Currently in the studio recording the follow-up to Lungs, Florence + The Machine are among the artists paying tribute to Buddy Holly on Rave On Buddy Holly, to be released on June 28. The singer-songwriter was just 22 when he perished in the February 3, 1959 plane crash that also claimed the lives of Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, later immortalized as “The Day the Music Died” in Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
Also covering the bespectacled rocker’s catalog (as solo artist and member of The Crickets) on the 19-track album include rock-and-roll guard reps Paul McCartney, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith, alongside relative newbies The Black Keys, Modest Mouse, Cee Lo, She & Him, and Julian Casablancas. Fiona Apple contributes a cover of Holly’s twinkling “Everyday,” joining forces with frequent collaborator Jon Brion, a track I’m especially looking forward to hearing/having since I’m anxious for new material from Apple, who reportedly has a new album coming soon.
Florence + The Machine’s version of “Not Fade Away” serves as the lead single for Rave On Buddy Holly. The Crickets’ original recording sports a Bo Diddley beat, and though well known, never charted as a single (it was the B-side to “Oh Boy!”). Florence + The Machine have done away with that bit of history, cooking up a new arrangement, a New Orleans-style concoction with prominent tuba. Here’s the video in which Florence and her crew dresses up like skeletons.
Here’s the complete tracklisting for Rave On Buddy Holly, out June 28 via Fantasy/Concord:
01 “Dearest” – The Black Keys
02 “Every Day” – Fiona Apple & Jon Brion
03 “It’s So Easy” – Paul McCartney
04 “Not Fade Away – Florence + The Machine”
05 “(You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care” – Cee Lo Green
06 “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” – Karen Elson
07 “Rave On” – Julian Casablancas
08 “I’m Gonna Love You Too” – Jenny O.
09 “Maybe Baby” – Justin Townes Earle
10 “Oh Boy” – She & Him
11 “Changing All Those Changes” – Nick Lowe
12 “Words Of Love” – Patti Smith
13 “True Love Ways” – My Morning Jacket
14 “That’ll Be The Day” – Modest Mouse
15 “Well…All Right” – Kid Rock
16 “Heartbeat” -The Detroit Cobras
17 “Peggy Sue” – Lou Reed
18 “Peggy Sue Got Married” – John Doe
19 “Raining In My Heart” – Graham Nash
UPDATE 6/28: Purchase Various Artists – Rave On Buddy Holly via iTunes, Amazon MP3.