# On This Day in 1957, Buddy Holly Topped the Charts With a John Wayne-Inspired Hit His Label Refused to Release

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/on-this-day-in-1957-buddy-holly-topped-the-charts-with-a-john-wayne-inspired-hit-his-label-refused-to-release/
- Published: 2026-10-28T00:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T01:25:27+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/on-this-day-in-1957-buddy-holly-topped-the-charts-with-a-john-wayne-inspired-hit-his-label-refused-to-release/
- Topics: Art, Cricket, Culture, Entertainment, Music, Sport

## Key points

- The Crickets topped the UK chart with “That’ll Be the Day” in 1957.
- Decca had rejected Holly’s first recording of the song.
- John Wayne’s line in *The Searchers* inspired its title.

## Summary

Buddy Holly and the Crickets reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart on 27 October 1957 with “That’ll Be the Day”, after Decca had rejected Holly’s first recording. The story shows how a label’s decision and Holly’s recording contract helped turn the song into a hit under the band’s name.

Holly first recorded the song with the Three Tunes, but later re-recorded it with the Crickets for Brunswick, released in the UK by Coral. Because his Decca contract barred him from re-recording songs made for the label for five years, producer Norman Petty credited the new version to the Crickets; Decca later issued Holly’s solo take, which flopped. The title phrase was inspired by John Wayne’s repeated line in the 1956 Western *The Searchers*, and the song found another audience in the 1973 film *American Graffiti*.

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