The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Top 100 chart on September 16, 1957. The sleeve of their first album, The "Chirping" Crickets, shows the band line-up at the time: Holly on lead vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up, performing their own material. After Holly's death in 1959, the band continued to tour and record into the 1960s and beyond with other band members through to the 21st century.
Holly had been making demo recordings with local musician friends since 1954. Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, and Larry Welborn participated in these sessions. In 1956 Holly's band, then known informally as Buddy and the Two Tones (Holly with Sonny Curtis and Don Guess;[1] posthumous releases refer to the Three Tunes), recorded an album's worth of rockabilly numbers in Nashville, Tennessee, for Decca. The records were not more than mildly successful, and the band did not achieve financial success until 1957, when the producer and recording engineer Norman Petty recorded Holly's sessions in Clovis, New Mexico.
Holly had already recorded for another label under his own name, so to avoid legal problems he needed a new name for his group.[2] As the Crickets recalled in John Goldrosen's book Buddy Holly – His Life and Music, they were inspired by other groups named after birds. They were then considering insect-centered names, apparently unaware of the Bronx R&B vocal group the Crickets, who recorded for Jay-Dee.[3] They almost chose the name Beetles; years later, the Beatles chose their name partly in homage to the Crickets.[4][2][5]
The Crickets were lead guitarist and vocalist Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, bassistJoe B. Mauldin, and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. Sullivan dropped out after a little more than one year to resume his education. The Crickets, now a trio, continued to make stage and TV appearances and recorded more songs, many composed by the band members.
Early success
Trading card of the Crickets, 1957: (back row, left to right) Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, and Niki Sullivan; (front) Joe Mauldin. Topps issued series cards featuring movie stars, television stars and recording stars. The Crickets were part of its series of recording stars cards.
In 1957 Norman Petty arranged for the Crickets' recordings to be marketed under two names. The solo vocals were released as being performed by Buddy Holly, and the songs with dubbed backing vocals were issued as being sung by the Crickets.[2] Petty reasoned correctly that disc jockeys might be reluctant to program a single artist too heavily but would play records by two seemingly different groups. Some disc jockeys referred to the band as "Buddy Holly and the Crickets", but record labels never used this wording until after Holly's death.
In 1958, Holly broke with producer Petty and moved to New York to be more involved with the publishing and recording businesses. Allison and Mauldin chose not to move and returned to Lubbock. Holly now recorded under his own name with the studio musicians Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch. Waylon Jennings toured with him shortly after Holly left the Crickets. Allison and Mauldin looked forward to rejoining Holly after he returned from a winter tour through the northern Midwest. In the meantime, Mauldin, Allison, and Sonny Curtis (a friend and collaborator of Holly's) began recording new songs as the Crickets, with vocals by Earl Sinks. While they were recording, it was announced that Holly had died in a plane crash while on tour.
The Crickets, now with vocalist Earl Sinks, went on performing after Holly's death.[6]David Box, a native of Lubbock, Texas, who sang in a manner similar to Holly, joined the group as lead vocalist for their 1960 single "Dont Cha Know"/"Peggy Sue Got Married", released as Coral 62238 after the departure of Sinks. Curtis was not in the band, as he was completing military service. Box, who had left the group in 1960, died in a charter plane crash on October 23, 1964, while touring as a solo singer.[7][8]
In April 1960 the Crickets backed the Everly Brothers on their first UK concert tour but were not billed as their backing group.[9] By 1962, the Crickets consisted of Curtis, Allison, Glen D. Hardin, and Jerry Naylor. That year, the Crickets' version of the Gerry Goffin–Carole King song "Don't Ever Change" (Liberty Records), featuring Naylor on lead vocals,[6] reached the top five in the British single charts.[10] Also in 1962 they released Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets, an album with Bobby Vee on lead vocals. For their 1962 UK tour, Allison was temporarily out of the group because of commitments with the U.S. Air Force.
In 1963, the Crickets hit the UK top 40 twice more, with the singles "My Little Girl" and "Don't Try to Change Me", the last of their recordings to reach the charts. The band continued to record. In 1964, the Crickets issued their version of the surf rock song "California Sun" for their album of the same title.[11] In 1970, Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis performed backing vocals for Eric Clapton for his first solo album titled Eric Clapton.
Personnel changes were made over the years, with Curtis and Allison remaining relative constants. For the 1971 album Rockin' 50s Rock n' Roll (which consisted mostly of remakes of Holly-era material), the group consisted of Curtis, Allison and Doug Gilmore. For the 1973 album Bubblegum, Bop, Ballad and Boogies, the line-up featured Curtis, Allison, Hardin and bassist Ric Grech. Steven Krikorian, later to record as the new wave artist Tonio K., joined the group as a vocalist shortly thereafter, as did guitarists Albert Lee and Nick van Maarth, replacing Hardin. The 1973 album Remnants and the 1974 album A Long Way from Lubbock featured the sextet of Allison, Curtis, Krikorian, Grech, Lee and van Maarth.
In 1978, the award-winning film The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey as Holly, presented an engaging but inaccurate depiction of the band's early years. Allison and Mauldin's names were altered to Jesse Charles and Ray Bob Simmons, respectively, to avoid legal action due to their rights being sold to another film production that was also working on Holly's story. Niki Sullivan, Sonny Curtis, Bob Montgomery, Don Guess, and Larry Welborn were written out of the film. The Crickets gave a thumbs down review of the film wherein Allison expressed his dislike on the portrayal of his fictional counterpart Jesse Charles: vulgar, racist, alcoholic, and profane.
In the 1980s, Waylon Jennings called to ask the Crickets (JI, Joe B and Sonny) to open for him on a tour. They stayed with him for five years. Gordon Payne (Waylon's guitarist) played lead and on a few gigs when Sonny broke his arm. Gordon joined the Crickets as lead guitarist and singer when Sonny left. This trio of JI, Joe B and Gordon toured for some years including visits to the UK. In the UK Paul McCartney recorded the Crickets single "T Shirt" in his studio and played piano on the track.During this time a Swedish Television Company recorded a film showing JI, Joe B and Gordon touring the UK and Sweden, as well as at home in Tennessee. It was called My Love Is Bigger than a Cadillac. In 1994, Gordon Payne left and Sonny returned and was joined by Glen D Hardin to take the group to a four piece band. After recording "Well All Right" with Nanci Griffith, the group toured the UK with Griffith and her Orchestra
21st century
Avenue named for the Crickets in downtown Lubbock, Texas
The Crickets released The Crickets and Their Buddies in 2004, featuring classics from all parts of their career, with performances by several prominent artists, including Eric Clapton, Rodney Crowell, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Graham Nash, and Bobby Vee. The album was produced and mixed by Greg Ladanyi and included editing and additional mixes by Dave Carlock, Rob Hill, and Rogers Masson.[12] For the album, the Crickets officially consisted of Allison, Curtis and Mauldin; former members Albert Lee (guitar) and Glen D. Hardin (keyboards) also played throughout, and one-time member Steven Krikorian (now known as Tonio K.) was the lead vocalist on two tracks.
On April 14, 2012, the Crickets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee charged with correcting the omission of the band with Holly when he was first inducted in 1986.[15] The inducted members were Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis, Joe B. Mauldin, and Niki Sullivan. The group was unable to attend the ceremony because Mauldin was ill. Mauldin died from cancer on February 7, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee.[16]
On February 6, 2016, "The Crickets & Buddies" performed in Clear Lake, Iowa, at the Surf Ballroom, the site of Holly's last performance. Members of previous line-ups appeared, including Sonny Curtis, Glen D. Hardin, Albert Lee, Tommy Allsup, Gordon Payne and others. After the show, Allison announced that it was the group's final performance.[17]
Allison died of cancer on August 22, 2022.[18][19]
Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas, during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. Holly's style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, which he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school.
Glen Dee Hardin is an American piano player and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such artists as Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, and Ricky Nelson.
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition.
"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly and his band, the Crickets.
"Peggy Sue" is a rock and roll song written by Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, and recorded and released as a single by Buddy Holly on September 20, 1957. The Crickets are not mentioned on label of the single, but band members Joe B. Mauldin and Jerry Allison (drums) played on the recording. This recording was also released on Holly's eponymous 1958 album.
Jerry Ivan Allison was an American musician. He was best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo chart entry on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Real Wild Child", issued in 1958 under the name Ivan. Allison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Joseph Benson Mauldin, Jr. was an American bassist, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (standup) bass, then switched to a Fender Precision Bass guitar. After several years with the Crickets, he became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio which became the "hit factory" for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, and other major 1960s rock performers.
Sonny Curtis is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include "Walk Right Back", a major hit in 1961 for the Everly Brothers; "I Fought the Law", notably covered by the Bobby Fuller Four and the Clash; and "Love is All Around," the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The "Chirping" Crickets is the debut album from the American rock and roll band the Crickets, led by Buddy Holly. It was the group's only album released during Holly's lifetime. In 2012, it was ranked number 420 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It also appears in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Niki Sullivan was an American rock and roll guitarist, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing band, the Crickets. Though he lost interest within a few months of his involvement, his guitar playing was an integral part of Holly's early success. He performed on 27 of the 32 songs Holly and The Crickets recorded over his brief career. He co-wrote a number of his own songs. In 2012, Sullivan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Crickets by a special committee, aimed at correcting the mistake of not including the Crickets with Buddy Holly when he was first inducted in 1986.
Buddy Holly is the debut studio album by Buddy Holly. It was released by Coral Records on February 20, 1958. The album, featuring a rare photo of Holly without his trademark glasses on the front cover, collects Holly's four hit singles released on the Coral label; "Words of Love", "Peggy Sue", "I'm Gonna Love You Too", and "Rave On!". The backing group was Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets.
Holly Days is the second album by singer and guitarist Denny Laine, released in 1977. It was recorded by him with fellow Wings members Paul and Linda McCartney. The album is a tribute to singer-songwriter Buddy Holly and comprises eleven cover versions of songs originally recorded by Holly, most of them lesser-known.
"I'm Gonna Love You Too" is a song written by Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan and Norman Petty, originally recorded by Buddy Holly in 1957 and released as a single in 1958. It was covered 20 years later by American new wave band Blondie and released as the lead single in the U.S. from their multi-platinum 1978 album Parallel Lines.
"Maybe Baby" is a rock-and-roll song written by Buddy Holly and the producer Norman Petty, and recorded by Holly and the Crickets in 1957. The single, released in January 1958 and credited to the Crickets, was a Top 40 hit in the U.S., the UK, and Canada.
Memorial Collection is a 2009 compilation album of American singer–songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly's master takes and hit singles, including some rare recordings. Along with Down the Line: Rarities, this album was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Holly's death.
In Style With the Crickets is a rock and roll album by the Crickets. Although it was the band's first release following the departure and subsequent death of their front man, Buddy Holly, it still contains many of the band's most memorable songs and many tracks have also been featured on numerous compilations over the years. Originally released as an LP record on December 5, 1960, the album remained out of print for some time until it was re-released on CD in 1993, with bonus tracks not featured on the original album.
Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets is a cross-over rock and roll album that brings singer Bobby Vee together with the Crickets. It was Vee's 7th album and The Crickets' second release following the departure and subsequent death of their front man, Buddy Holly. The album contains new versions of three songs written by or recorded by Holly—Peggy Sue, Bo Diddley, and Well...All Right—and a host of cover versions of 1950s rock'n'roll songs by artists like Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Originally released as an LP record on July 14, 1962, the album was re-released on CD in 1991, with bonus tracks not featured on the original album.
California Sun / She Loves You is a rock and roll album by the Crickets, recorded during their time with Liberty Records. It is The Crickets' fourth and final album for Liberty following the departure and subsequent death of their front man, Buddy Holly. The album's title is somewhat confusing, as it follows the then-popular industry practice of filling the album cover with the titles of as many popular songs as possible. The record label simply lists "The Crickets" name.
Rockin' 50's Rock'n'Roll is a rock and roll album by the Crickets. It was The Crickets' first release in the 1970s, and marked the band's embrace of their legacy as Buddy Holly's backing band. The album is a concept album of nostalgia for the 1950s, consisting mostly of songs written by Holly and framed by the new retrospectively-minded title track. Originally released as an LP record in December 1970, the album was re-released on CD by in 2000.
"When You Ask About Love" is a song written by Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis and recorded by the Crickets in 1959. It was a hit in Britain, reaching number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.
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