Added alt.fan.buddy-holly.
Maybe some Buddy Holly fan would like to give us the definitive answer
to the question of how Buddy Holly strummed Peggy Sue and how it was
recorded?
BlackMonk wrote:
> "Robert Johnson" <robert.johnson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:SYVQh.30653$pD5.18738@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>D. Rusnak wrote:
>>
>>>NO! Wrong! LOL! Is this getting silly?
>>>I'm watching Buddy Holly right now doing "Peggy Sue" live in black and
>>>white (Ed Sullivan Show it appears) and it's all down strokes thru the
>>>verses. When he does the strumming solo he adds a few up strokes.
Check
>>>it out. AND, it can be done! LOL!
>>
>>Can I still change my mind and be a loser? :-) After carefully listening
>>to different versions of "Peggy Sue" for an hour I must admit that
you're
>>right. Especially in the original studio version it is obvious that he's
>>using down strokes. Forget about my wizard remark, even I can do it.
It's
>>79 bpm in double time and not 158 bpm in double time like must have
>>thought at some point (that would be like death metal).
>
>
> Which guitar part during the verses are you talking about? The electric
or
> the acoustic in the background? It does sound like it's mostly down
strokes,
> but the strumming pattern doesn't sound as rigid as in the transcription
you
> posted and it sounds like he's occasionally using some up strokes for
> emphasis.
>
> Of course, I'm listening to a 50 year old recording on a 30 year old
record,
> so all the parts are blending together and I could be wrong.
I may bee more deaf than I knew. I was just about to write that there is
only an acoustic guitar in the verses, but of course there is also an
electric guitar sound in the background (that's how I hear it). At least
around 1:10 at the end of "with a love so rare and true" (again at
2:06), the electric guitar is strummed louder compared to the more
crispy eighth note strumming of an acoustic guitar.
On the other hand, it could be that there is only one guitar after all,
Petty has been known to record the sound of the pick on the strings.
The History of Record Production, pt. 2
<http://www.music.columbia.edu/cmc/courses/g6630/recordproduction2.html>
"With the guitars, Buddy would play his Stratocaster through a Fender
tweed covered amplifier, and Norman would have a couple of mics on the
amp to record the electric sound. But then he would also take another
mic and put it near the strings of Buddy’s guitar, even though they
weren’t making much noise, so that he could get the sound of the pick on
the strings. He would put Buddy out there on his own without even
running his guitar through an amplifier."
In this case, the cripsy eighth note strumming is not getting louder
where the electric guitar sound is louder. So, I assume that there
actually are two guitar parts played by different persons or at
different times. The acoustic guitar sound may still be the pick sound
overdubbed.
<http://www.music.columbia.edu/cmc/courses/g6630/recordproduction2.html>
"Then, if he wanted the pick sound, like on Everyday where it is quite
evident, he would overdub that and mix it into the overall sound. It was
very effective."
Now I'm even more confused.
According to the following source (Buddy Holly, the complete works)
Buddy was the only guitarist on the record. His guitar solo is obviously
overdubbed, but what about the other guitar parts? How could they have
done it with using two recorders in overdubbing? Someone else than Buddy
must have played the acoustic guitar part if they overdubbed only once.
So, how was Buddy strumming his strat in the backing track? Hmm...
Jerry's drum pattern confuses me everytime. I always tend to hear it as
if the guitar is following the drum pattern and playing sixteenth notes,
too.
This is how I would strum it:
1 2 3 4 beats
| D D U D D U D D U D D U | where D = down, U = up
| E S S E S S E S S E S S | where E = eighth, S = sixteenth
***
Buddy Holly, the complete works
<http://perso.orange.fr/buddyholly/page3.htm>
Norman Petty Studio - 1313 West 7th Street, Clovis, New Mexico - June 29
and July 1, 1957
Buddy Holly : vocal, lead guitar - double-tracked vocal & lead guitar (on
L)
Joe B. Mauldin : string bass
Jerry Allison : drums
PEGGY SUE (Holly-Allison-Petty) - Alternate - 2:31
Two beat lead in by Jerry Allison on base drum
PEGGY SUE (Holly-Allison-Petty) - Master - 2:29 - # 103180 M (26/8/57)
February 18/19, 1984 - Overdubbed by The Picks
LISTEN TO ME (L) (Hardin-Petty) - 2:20 - # 103258 M (12/9/57)
Early November 1995 - Overdubbed by The Picks
***
Here's a link to an online tour of Norman Petty's studio:
<http://www.superoldies.com/pettystudios/pettytour.html>
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