“Not Fade Away” is a song credited to Buddy Holly (originally under his first and middle names, Charles Hardin) and Norman Petty (although Petty’s co-writing credit is most likely a formality) and first recorded by Holly’s band The Crickets. In 1964, The Rolling Stones’ cover of “Not Fade Away”, with its strong emphasis on the Bo Diddley beat, became a major hit in Britain and served as the A-side of the band’s first US single. The Rolling Stones’ version of “Not Fade Away” was one of their first classic hits. Recorded in January 1964 and released by Decca on February 21, 1964 with “Little by Little” as the B-side, it was their first Top 5 hit in Great Britain, reaching #3. “Not Fade Away” was not on the UK version of their debut album, The Rolling Stones, but was the opening track of the US version released a month later as England’s Newest Hitmakers. It was a mainstay at Rolling Stones concerts in their early years, usually opening the shows. (More from Wikipedia)
Keith Richards once said of Buddy Holly that he had “an influence on everybody”. Richards heard Buddy perform “Not Fade Away” in concert; as only their third single, the Rolling Stones hit #3 on the UK charts with “Not Fade Away” (performed in the Bo Diddley style that was the genesis of the song in the first place) – and that song is my very favorite Rolling Stones cover song.
(June 2013/1)
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Though that was not the only time the song was released on a 45, “I Wanna Be Your Man” became the “B” side for the first U.S. single by the Rolling Stones; the “A” side was their terrific cover of the Buddy Holly song, “Not Fade Away” that features a pounding Bo Diddley beat. The Rolling Stones recording of “I Wanna Be Your Man” was only released as a single and did not appear on a studio album in either the US or the UK; it was included on several compilation albums in later years though, but was not released in the US until Singles Collection: The London Years (1989).
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“Not Fade Away” was not included on any of the Stones’ British studio albums either, although thankfully, it was the opening track on their first American album. A wealth of blues and R&B singles in a similar vein were released by the Rolling Stones and numerous other British bands in this time period, but none of them made much of an impression over here. In fact, Allmusic reports that the Rolling Stones 45 discussed above, “Not Fade Away” is the only one that did reasonably well on the Billboard charts; while the song reached #3 on the UK charts, it managed #48 in the US.
(May 2015)
