The Crickets
Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
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.
History
[edit]Formation
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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;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="pc12">Template:Gilliland</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They almost chose the name Beetles; years later, the Beatles chose their name partly in homage to the Crickets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=pc12/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Crickets were lead guitarist and vocalist Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe 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
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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.<ref name=pc12/> 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.
After Holly's death
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Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, Glen Hardin, Jerry Naylor
The Crickets, now with vocalist Earl Sinks, went on performing after Holly's death.<ref name="Rockin50s.com">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 1960, the Crickets backed the Everly Brothers on their first UK concert tour but were not billed as their backing group.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> 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,<ref name="Rockin50s.com" /> reached the top five in the British single charts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> 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, and releasing an LP called “Three Piece” on Roller Coaster Records with additional input from Jim Horn (sax), Wayne Jackson (trumpet) and Dennis Burnside (keyboards). 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
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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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 October 28, 2008, the Crickets were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. They performed "Peggy Sue", "Not Fade Away" and "That'll Be the Day" at the ceremony, accompanied by guest guitarist Keith Richards.<ref name="tennessean">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="bbc-hof">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2011, Allison was still touring with Sonny Curtis, a childhood friend and bandmate of Holly's, on vocals and guitar.
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Allison died of cancer on August 22, 2022.<ref name="McArdle">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Band members
[edit]- Jerry Allison – drums Template:Small
- Buddy Holly – lead vocals, guitar Template:Small
- Joe B. Mauldin – double bass, electric bass Template:Small
- Niki Sullivan – guitar Template:Small
- Sonny Curtis – guitar Template:Small; lead vocals Template:Small
- Earl Sinks – lead vocals Template:Small
- David Box - lead vocals Template:Small
- Tommy Allsup – guitar Template:Small
- Jerry Naylor – lead vocals Template:Small
- Glen Hardin – keyboards Template:Small; keyboard bass Template:Small
- Gordon Payne – lead vocals, guitar Template:Small
Timeline
[edit]<timeline> ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:85 bottom:110 top:05 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:02/01/1957 till:02/16/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocal value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:Guitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:Guitar2 value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_album
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1958 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1958
LineData =
at:11/27/1957 color:black layer:back at:04/20/1958 color:black layer:back at:12/04/1960 color:black layer:back at:03/01/1962 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1963 color:black layer:back at:02/01/1964 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1971 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1973 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1988 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1993 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1996 color:black layer:back at:07/27/2004 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Sinks text:"Earl Sinks †" bar:Naylor text:"Jerry Naylor †" bar:Krikorian text:"Steve Krikorian" bar:Holly text:"Buddy Holly †" bar:Allsup text:"Tommy Allsup †" bar:Curtis text:"Sonny Curtis" bar:Box text:"David Box †" bar:Payne text:"Gordon Payne" bar:Sullivan text:"Niki Sullivan †" bar:Maarth text:"Nick Van Maarth" bar:Mauldin text:"Joe B. Mauldin †" bar:Callender text:"Red Callender †" bar:Scheff text:"Jerry Scheff" bar:Grech text:"Rick Grech" bar:Hardin text:"Glen D. Hardin" bar:Lee text:"Albert Lee" bar:Allison text:"J.I. Allison †" bar:Hall text:"Ernie Hall"
PlotData =
width:13 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Holly from:02/01/1957 till:10/01/1958 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Holly from:02/01/1957 till:10/01/1958 color:Guitar2 width:7 bar:Holly from:02/01/1957 till:10/01/1958 color:Guitar bar:Sinks from:10/01/1958 till:04/01/1960 color:Vocal bar:Sinks from:10/01/1958 till:04/01/1960 color:Guitar2 width:3 bar:Naylor from:04/01/1961 till:01/31/1965 color:Vocal bar:Payne from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1994 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Payne from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1994 color:Guitar bar:Payne from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1994 color:Guitar2 width:7 bar:Curtis from:10/01/1958 till:03/07/1959 color:Guitar bar:Curtis from:04/01/1959 till:05/01/1960 color:Guitar bar:Curtis from:02/01/1962 till:01/01/1985 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Curtis from:02/01/1962 till:01/01/1985 color:Guitar bar:Curtis from:02/01/1962 till:01/01/1985 color:Guitar2 width:7 bar:Curtis from:06/01/1992 till:end color:Vocal width:3 bar:Curtis from:06/01/1992 till:end color:Guitar bar:Curtis from:06/01/1992 till:end color:Guitar2 width:7 bar:Box from:05/02/1960 till:05/01/1960 color:Guitar bar:Box from:05/02/1960 till:05/01/1960 color:Guitar2 width:7 bar:Box from:05/02/1960 till:05/01/1960 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Allsup from:05/01/1958 till:10/01/1958 color:Guitar width:3 bar:Allsup from:03/07/1959 till:04/01/1959 color:Guitar2 width:3 bar:Allsup from:09/12/1961 till:12/31/1961 color:Guitar bar:Allsup from:09/12/1961 till:12/31/1961 color:Guitar2 width:3 bar:Sullivan from:02/01/1957 till:02/01/1958 color:Guitar2 bar:Sullivan from:02/01/1957 till:02/01/1958 color:Guitar width:3 bar:Mauldin from:02/01/1957 till:05/01/1960 color:Bass bar:Mauldin from:01/01/1976 till:02/10/2015 color:Bass bar:Callender from:09/12/1961 till:08/15/1963 color:Bass width:3 bar:Scheff from:09/30/1970 till:01/31/1971 color:Bass width:3 bar:Allison from:02/01/1957 till:end color:Drums bar:Allison from:05/02/1960 till:05/01/1960 color:Guitar2 width:3 bar:Hall from:05/02/1960 till:05/01/1960 color:Drums bar:Hardin from:01/01/1962 till:05/31/1973 color:Keyboard bar:Hardin from:06/01/1992 till:02/10/2015 color:keyboard bar:Hardin from:01/01/1962 till:12/01/1972 color:Bass width:3 bar:Hardin from:02/10/2015 till:end color:Keyboard bar:Hardin from:02/10/2015 till:end color:Bass width:3 bar:Grech from:12/01/1972 till:12/31/1973 color:Bass bar:Grech from:12/01/1972 till:12/31/1973 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Maarth from:06/01/1973 till:12/31/1973 color:Guitar2 bar:Maarth from:06/01/1973 till:12/31/1973 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Lee from:06/01/1973 till:12/31/1973 color:Keyboard bar:Lee from:06/01/1973 till:12/31/1973 color:Vocal width:3 bar:Krikorian from:06/01/1973 till:12/31/1973 color:Vocal
</timeline>
Discography
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:The Crickets Template:Buddy Holly Template:2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Pages with broken file links
- Musical groups from Lubbock, Texas
- Buddy Holly
- Music of Lubbock, Texas
- Liberty Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1957
- Musical groups disestablished in 2016
- Rock music groups from Texas
- American rock and roll music groups
- 1957 establishments in Texas
- 2016 disestablishments in Texas
- American rockabilly music groups