"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" is a pop ballad written by Paul Anka and recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958. The song reached number 13 as a posthumous hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1959, shortly after Holly died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959. The single was a two-sided hit, backed with "Raining in My Heart". "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was Holly's last US Top 20 hit and featured the orchestral backing of Dick Jacobs. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the country's first posthumous number 1 hit.
- "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (2:01)
- "Raining in My Heart" (2:45)
In the United Kingdom the song reached number 1 on April 24, 1959, and remained in that position for three weeks, becoming the first posthumous number 1 hit in UK chart history. Holly would continue to achieve posthumous chart success in the UK well into the 1960s. In the United States it reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was Holly's last Top 20 hit in the United States.
Wanda Jackson included a cover of this song on her 1961 album, There's a Party Goin' On.
John Barry did an instrumental cover, included on the compilation album The EMI Years: 1961.
The song was covered by Freddie and the Dreamers on the album You Were Made for Me in 1964.
The song was covered by Linda Ronstadt on her multi-platinum album Heart Like a Wheel (1974); the single reached number 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, number 47 on the Pop chart, and number 54 on the Country chart in the fall of 1975.
The song was used in the BBC television series Survivors episode 9, song by Chris Tranchell in 1975.
The New Zealand singer Mark Williams had a NZ number one hit with his cover in 1977.
Don McLean included a version on his 1978 album Chain Lightning
An instrumental version was recorded by Hank Marvin in 1996 on Hank Plays Holly.
The Seekers performed a cover on their 1997 album, Future Road.
Waylon Jennings performed a cover as a bonus track on the 1999 reissue of his album "This Time" with the Crickets in the background
Eva Cassidy's version of the song was the lead-in to her album Imagine, released posthumously in 2002.
Serena Ryder recorded a cover on her 2006 album If Your Memory Serves You Well.
Marty Wilde recorded the song on the DVD release of The 50th Anniversary Concert in 2007.
Australian Gina Jeffreys covered the song on her album, Old Paint (2010).
In season 11 of the television program American Idol, Jessica Sanchez, Deandre Brackensick, and Candice Glover performed the song in the Las Vegas round.
