Decca Records Releases Buddy Holly's TRUE LOVE WAYS

Buddy Holly's first ever record label, Decca, is proud to announce the release of a stunning collection of the singer's most beloved hits, set to brand new orchestrations, on 16th November.

Entitled 'True Love Ways' (the name of the song written for Buddy's wife Maria Elena), this newly-recorded album features Buddy Holly's utterly distinctive original vocals and guitar playing set to exquisite arrangements performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

It celebrates the 60 year anniversary of Buddy Holly's last ever recording session and is the poignant realisation of a dream the star first explored just four months before his tragic death in a plane crash at the age of 22.

On 21st October 1958, Holly embarked on a musical adventure he would have continued, had he had the chance. He entered the Decca Studios in New York for a three-and-a-half hour stint with an 18-piece orchestra, fronted by Dick Jacobs, the man bringing strings to rock and roll. They recorded four tracks: 'True love Ways', 'Raining in My Heart', 'Moondreams' and 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore', all of which are soaked in strings, clearly demonstrating a new direction for Buddy.

Buddy Holly's widow, Maria Elena, explains that Holly thought that the rock and roll era had peaked: "Buddy felt orchestral music in a popular vein was where the future lay, so he wanted to write, record, explore and innovate that style. So what better combination than the Royal Philharmonic and Buddy's music. It's just beautiful"

Maria Elena, recalls Buddy telling her he learnt to play the violin as a child, and later on he had fantasised about writing film scores.

The album's greatest triumph is the way in which its orchestral arrangements invigorate, rather than overwhelm, the rock and roll of which Holly was king. 'Everyday' seems to shine anew, with playful pizzicato strings and percussion as light as Tinkerbell winding their way around the original vocals. 'Peggy Sue', whose namesake just recently passed away aged 78, is carried along by percussion straight out of a cowboy movie, with a filmic string climax. The full orchestral arrangements preserve all the energy of the original songs Buddy recorded with the Crickets, never falling into sentimentality. 'Heartbeat', the last song released in his lifetime, retains its rockabilly guitar but the strings seem to lift the spirits even higher. New orchestral versions of 'That'll Be The Day' and 'Oh Boy' are wildly exciting.

Recorded in London's Angel Studios, and produced by Nick Patrick, the man behind the hugely successful Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison orchestral albums, 'True Love Ways' truly reflects Buddy Holly's love for strings and reminds us why he influenced legendary artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and many, many more.

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