Larry Welborn

April 13, 1939 - July 31, 2022

Larry was born in Pleasant Hill, Oklahoma, his family moved to Lubbock when he was a teenager and became friends with Buddy Holly around 1954. He was originally a guitar player but switched over to Stand Up Bass when Buddy & Bob aske him to join their duo.

He would later play bass on The Crickets classic hit "That'll Be The Day and b-side "I'm Looking For Someone To Love", before Joe B Mauildin joined.

Larry contributed to rock and roll and played an important part in West Texas music, particularly in Lubbock, Texas. He was a guitar player who started playing at eight years old. When Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery formed a duo, they sought out Larry to join with them to play double bass. Beginning in 1955, the “Buddy, Bob & Larry” trio played fairs, clubs, skating rinks, and any place they could showcase their new Western Bop sound. He recorded with Buddy Holly and most notably the bass guitar on “That’ll Be the Day.” In recognition of the recording, Paul McCartney presented a gold record of the song to Larry in 1986.

He also played bass on the early undubbed recordings of "Down the Line", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Bo Diddley" and many others.

Buddy , Bob & Larry

When Buddy & Bob split, Larry switched back to guitar and formed the Four Teens, which included Joe B. Mauldin, Terry Noland and Brownie Higgs. The group became very popular in the Lubbock area & released some recordings that did well for them too including “Go Little Go Cat” and “Spark Plug”. They were released on Gene Autry’s label Challenge Records in Los Angeles, CA.

He continued to do session work at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, joined and briefly played with The Crickets in the 60′s. He went on to play guitar with Waylon Jennings, and backed up many other country and western stars. His music career spanned eight decades and his importance to the history of West Texas music cannot be understated. His passing was indeed a sad day for the music world, but his music lives on through recordings and his legacy will be preserved.

In his 75 year music career, he worked as a session player, arranger and producer. He was able to work and play with many notable artists including Buddy Holly, The Four Teens, Elvis Presley, Bob Montgomery, The Crickets, Gene Autry and the Sunset Cowboys, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, The McGuire Sisters, Wynn Stewart, Lloyd Maines & the Maines Brothers, Merle Haggard, Kenny Vernon, Sheb Wooley and many more.

His contributions to both the Texas and Oklahoma music scenes helped shape popular music over the last 67 years, since the first time he graced the stage to open for Bill Haley and the Comets on October 14, 1955 in Lubbock, Texas at just 16 years of age. The very next night - The Buddy Bob and Larry trio opened for Elvis Presley for the first time. There are so many stories left to be told about his journey and the impact he had on every musician, artist and fan he came in contact with — it is truly one of the best untold stories in the history of music.

Larry passed away on Sunday, July 31, 2022 at the age of 83

Many thanks to Larry's brother, David Welborn, for allowing the use of their two interviews they carried out with Larry, luckily but sadly, before he died. These video interviews are an important part of Rock & Roll history. This is Part 1

Welborn Music

Incidentally, Larry's brother David own's and runs Welborn Music, a musical instrument store in Durant, Oklahoma.

Check out their Facebook Page HERE

Check out some of Larry's own music. He was quite a Guitar Picker, not just a bass player. And sung too !