Not Fade Away

I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be

You’re gonna give your love to me

I wanna love you night and day

You know our lovin’ not fade away

You know our lovin’ not fade away

Not fade away

My love is bigger than a Cadillac

I try to show you but you drive me back

Your love for me has gotta be real

You’re gonna know just how I feel

A love that’s real not fade away

Not fade away

Words and music by Norman Petty

and Buddy Holly

Notes:

Recording: Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) (October 1971).

First documented performance: June 19, 1968, at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco. A steady song in the repertoire thereafter.

A true rock classic, this was cowritten by Buddy Holly and his producer-manager Norman Petty in 1957 as the flip side of “Oh, Boy!” for the Coral label. Holly died in a plane crash less than two years later, but his songs continue to be covered by countless rock artists. “Not Fade Away” was the Stones’ first American chart hit, in 1964, and it appeared on two Stones albums during that era. (Jackson: Goin’ Down the Road.) 94