Memorial Collection is a 2009 compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer–songwriter

Singer–songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 pioneer Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

's master takes and hit singles

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, including some rare recordings. Along with Down the Line: Rarities

Down the Line: Rarities

Down the Line: Rarities is a 2009 compilation album of American singer–songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly's alternate takes and demos, including the original undubbed "garage tapes" with The Crickets and the "Apartment Tapes" recorded in the months before his death...

, this album was released to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Holly's death (February 3, 1959).

Reception

In an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. It is owned by the Morris Communications Company.-History:The Lubbock Avalanche was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" was chosen due to his desire that the...

, Holly's eldest brother Larry Holley commented before hearing both this compilation and Down the Line: Rarities, "María [Elena Holly

Maria Elena Holly

María Elena Holly is the widow of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly. She owns the rights to his name, image, trademarks, and other intellectual property.-Early years:...

] told me I was definitely going to just break down and cry when I hear all these CDs, because they've cleaned them (the songs) all up and Buddy's music never has come across so pure before."

The critical reception for Memorial Collection was fairly positive. The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...

 compliments the collection's progression in Holly's work, while he says that several bootleg recordings, including a ten-disc collection, have more music. Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...

, writing for Blender

Blender (magazine)

Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....

, thinks that the album could easily have fit on to two discs and says that the most interesting songs on the collection were the "undubbed" recordings. Ed Ward

Ed Ward (writer)

Edmund P. "Ed" Ward is an American writer and radio commenter, known since 1986 as the "rock-and-roll historian" for NPR's program Fresh Air and one of the original founders of Austin's South by Southwest music festival....

, writing for Paste

Paste (magazine)

Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...

, compilmented Erick Labson's remastering, which he thinks made the recordings clearer than he's ever heard them. He feels that Buddy's New York City recordings produced by Dick Jacobs

Dick Jacobs

Dick Jacobs was an American musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, music director and an artists-and-repertoire director for several record labels who helped Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin and others form their careers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Life and career:He was born...

 were the low part of the collection, but that Buddy's apartment tapes were much better. Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 feels that the Memorial Collection not completly needed most of the songs were already released on From the Master Tapes and Buddy Holly Collection, but he feels that the Memorial Collection still has several interesting tracks, like those with Bob Montgomery, and feels that the "undubbed" recordings add to the collection, but he feels that several of the "finished" recordings should have been included also. The Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

review of the album by Barry Walters gave a basic desciption of the album and summarizes Buddy Holly's career.

Memorial Collection generally got higher ratings from critics than Down the Line: Rarities.

Disc one

1. "Down the Line" by Buddy & Bob [undubbed] (Bob Montgomery, Norman Petty
   Norman Petty
   Norman Petty was an American musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer who helped shape modern popular music, including pop and rock....
   
   , Buddy Holly
   Buddy Holly
   Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
   
   ) – 2:03
2. "Soft Place in My Heart" by Buddy & Bob [undubbed] (Montgomery) – 2:16
3. "You and I Are Through" by Buddy & Bob (Montgomery) – 2:06
4. "Midnight Shift" (Jimmy Ainsworth, Earl Lee) – 2:11
5. "Love Me" (Sue Parrish, Holly) – 2:08
6. "Don't Come Back Knockin'" (Parrish, Holly) – 2:15
7. "Blue Days, Black Nights" (Ben Hall) – 2:05
8. "Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight" (Don Guess) – 1:57
9. "I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down" (Holly) – 2:18
10. "Changing All Those Changes" (Holly) – 1:41
11. "Rock-a-Bye Rock" (Holly) – 2:23
12. "Rock Around with Ollie Vee" (Sonny Curtis
    Sonny Curtis
    Sonny Curtis is an American singer and songwriter. Most of his work falls into the Pop and Country genres. He was a teenage pal and band member with Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas...
    
    ) – 2:13
13. "Girl on My Mind" (Guess) – 2:18
14. "Ting-A-Ling
    Ting-A-Ling
    "Ting-A-Ling" is a 1952 song by The Clovers. "Ting-A-Ling" was The Clovers' final number one on the Billboard R&B chart"Ting-A-Ling" is a 1952 song by The Clovers. "Ting-A-Ling" was The Clovers' final number one on the Billboard R&B chart...
    
    " (Nugetre
    Ahmet Ertegun
    Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
    
    ) – 2:42
15. "Modern Don Juan" (Guess, Jack Neal) – 2:41
16. "Holly Hop" [undubbed] (Holly) – 1:39
17. "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
    Brown Eyed Handsome Man
    "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is a rock and roll song by Chuck Berry, which was originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side to "Too Much Monkey Business". It was also included on Berry's 1957 debut album After School Session...
    
    " [undubbed] (Chuck Berry
    Chuck Berry
    Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
    
    ) – 2:04
18. "That'll Be the Day
    That'll Be the Day
    "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison and recorded by various artists including The Crickets and Linda Ronstadt. It was also the first song to be recorded by The Quarrymen, the skiffle group that subsequently became The Beatles...
    
    " (Petty, Holly, Jerry Allison
    Jerry Allison
    J.I. Allison is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue"....
    
    ) – 2:17
19. "I'm Looking for Someone to Love" (Holly, Petty) – 1:58
20. "Mailman, Don't Bring Me No More Blues" (Ruth Roberts, Bill Katz, Stanley Clayton) – 2:10

Disc two

1. "Words of Love
   Words of Love
   "Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized for himself, by tape-recording each part and combining them. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings, and is available in most...
   
   " (Holly) – 1:55
2. "Not Fade Away
   Not Fade Away (song)
   "Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly's band The Crickets in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957...
   
   " (Charles Hardin [Holly], Petty) – 2:22
3. "Everyday
   Everyday (Buddy Holly song)
   "Everyday" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty, recorded by Buddy Holly and the Crickets on May 29, 1957 and released on September 20, 1957 as the B-side to "Peggy Sue". On the original single the Crickets are not mentioned, but it is known that Holly plays acoustic guitar; drummer...
   
   " (Hardin, Petty) – 2:09
4. "Ready Teddy
   Ready Teddy
   Ready Teddy is a song written by John Marascalco and Robert Blackwell, and first made popular by Little Richard in 1956. It has since been covered by Buddy Holly, The Tornados, Elvis Presley, Tony Sheridan and others, making it something of a pop standard. Musically it's an uptempo rock and roll...
   
   " (Robert Blackwell
   Robert Blackwell
   Robert "Bumps" Blackwell was an American songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as grooming Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Lloyd Price, Sam Cooke, Herb Alpert, Larry Williams, and Sly and the Family Stone at the start of...
   
   , John Marascalco
   John Marascalco
   John Marascalco is an American songwriter, who is most noted for his collaborations with Robert Blackwell...
   
   ) – 1:33
5. "Tell Me How" (Hardin, Allison, Petty) – 2:00
6. "Oh, Boy!
   Oh, Boy! (song)
   "Oh, Boy!" is a song originally performed by Buddy Holly's band The Crickets. It was written by Sonny West and Bill Tilghman; the band's manager Norman Petty added his name as co-composer. The song was recorded between June 29 and July 1, 1957, at Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico, with Holly...
   
   " (Sunny West
   Sonny West
   Sonny West is a rock and roll-musician. West wrote and recorded both "Oh, Boy!" and "Rave On" on the Atlantic label in the late 1950s...
   
   , Bill Tilghman, Petty) – 2:09
7. "Listen to Me" (Hardin, Petty) – 2:22
8. "Peggy Sue" (Allison, Petty, Holly) – 2:31
9. "I'm Gonna Love You Too
   I'm Gonna Love You Too
   "I'm Gonna Love You Too" is a song written by Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan and Norman Petty, originally recorded by Buddy Holly in 1957. It was recorded 20 years later by American New Wave band Blondie and released as the first single from their multi-platinum 1978 album Parallel Lines.-Song...
   
   " (Joe Mauldin
   Joe B. Mauldin
   Joe Benson Mauldin, Jr. is ranked among the top rock bassists and became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio that became the hit factory for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and other major 1960s rock performers...
   
   , Niki Sullivan
   Niki Sullivan
   Niki M. Sullivan was an American rock and roll guitar player, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing group, The Crickets. Though he lost interest within a year or two of his involvement, his guitar playing was an integral part of Holly's...
   
   , Petty) – 2:14
10. "It's Too Late" (Chuck Willis
    Chuck Willis
    Harold "Chuck" Willis was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, "C. C. Rider" and "What Am I Living For" , both reached no. 1 in the Billboard R&B chart...
    
    ) – 2:24
11. "Maybe Baby
    Maybe Baby (song)
    "Maybe Baby" was originally recorded by The Crickets in 1957. It was written by Norman Petty and Buddy Holly and reached 17th in the US charts but 4th in the UK charts - see Buddy Holly discography...
    
    " (Petty, Hardin) – 2:03
12. "You've Got Love" (Johnny Wilson, Roy Orbison
    Roy Orbison
    Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
    
    , Petty) – 2:08
13. "Rock Me My Baby" (Susan Heather, Shorty Long
    Shorty Long
    Frederick Earl "Shorty" Long was an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer for Motown's Soul Records imprint...
    
    ) – 1:50
14. "Look at Me" (Petty, Holly, Allison) – 2:07
15. "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)
    (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
    " Baby I Don't Care" is a song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has become a minor pop standard, with notable versions being performed by Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. Elvis Presley's version was released on his Jailhouse Rock EP, and reached number fourteen on the R&B charts...
    
    " (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
    Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
    Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
    
    ) – 1:37
16. "Little Baby" (Holly, Petty, C. W. Kendall) – 1:57
17. "Rave On" (West, Tilghman, Petty) – 1:50
18. "Well... All Right" (Petty, Holly, Allison, Mauldin) – 2:14
19. "Take Your Time" (Petty, Holly) – 1:58
20. "Fool's Paradise" (Sonny LeGlaire, Horace Linsley, Petty) – 2:28

Disc three

1. "Think It Over" (Holly, Petty) – 1:48
2. "Heartbeat
   Heartbeat (Buddy Holly song)
   "Heartbeat" is a rockabilly song written by Bob Montgomery and Norman Petty and recorded originally by Buddy Holly in 1958. The B side of the single was "Well.....
   
   " (Montgomery, Petty) – 2:09
3. "It's So Easy" (Holly, Petty) – 2:11
4. "Lonesome Tears" (Holly) – 1:48
5. "Love's Made a Fool of You
   Love's Made a Fool of You
   Love's Made a Fool of You is a song originally performed by Buddy Holly. It was later re-recorded by Sonny Curtis and The Crickets, with the lead vocal by Earl Sinks, and famously covered by the Bobby Fuller Four.Buddy Holly first wrote the song in 1954...
   
   " (Holly, Montgomery) – 2:01
6. "Wishing" (Holly, Montgomery) – 2:03
7. "Early in the Morning
   Early in the Morning (Bobby Darin song)
   "Early in the Morning" is a song written by Bobby Darin and Woody Harris. It was released as single in 1958, and covered by Buddy Holly the same year....
   
   " (Bobby Darin
   Bobby Darin
   Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
   
   , Woody Harris
   Woody Harris
   Woody Harris was an American songwriter of the 1950s and 1960s. He is perhaps best known for songs written for and with Bobby Darin. On "Queen Of The Hop", Darin used the name "Walden Tweed". His real name was Walden Robert Cassotto. He also wrote songs for Elvis Presley, Della Reese and other...
   
   ) – 2:07
8. "Now We're One" (Darin) – 2:06
9. "Reminiscing" (King Curtis
   King Curtis
   Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
   
   ) – 2:00
10. "True Love Ways
    True Love Ways
    "True Love Ways" is a song co-written by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and recorded with the Ray Ellis orchestra in October 1958, four months before the singer's death. It was first released on the posthumous "The Buddy Holly Story, Vol. 2"...
    
    " (Petty, Holly) – 2:50
11. "It Doesn't Matter Anymore
    It Doesn't Matter Anymore
    "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song reached #13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in early 1959 shortly after Holly was killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed...
    
    " (Paul Anka
    Paul Anka
    Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
    
    ) – 2:04
12. "Raining in My Heart
    Raining in My Heart
    "Raining in My Heart" is a popular rock and roll ballad recorded by Buddy Holly with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant. It was released as a single on Coral Records in 1959, peaking at #88 on the...
    
    " (Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant
    Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
    Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team best known for songs such as "Rocky Top," "Love Hurts" and numerous Everly Brothers hits, including "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Bye Bye Love".-Beginnings:Boudleaux was born Diadorius...
    
    ) – 2:49
13. "What to Do" (Holly) – 1:54
14. "Peggy Sue Got Married
    Peggy Sue Got Married (song)
    "Peggy Sue Got Married" is a song written and sung by Buddy Holly. It was released in 1959 as a 45-rpm single with "Crying, Waiting, Hoping". It refers to his song hit "Peggy Sue". It was one of the first sequels of the rock era...
    
    " (Holly) – 1:50
15. "That Makes It Tough" (Holly) – 2:17
16. "Crying, Waiting, Hoping
    Crying, Waiting, Hoping
    "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" is a song by Buddy Holly. It was released in 1959 as B-side to "Peggy Sue Got Married". There are actually three versions of Holly's recording in circulation: the 1959 commercial release, the 1964 reissue with different orchestration, and Holly's original, private home...
    
    " (Holly) – 1:52
17. "Learning the Game" (Holly) – 1:34
18. "You're the One" (Holly, Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Jennings
    Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
    
    , Slim Corbin) – 1:31
19. "Smokey Joe's Cafe" (Leiber, Stoller) – 2:16
20. "Dearest" (Elias McDaniel
    Bo Diddley
    Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
    
    , Prentice Polk, Mickey Baker
    Mickey Baker
    Mickey Baker, also known as Mickey "Guitar" Baker is an American guitarist...
    
    ) – 1:51

Personnel

The following people contributed to Memorial Collection:

• Buddy Holly
  Buddy Holly
  Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
  
   – vocal
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  s, guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Bob Montgomery – vocals, guitar
• Larry Welborn – bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Jerry Allison
  Jerry Allison
  J.I. Allison is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue"....
  
   – drum
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  s, percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  
• Sonny Curtis
  Sonny Curtis
  Sonny Curtis is an American singer and songwriter. Most of his work falls into the Pop and Country genres. He was a teenage pal and band member with Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas...
  
   – fiddle
  Fiddle
  The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
  
   on "Soft Place in My Heart", guitar
• Don Guess – bass
• Grady Martin
  Grady Martin
  Thomas Grady Martin was one of the most renowned, inventive and historically significant American session musicians in country music and rockabilly....
  
   – guitar
• Doug Kirkham – percussion
• Owen Bradley
  Owen Bradley
  Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...
  
   – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  
• Norman Petty
  Norman Petty
  Norman Petty was an American musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer who helped shape modern popular music, including pop and rock....
  
   – celeste
  Celesta
  The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
  
   on "Everyday", organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
   on "Take Your Time", producer
• Harold Bradley
  Harold Bradley
  Harold Bradley is a pop guitarist and an American country guitarist.Harold played banjo as a child but switched to guitar on the advice of his elder brother, Owen Bradley. Owen arranged for Harold to tour with Ernest Tubb while Harold was still in high school. After graduation, Harold joined the...
  
   – guitar on "Modern Don Juan"
• Floyd Cramer
  Floyd Cramer
  Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
  
   – piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
   on "Modern Don Juan"
• Farris Coursey – drums on "Modern Don Juan"
• E. R. "Dutch" McMillin – alto saxophone
  Alto saxophone
  The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
  
   on "Modern Don Juan"
• Niki Sullivan
  Niki Sullivan
  Niki M. Sullivan was an American rock and roll guitar player, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing group, The Crickets. Though he lost interest within a year or two of his involvement, his guitar playing was an integral part of Holly's...
  
   – background vocal
  Backing vocalist
  A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
  
  s, guitar
• June Clark – background vocals
• Gary Tollet – background vocals
• Ramona Tollet – background vocals
• Joe B. Mauldin
  Joe B. Mauldin
  Joe Benson Mauldin, Jr. is ranked among the top rock bassists and became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio that became the hit factory for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and other major 1960s rock performers...
  
   – bass
• Vi Petty – piano
• Bill Pickering – background vocals
• John Pickering – background vocals
• Bob Lapham – background vocals
• C. W. Kendall, Jr. – piano
• Bob Thiele
  Bob Thiele
  Bob Thiele was an American record producer who worked on countless classic jazz albums and record labels.-Biography:...
  
   – producer on "Rave On"
• Al Caiola – guitar
• Donald Arnone – guitar
• Bob Linville – background vocals
• Ray Bush – background vocals
• David Bigham – background vocals
• Tommy Allsup
  Tommy Allsup
  Tommy Allsup is an American musician.He worked with entertainers such as Buddy Holly and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys...
  
   – guitar
• George Alwood – bass
• Bo Clarke – drums
• Al Chernet – guitar
• George Barnes
  George Barnes (musician)
  George Barnes was a world-renowned swing jazz guitarist, who claimed he played the first electric guitar in 1931, preceding Charlie Christian by six years. George Barnes made the first recording of an electric guitar in 1938 in sessions with Big Bill Broonzy.-Biography:George Barnes was born in...
  
   – guitar
• Sanford Bloch – bass
• Ernest Hayes – piano
• Sam "The Man" Taylor – tenor saxophone
  Tenor saxophone
  The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
  
  
• Panama Francis – drums
• Philip Krous – drums
• Helen Way – background vocals
• Harriet Young – background vocals
• Maeretha Stewart – background vocals
• Theresa Merritt – background vocals
• Dick Jacobs
  Dick Jacobs
  Dick Jacobs was an American musician, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, music director and an artists-and-repertoire director for several record labels who helped Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bobby Darin and others form their careers in the late 1950s and early 1960s.-Life and career:He was born...
  
   – producer, orchestra director
  Music director
  A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
  
  
• King Curtis
  King Curtis
  Curtis Ousley , who performed under the stage name King Curtis, was an American saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk and soul jazz. Variously a bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musical director and record producer...
  
   – tenor saxophone on "Reminiscing"
• Abraham "Boomie" Richmond – tenor saxophone on "True Love Ways"
• Waylon Jennings
  Waylon Jennings
  Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
  
   – handclap
  Clapping
  A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
  
  s on "You're the One"
• Ray "Slim" Corbin – handclaps on "You're the One"
• Andy McKaie – compilation producer
• Erick Labson – digital remastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  

Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog number
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	February 10, 2009	UMe Universal Music Enterprises Universal Music Enterprises, a.k.a. UMe is the catalogue division of Universal Music Group. It includes Hip-O Records, Universal Chronicles and UM3 .... , Geffen Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:... , Decca Decca Records Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....	CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...	B0011337-02 (6 02517 72652 9)

External links

• Buddy Holly - Geffen - Buddy Holly's artist page at the Geffen label website