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"It's So Easy"
"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
45 RPM side label
	U.S. release by Linda Ronstadt

"It's So Easy!"
"It's So Easy!"
Single by The Crickets
B-side	"Lonesome Tears"
Released	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

"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 from her album Simple Dreams 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 Buddy 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 but it did not chart. The B-side was "Lonesome Tears". Tommy Allsup played the lead guitar parts on both recordings.

Linda Ronstadt version

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 on the Hot 100 simultaneously with her recording of "Blue Bayou". It also reached No. 9 in Canada and No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.^[1]^[2] Ronstadt's version was used in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–1978)	Peak position
Argentina (Cash Box)^[3]	10
Belgium^[4]	4
Canada RPM Top Singles	9
Denmark^[4]	6
Germany^[4]	47
Netherlands	13
New Zealand^[5]	11
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[6]	4
Switzerland ^[4]	6
UK	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[7]	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	37
U.S. Billboard Country	81

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)	Rank
Canada ^[8]	107

Chart (1978)	Rank
Canada ^[9]	178
Switzerland ^[10]	26
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[11]	90

Other versions

Bobby Vee (on the 1963 album I Remember Buddy Holly), the Astronauts (on their 1964 album Everything is A-OK!), Skeeter Davis (on his 1967 album Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly), the Trashmen(on their 1964 album Surfin' Bird), Connie Francis (on her 1996 album With Love to Buddy), Hank Marvin(on his 1996 album Hank Plays Holly), Mike Berry and the Outlaws (on their 1975 album Tribute to Buddy Holly), P. J. Proby (on his 2003 album Memories), Hot Tuna (on their 1976 album Hoppkorv) and Chris Spedding (on the 1989 compilation Every Day is a Holly Day) recorded cover versions of the song.

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

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

References

^ "Original versions of It's So Easy! written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty". SecondHandSongs.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
^ "Song artist 414 - Linda Ronstadt". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 40, no. 42. 1 July 1978. p. 70. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Linda Ronstandt - It's So Easy Hitparade.ch
^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ Whitburn, Joel. Top Pop Singles 1955–2002.
^ "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
^ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1978". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.

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.