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 standard Holly collections. A cover version by The Diamonds reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1957.

The Beatles' version

The song was also covered by The Beatles on the album Beatles for Sale. In the United States, it was on the album Beatles VI. It was also on Beatles for Sale No. 2, a 7" extended play released in 1965 on Parlophone/EMI. The Beatles' version was recorded on October 18, 1964. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, harmonized on their version, holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly's original as well as they could. When they had played this song in their early days at the Cavern Club in 1961 and 1962, Lennon and George Harrison were the vocalists. Ringo Starr played a packing case on this song as well as drums, to achieve a similar sound to Holly's "Everyday."^[1]

Personnel

• John Lennon – vocal, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – vocal, bass
• George Harrison – vocal, lead guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums, packing case

Personnel per Ian MacDonald^[2]

Other cover versions

• Jessica Lea Mayfield covered the song for the Starbucks compilation Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.
• Pat DiNizio covered the song for his tribute CD Pat DiNizio/Buddy Holly in 2009.
• Power Pop band Shoes covered the tune for the 1989 Buddy Holly tribute album 'Everyday Is A Holly-Day'.
• Patti Smith's cover of the song is featured on the 2011 release Rave on Buddy Holly, a tribute album featuring performances of Holly's music by various artists.
• Jeff Lynne has recently contributed a cover version for the upcoming tribute album, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly to be released in Sept 2011.

Notes