The Crickets - A History

The Crickets were formed in Lubbock, Texas by Buddy Holly and J.I. Allison. Joe B. Mauldin was recruited shortly thereafter. They were one of the first rock n' roll bands ever to be self contained - writing, playing, producing and recording their own material. The Crickets toured and recorded until late 1958, when Buddy Holly decided to move to New York and get more involved in the business side of music. J.I. and Joe B. made a deal with Buddy to keep the name, The Crickets and called their old friend Sonny Curtis., who had played lead guitar and fiddle in earlier groups with Buddy and J.I. Sonny joined the group and more time was spent in the studio than on the road. The Crickets' first album without Buddy, In Style With The Crickets, was done in Clovis, New Mexico; New York and finished in Los Angeles. The Classics "I Fought The Law" and "More Than I Can Say" were introduced on this album. Shortly thereafter, another old friend, pianist Glen D. Hardin joined the band. Although The Crickets have performed extensively over the years, each member has found time for various other pursuits.

Drummer J.I. Allison - recorded with The Everly Brothers, Eddie Cochran, Bobby Vee, Johnny Burnette, Johnny Rivers, and many others. His distinctive drumming style on such hits as "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly and "Till I Kissed You" by The Everly Brothers are among the most memorable rock and roll drum licks ever recorded. Phil Everly has called Allison " the most creative drummer in rock and roll", a fact reinforced by Dell / Rolling Stones' Book of Lists which ranks Allison among the top three rock and roll drummers of all time. Allison wrote such songs as "That'll Be The Day", "Peggy Sue" and "More Than I Can Say"

Bassist Joe B. Mauldin, who also ranked among the top rock bassists by the Book of Lists, became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the legendary Los Angeles studio that became a hit factory for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and other major 60's rock performers. While at Gold Star, Mauldin engineered many hit recording sessions including those with Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, The Baja Marimba Band, Phil Spector, Leon Russell, and Maureen McGovern. An accomplished writer as well as a performer, Mauldin penned "Last Night", "I'm Gonna Love You Too", and "Well All Right". He has toured with The Everly Brothers, Johnny Burnette and Waylon Jennings.

When not touring with The Crickets, the Everly Brothers and Waylon Jennings, lead guitarist and vocalist Sonny Curtis spent time doing studio work as well as writing and recording commercials. He has also written such hit songs as "Walk Right Back", "I Fought The Law", "More Than I Can Say", "The Straight Life", "I'm No Stranger To The Rain", and many others which have been recorded by artists from Bing Crosby to The Clash. Anyone who has ever seen the Mary Tyler Moore Show will recognize Sonny's voice; he wrote and sang the show's theme song "Love Is All Around".

Pianist Glen D. Hardin became one of the most sought after players in the recording industry. His musical arrangements and performances were featured on records by Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, Merle Haggard and many more. He was also a regular on the hit 60's TV show Shindig. Glen D. still found time to write hit songs like "Count Me In", "Where Will The Words Come From" and "My Heart's Symphony" for Gary Lewis and "April Again" for Dean Martin.

The Crickets moved to middle Tennessee in the mid-70's and have become more active as a group than any time since the 50's. They recorded and performed with Waylon Jennings, Levon Helm and The Band, and Paul McCartney, just to name a few. Sonny played and sang on Nanci Griffith's "This Heart" which was released on Nanci's Flyer album. In 1996, Nanci recorded "Well Alright" for the Buddy Holly tribute album Not Fade Away and invited The Crickets to play along with her Blue Moon Orchestra. That led to more recording with the two groups on Nanci's latest album Blue Roses From The Moons and her soon to be released album Other Voices, Too. Nanci has also included The Crickets in her award winning video, TV shows such as David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Austin City Limits, and a lengthy concert tour of packed housed from Belfast to Seattle.

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