About The Song
When Holly and The Crickets recorded his version of the song, some of the lyrics and the title were changed. The song was now called “Oh, Boy!” West continued, “I said, All my love, all my kissing, you’re gonna see what you’ve been missing.’ And with Buddy’s verse, All my love, all my kissing, you don’t know what you’ve been missing. I have no idea. Maybe it has more punch that way.”
When Brunswick Records released “Oh, Boy!” on October 27, 1957, three names were listed as songwriters: Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, and Norman Petty; this was not the only time the producer’s name suddenly appeared as a co-writer. In 2002, West told Dick Stewart of the Journal of Southwest Music, “I was all right with giving him publishing rights, but he had no reason to take writer’s credits. All of his apologists will say that he gave his time and allowed for artists to practice in his studio, etc. That was not so in my case. I paid him for every session, demo or otherwise.”
Before “Oh, Boy!” was released, Petty felt it needed some reinforcement. A local trio called The Picks was brought in to overdub vocal accompaniment. Brothers John and Bill Pickering and baritone Bob Lapham had been singing in the area and had known Norman Petty since the 1940s. Petty asked them to add their voices to other recordings that would be released under the name of The Crickets, including “Maybe Baby,” “It’s Too Late,” “Tell Me How,” “Rock Me My Baby,” “Send Me Some Lovin’,” “An Empty Cup,” “Last Night,” and “You’ve Got Love.” These songs made up the bulk of The “Chirping” Crickets, which was released on November 27, 1957.
Norman Petty was so happy with the enthusiasm of the take he decided to use it even though there was an audible cough at one minute and 22 seconds. The B-side of “Oh, Boy!” was “Not Fade Away,” which also reached the Top 10. It was later covered by The Rolling Stones and released as their first American single. It included Norman Petty as a co-writer with Holly, and the validity of that has also been questioned through the years.
In 1958, Buddy Holly released another song written by West and Tilghman called “Rave On.” Yet again, Petty’s name also shows up as a co-writer. The song peaked at No. 37 in America but had a much more successful run in the UK, where it peaked at No. 5.
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Lyrics
All of my love, all of my kissin’
You don’t know what you’ve been a-missin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me
All of my life I’ve been a-waitin’
Tonight there’ll be no hesitatin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me
Stars appear and shadows a-fallin’
You can hear my heart callin’
And a little bit of lovin’ makes everything right
I’m gonna see my baby tonight
All of my love, all of my kissin’
You don’t know what you’ve been a-missin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me
Dum di dum dum, ho boy
Dum di dum dum, ho boy
All of my love, all of my kissin’
You don’t know what you’ve been a-missin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me
All of my life I’ve been a-waitin’
Tonight there’ll be no hesitatin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me
Stars appear and the shadows a-fallin’
You can hear my heart callin’
And a little bit of lovin’ makes everything right
And I’m gonna see my baby tonight
All of my love, all of my kissin’
You don’t know what you’ve been a-missin’
Oh boy, when you’re with me, ho boy
The world can see that you were meant for me