View source for Rave On

{{other uses}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Rave On
| cover      = Rave On Buddy Holly Coral 1958.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Buddy Holly]]
| album      = [[Buddy Holly (album)|Buddy Holly]]
| B-side     = Take Your Time
| released   = April 20, 1958<br>June 6, 1958 (UK)
| recorded   = January 25, 1958
| studio     = [[Bell Sound Studios|Bell Sound]] (New York City)
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Rock and roll]]
| length     = 1:47
| label      = Coral 9-61985<br>Coral Q 72325 (UK)
| writer     = [[Sonny West (musician)|West]]-Tilghman-[[Norman Petty|Petty]]
| producer   = [[Milton DeLugg]]
| prev_title = [[I'm Gonna Love You Too]]
| prev_year  = 1957
| next_title = [[Early in the Morning (Bobby Darin song)|Early in the Morning]]
| next_year  = 1958
}}
"'''Rave On'''", also written "'''Rave On!'''", is a song written by [[Sonny West (musician)|Sonny West]], Bill Tilghman and [[Norman Petty]] in 1958. It was first recorded by West for [[Atlantic Records]], which released his version in February 1958 (as Atlantic 45-1174).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockabillyhall.com/SonnyWest.html |title=RHOF Inductee: Sonny West |website=Rockabillyhall.com |date=1997-03-21 |access-date=2016-08-29}}</ref> [[Buddy Holly]] recorded the song later the same year, and his version became a hit, one of six of his recordings that charted in 1958. Holly is instantly recognizable as the artist: the record begins with a drawn-out "Well…" as stylized by Holly's distinctive hiccup ("A-weh-uh-heh-uh-ell…").
==Background==
Most of West's recordings were produced and engineered by [[Norman Petty]], who also managed Holly, and recorded in Petty's studio in [[Clovis, New Mexico]]. "Rave On", however, was produced by [[Milton DeLugg]] and recorded with Holly's group [[the Crickets]] at [[Bell Sound Studios]] in [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Untitled 1 |url=https://www.mossiehigh.com/Holly/Sessionography/1958-1959.htm |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=www.mossiehigh.com}}</ref> The title was inspired by the 1956 [[Sun Records]] recording "[[Dixie Fried]]" by [[Carl Perkins]], which uses the refrain "rave on." The B-side was Holly's composition "Take Your Time".
Holly's rendition of "Rave On" is ranked number 154 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/buddy-holly-and-the-crickets-rave-on-19691231 |title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time: Buddy Holly and the Crickets, 'Rave On' &#124; Rolling Stone |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=2012-01-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115215219/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/buddy-holly-and-the-crickets-rave-on-19691231 |archive-date=2012-01-15 }}</ref>
==Chart performance==
Holly's version reached number 12 in Canada, May 26, 1958.,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/57-05-26-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - May 26, 1958}}</ref> as well number 5 in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|title=officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/5541/buddy-holly/|website=officialcharts.com|accessdate=September 11, 2022}}</ref>
==Track listing==
===Initial pressing===
#"Rave On"
#"Take Your Time"
===German pressing===
<small>As Buddy Holly and the [[the Crickets|Crickets]]</small>
#"Rave On"
#"[[Ready Teddy]]"
===EP (UK)===
#"Rave On"
#"Take Your Time"
#"[[Early in the Morning (Bobby Darin song)|Early in the Morning]]"
#"Now We're One"
===1968 Re-release (UK)===
#"Rave On"
#"[[Peggy Sue]]"
===1968 Re-release (US)===
#"Rave On"
#"[[Early in the Morning (Bobby Darin song)|Early in the Morning]]"
==Other versions==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2018}}
Cover versions of "Rave On" have been recorded by [[Bruce Springsteen]] and the [[E Street Band]], [[Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen|Commander Cody]], [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]], [[M. Ward]], and the folk-rock band [[Steeleye Span]]. It was a hit for the Delta Cross Band in Denmark in 1980.
[[Joe Meek]] produced a version with the singer [[Michael Cox (singer)|Michael Cox]], released in 1964 (backed with "Just Say Hello", HMV POP1293 A).
[[John Mellencamp]] recorded a version for the soundtrack of the film ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'' in 1988.
[[The Real Kids]] recorded a cover version on their 1977 self-titled album.
[[Half Japanese]] recorded a cover version on their 1980 debut album [[1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts]].
[[Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] recorded a cover version for their 1970 album ''[[Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy]]''.
[[Steeleye Span]] recorded a version, in a mock-Buddy Holly vein, and released it as a non-album single in 1971.
In an interview, the Danish rock band the [[The Raveonettes|Raveonettes]] stated that their name is "a complete direct reference to the [[The Ronettes|Ronettes]] and Buddy Holly ''Rave On''."<ref>Shankbone, David (2007). [[n:The Raveonettes on love, death, desire and war#On influences|Interview with the Raveonettes]]. ''[[Wikinews]]''. October 16.</ref>
[[M. Ward]] recorded a cover of the song for his 2009 album ''[[Hold Time (album)|Hold Time]]''.
[[Denny Laine]], the guitarist for the bands [[Wings (band)|Wings]] and [[Moody Blues]], recorded a cover of the song for his 1977 Holly tribute album, ''[[Holly Days]]'', produced by [[Paul McCartney]].
[[Julian Casablancas]] recorded a cover of the song for the 2011 Holly tribute album ''[[Rave On Buddy Holly]]''.
[[Cliff Richard]] recorded a cover of the song for his 2013 album, ''[[The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook]]''.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==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}}
{{Buddy Holly}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Rockabilly songs]]
[[Category:Buddy Holly songs]]
[[Category:1957 songs]]
[[Category:1958 singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Joe Meek]]
[[Category:Songs written by Norman Petty]]
[[Category:Songs written by Sonny West]]
[[Category:1958 songs]]
[[Category:Coral Records singles]]