Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

During the 1956 movie "The Searchers," John Wayne repeatedly muttered "That'll be the day!" That was Buddy Holly's inspiration for writing what would become his first hit, so bluesy that in 1957 it went to #1 on the pop charts and #2 on the R&B charts... even though the recording Buddy and his group gave the record company was intended to be a demo, not a finished product. It also went to #1 in the UK, and the first demo recorded by the Beatles (in 1958, when they were called the Quarrymen) was their cover of "That'll Be the Day." Buddy's playing, especially his guitar solo, was influence by the blues records he loved by players like Lonnie Johnson and Lightning Hopkins. The intro/hook that begins this key-of-E arrangement is the same lick Buddy played; he had a capo on the 5th fret of his Stratocaster and played the tune in E position. This fingerpicking arrangement is driven by Travis-style alternating thumb-bass, except for the triplets on the F#-B7 sections. The instrumental solo mimics the song's melody, unlike Buddy's solo, which was an ad-lib on a 12-bar blues, even though the vocal part of the song is not a 12-bar blues.