The "Chirping" Crickets

The "Chirping" Crickets is the debut album from the American rock and roll band the Crickets, led by Buddy Holly. It was the group's only album released during Holly's lifetime. In 2012, it was ranked number 420 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It also appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The LP was released in the US in 1957, and in the UK in 1958. It was re-released by Coral in 1962 as Buddy Holly and the Crickets. After being out of print for many years, it was reissued as a remastered CD in 2004 with bonus tracks.

In July 2019 the album was the subject for the BBC Four documentary Classic Albums: The Crickets: The 'Chirping' Crickets.

Personnel

 * Buddy Holly and the Crickets
 * Buddy Holly – lead vocals, lead guitar, acoustic guitar on “It’s Too Late”, backing vocals on “Not Fade Away”
 * Jerry Allison – drums; cardboard box percussion and backing vocals on “Not Fade Away”
 * Joe B. Mauldin – double bass (except “That’ll Be the Day” and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”), backing vocals on “Not Fade Away”
 * Niki Sullivan – rhythm guitar (except on ”Oh, Boy!”, “Not Fade Away”, “It’s Too Late”, and “Last Date”); backing vocals on “Not Fade Away”, “That’ll Be the Day”, and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”


 * Additional personnel
 * Larry Welborn – double bass on “That’ll Be the Day” and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”
 * The Picks (Bill Pickering, John Pickering and Bob Lapham) - backing vocals, except on “Not Fade Away”, “That’ll Be the Day”, and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”
 * Ramona and Gary Tollett – backing vocals on “That’ll Be the Day” and “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”