Words of Love

This article is about the Buddy Holly song. For other uses, see Words of Love (disambiguation).

"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and released as a single in 1957.

"Words of Love"
45-rpm record released by Coral Records, 1957
Single by Buddy Holly
B-side	"Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues"
Released	June 20, 1957
Recorded	April 8, 1957
Genre	Jangle pop[1][2] folk rock[3]
Length	1:56
Label	Coral 61852
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly
Producer(s)	Norman Petty
Buddy Holly singles chronology
"Modern Don Juan" (1956) "Words of Love" (1957) "That'll Be the Day" (1957)

Original version

Holly recorded the song on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized with himself, by combining tape recordings of each part. 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.^[4]

A compilation album, Words of Love, released by PolyGram in the UK in 1993, reached number 1 and was certified as a gold record.^[5]

The Diamonds version

"Words of Love", released by the Diamonds as a 45-rpm single (Mercury 71128X45) in 1957, with a label crediting "Buddy Holley" as the songwriter

A doo-wop version by the Diamonds, released by Mercury Records on May 20, 1957, reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1957, making the song Holly's first hit, though as a composer not performer. The Diamonds also performed the song live on the ABC television show Circus Time on June 27, 1957, and included it on the 1962 Mercury LP album Pop Hits (MGW 12178).

The Beatles' version

"Words of Love"
B-side label of 1965 Indian single
Song by the Beatles
from the album Beatles for Sale
Released	December 4, 1964
Recorded	October 18, 1964
Studio	EMI, London
Genre	Pop
Length	2:12 (mono) 2:02 (stereo)
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Buddy Holly
Producer(s)	George Martin
Music video
"Words of Love" on YouTube

The Beatles recorded a cover version of the song on October 18, 1964 for the UK album Beatles for Sale. It first appeared in the US on the album Beatles VI. It was also on a 7-inch extended play, Beatles for Sale No. 2, released by Parlophone/EMI in 1965. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, sang in harmony with George Harrison,^[6] holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly's original as well as they could. Before their big break, the group had performed the song live between 1958 and 1962, with Lennon and Harrison singing. For the official release, though, Lennon and McCartney shared vocal duties.^[7] The song only took two takes, along with a vocal overdub. The mono mix is longer than the stereo mix.

Personnel

• John Lennon – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – lead vocals, bass
• George Harrison – lead vocals, double-tracked lead guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums, packing case

Personnel according to Ian MacDonald^[8]

Other cover versions

• Pat DiNizio covered the song for his tribute CD, Pat DiNizio/Buddy Holly, in 2009.^[9]
• 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.^[10]