Question: Why did Buddy Holly release some songs with the Crickets and some by himself?
Answer: Buddy Holly had actually signed as a solo artist to Decca Records in 1956, but little came of it. When Buddy left Nashville and returned home to Lubbock, TX, he recut some of the songs he'd been working on with Decca, including "That'll Be The Day." Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca, liked the new version and wanted to release it, but couldn't, because Buddy's Decca contract forbade him from re-recording any of the material he cut in Nashville. The Brunswick label eventually released it, but credited to The Crickets, a name picked so that Buddy could avoid a lawsuit.
When it became a hit, Decca finally saw the potential in Holly, and he wound up with two contracts; one with Decca as Buddy, and one with Brunswick as The Crickets. In general, the more band-oriented songs the group cut were then released under the band name, while more pop fare like "Words Of Love" was released under Buddy's name. Fans consider the music of the two acts largely interchangeable.
