1978)	Rank
Canada	178
Switzerland	26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	90

Other versions

Bobby Vee, the Astronauts, Skeeter Davis, the Trashmen, Connie Francis, Hank Marvin, Mike Berry and the Outlaws, P.J. Proby, Hot Tuna and Chris Spedding recorded cover versions of the song.

The Beatles performed the song at the 1969 Let It Be sessions.

Gary Busey performed the song in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.

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.
• Gerron, Peggy Sue (2008). Whatever Happened to Peggy Sue? Togi Entertainment. ISBN 978-0-9800085-0-0.
• Goldrosen, John (1975). Buddy Holly: His Life and Music. Popular Press. ISBN 0-85947-018-0.
• Goldrosen, John; Beecher, John (1996). Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80715-7.
• Gribbin, John (2009). Not Fade Away: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly. London: Icon Books. ISBN 978-1-84831-034-6.

External links

• Buddy Holly - It's So Easy on YouTube
• Linda Ronstadt - It's So Easy on YouTube