Buddy Holly inked his record deal with Decca Records on February 8, 1956. The contract famously misspelled his name, changing it from his given surname of Holley. He would adopt the change and use it for the rest of his life. The deal came after Holly’s first formal recording session, which had occurred the previous month at Decca’s studio in Nashville. The session was produced by Owen Bradley and included takes of “Blue Days, Black Nights” and “Love Me.” That demo served as Holly’s first label release with Decca. It was roughly one year later when Holly cut his legendary track “That’ll Be the Day” at Norman Petty’s Clovis Sound in Clovis, New Mexico.