Sonny Curtis

Sonny Curtis (May 9, 1937 – September 19, 2025) was 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 in 1959. He is a member of three music Halls of Fame including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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, the Clash, and Green Day; "Love is All Around", the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show; "More Than I Can Say", co-written with The Crickets' drummer Jerry Allison and a hit for Leo Sayer in 1980, and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain", a No. 1 Country hit for Keith Whitley in 1989.

Curtis was born in Meadow, Texas, United States on May 9, 1937. His parents were cotton farmers, Sonny Curtis was their sixth and last child. His roots were in bluegrass music, he learned the guitar at a young age from his uncles, Smokey, Herb and Edd Mayfield, who had their own bluegrass band, The Mayfield Brothers. Curtis' own first band was drawn from his two older brothers and was bluegrass in style.

As a guitarist, he played on some of Buddy Holly's earlier 1956 Decca sessions, including the minor hit "Blue Days Black Nights" and a song he wrote, "Rock Around With Ollie Vee". In 1955 and 1956 he, along with Buddy Holly, opened concerts for rising new star Elvis Presley. Although he had gone on the road with other musicians by the time Buddy Holly put together the Crickets in 1957, Curtis joined the Crickets in late 1958, shortly before Holly's death in 1959, and soon took over the lead vocalist role in addition to lead guitar. The Crickets' post-Holly recordings were put on hold after Holly's death, and Curtis was drafted in late 1959. During basic training, he was given a three-day pass and met the Crickets' drummer, Jerry Allison, who was then playing with the Everly Brothers, in Los Angeles. Curtis played him the song "Walk Right Back", which Allison had him immediately take to the Everlys; they recorded the song that weekend and were later rewarded with a Billboard top 10 hit.

In late 1960, the Crickets' album In Style with the Crickets was finally released, including the original versions of two of Curtis's best known compositions, "I Fought the Law" and "More Than I Can Say" (co-written with Allison and a UK No. 4 hit by Bobby Vee and a US No. 2 hit by Leo Sayer). Along with Allison, he participated in Eddie Cochran's last recording sessions, including the song "Three Steps to Heaven." In 1964, he released the single "A Beatle I Want to Be" in response to Beatlemania. He continued to record and perform intermittently as part of the band over six decades, most recently in their album The Crickets and their Buddies (2004), where they reprised most of their hits with help from many noted fellow musicians. Curtis left the Crickets several times to pursue his solo career, but even during those periods made occasional guest appearances, in performance and on record, with the Crickets. His last recording with the Crickets was their 2004 penultimate album The Crickets & Their Buddies. His song "The Real Buddy Holly Story" was written in response to the inaccuracies in the 1978 movie The Buddy Holly Story.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.