"THE CRICKETS SOUND" Project
A Buddy Holly & The Crickets Online Resource Hub
The Clovis Connection
After Buddy Holly's not so good experience at Bradley's Barn studio in Nashville, he turned to Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. And that's where it all took off for Buddy Holly & The Crickets. These are the people they were involved with, as their music and careers developed ten fold. Norman Petty's studio skills and studio business evolved dramatically too. Norman's audio skills were second to none, he Engineered & Produced some of the finest recordings to come out America at that time in the mid to late 50s & beyond. More info/people added soon.
The Norman Petty Studio in Clovis, New Mexico, is a legendary landmark in rock and roll history, famous as the birthplace of the "Clovis Sound" and the studio where Buddy Holly and other early rock and roll legends recorded their biggest hits.
Norman Petty Studios / Nor-Va-Jack Music
Norman Petty set up his studio in 1954, aided by the funds & success from his Norman Petty Trio's 1954 hit "Moon Indigo", to record the trio and produce & release their own records. Norman was an organist, his wife Vi was a pianist and the third member being Jack Vaughan, a guitar player and were signed to RCA Records. They had other success with their "Almost Paradise" song and Norman won a BMI Writers Award in 1957.
The Norman Petty Trio
The Norman Petty Trio became the Norman Petty Ensemble with the addition of lead vocals by Vi Petty's cousin Georgiana Veit. When Georgiana left to pursue marriage and the quiet life, the Ensemble went back to Norman Petty Trio, with Vi taking over singing lead vocals. They had some hits & the monies from royalties helped Norman Petty set up his recording studio, primarily to record the trio, but then the studio took off in other ways, and they were recording lots of bands/artists in the mid to late 50s & beyond.
Vi Petty (Violet Ann Brady)
Vi, founded the Norman Petty Trio, with Norman and local guitarist Jack Vaughn. Due to the local success of their independent debut release of "Mood Indigo", they landed a recording contract with RCA Records and sold half a million copies of the recording, and were voted "Most Promising Instrumental Group of 1954" by Cashbox magazine. In 1957, their song "Almost Paradise" hit number 18, and Petty won his first BMI writers' award. The song had various cover versions released, with Roger Williams' version selling the best. Vi was a classically trained pianist, she played the celeste on Buddy Holly's "Everyday" and piano on The Crickets "Think It Over" & "Fools Paradise".
Jack Vaughn - Guitarist
Jack was part of The Norman Petty Trio, a local guitar player and friend of Norman Petty. As Norman's main focus became his recording studio, the trio wasn't getting as much attention. Jack would later drop out the scene. Both he and Norman died in the same year 1984.
George Atwood - Bass
George Atwood was a veteran session bass player, whom Norman Petty used as a studio musician, along with Bo Clarke (drums) and Tommy Allsup (guitar).
Click Here for more info
Bo Clarke - Drummer
Glen "Bo" Clarke was a session drummer, who along with session bass player, George Atwood and Tommy Allsup, played on Buddy Holly's recording sessions for "Heartbeat", "Wishing" and "Love's Made A Fool Of You", recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, NM.
Bo was drummer for The Roses when they were formed & recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, where he would later use them as session vocalists and musicians.
The Fireballs
The Fireballs, sometimes billed as Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs, were an American rock and roll group, particularly popular at the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. The original line-up consisted of George Tomsco (lead guitar), Chuck Tharp (vocals), Stan Lark (bass), Eric Budd (drums), and Dan Trammell (rhythm guitar). Besides their own recordings, The Fireballs were studio musicians for dozens of other recording artist projects from 1959 through 1970 at Norman Petty Recording Studios, including folk singer Carolyn Hester and Arthur Alexander. Norman would use them to overdub on Buddy Holly recordings from 56 and also Buddy's The Apartment Tapes. Click Here for more info.
The Picks
The Picks was an American vocal quartet that backed Buddy Holly and the Crickets' band on nine of the first twelve Crickets releases (The Chirping Crickets album) on Brunswick in 1957, as well as backing Buddy Holly solos for group sounds. The original members were John Pickering (lead), Bill Pickering (tenor), and Bob Lapham (baritone).
Click HERE for more info
The Roses
A trio of native Texans, David Bigham, Robert Linville and Ray Rush, The Roses began their career by backing Roy Orbison on his Sun recordings (Bo Clarke was The Roses drummer). They met Norman Petty and replaced The Picks as the backing vocal group for Buddy Holly and The Crickets. They can be heard on “Fools Paradise”, "Think It Over”, and “It’s So Easy”. In addition to doing backing vocals for well over 100 recordings, they also released 45’s as The Roses. The Roses were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in December 2000. They also recorded at Sun Records with Roy Orbison prior to their time at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis. They also toured with Buddy & The Crickets in 1958.
Sonny West
Songwriter & Rockabilly recording artist. Sonny wrote "Oh Boy" (All My Love) and "Rave On", which Buddy and The Crickets recorded.
Click Here or image for more info
Buddy Knox
Buddy Wayne Knox (July 20, 1933 – February 14, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter from Texas, best known for his 1957 rock and roll hit song, "Party Doll" with his band The Rhythm Orchids. He recorded his hit at Norman Petty's Studio in Clovis, were Buddy & The Crickets recorded most of their hits. Buddy & the boys, took the cardboard box drum idea from Party Doll and used it on "Not Fade Away".
Jimmy Bowen
James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former Rockabilly artist who recorded at Norman Petty's Studio too, along with Buddy Knox.
He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' with You". The song started as the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox (written by Knox and Bowen). He became a Record Producer, initially with Frank Sinatra in the early 1960's.
The Rhythm Orchids
Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids formed one of the original rockabilly acts in rock-and-roll, had a career that paralleled that of Buddy Holly, and released a number one song in the Fifties. In 1955 while a student at West Texas State University, Buddy Knox formed a group called the Rhythm Orchids that included himself on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Bowen on bass, and Don Lanier on lead guitar; he later added Dave Alldred on drums. Buddy's group eventually found its way to Norman Petty's Studio in Clovis, New Mexico.
Norman Petty did not really know at the time how to record rock-and-roll drums, so he used a cardboard box instead of a drum kit. In 1956 the group recorded Knox's old composition of Party Doll as by "Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids", and at the same session recorded "I'm Stickin' With You" as by Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids.
Jack Huddle
Jack Huddle (1 February 1928–3 January 1973) was an American Rockabilly musician & Songwriter. He performed and recorded with Buddy Holly early in his early career. Jack had a kids TV show and it featured a young Buddy Holly, on their talent show. Jack recorded "Starlight" at Norman Petty's Studio. The song showcases Buddy Holly's best guitar work & solo, along with Gary Tollett's song "Honey, Honey", which Buddy & the boys played on.
Homer Tankersley
Homer (Ken James/Ken Pepper pseudonyms) was a singer and recorded "If I Had Known" at Norman Petty Studios, which Buddy Holly played acoustic guitar on. Homer also recorded/released "True Love Ways" under Ken Pepper (click here). Norman used him as a session vocalist/backing vocals for his projects in the 1960s. He also completed recording sessions in Dallas, Captial Studios in Los Angeles, and in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra resulting in 6 albums of inspirational music. In 1991 Homer formed the recording and touring group "Praise Quartet" with his son Paul
Jimmy Bowen
James Albert Bowen (born November 30, 1937) is an American record producer and former Rockabilly artist who recorded at Norman Petty's Studio too, along with Buddy Knox.
He began as a teenage recording star in 1957 with "I'm Stickin' with You". The song started as the flip side of the hit record "Party Doll" by Buddy Knox (written by Knox and Bowen). He became a Record Producer, initially with Frank Sinatra in the early 1960's.
Carolyn Hester
Born in Waco, Texas, she moved to New York in 1955 to get into music and acting. However, she would first record for Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico, not far from Lubbock, Texas, where her parents were living in the late '50s. Her first album, "Scarlet Ribbons", was produced by Petty in 1957, and found release on Coral Records. She was a friend of Buddy Holly, who played guitar on her Petty sessions in Clovis in 1958, on her "Wreck Of The Old 97" She later recorded Buddy's "Take Your Time", "Loneseome Tears".
Sherry Davis
Sherry Davis (born Gwendolyn Joy Wilkinson) was a 1950s singer. She recorded two songs at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Buddy Holly played lead guitar and Jerry Allison played drums on "Humble Heart" and "Broken Promises".
By the early 1960s Davis was performing at the Stardust in Las Vegas as part of a four-girl musical act with Mexican composer and showman Juan Esquivel. While in Vegas she recorded an album, Live at the Sands. During her career she also did shows at Cocoa Beach, Florida. The many stars she worked with during her career included Jimmy Durante, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, Patti Page, and Danny Kaye.
The Nighthawks
Originally The Combo Kings, they were formed by Eddie Reeves (vocal/guitar), Bob Venable (lead guitar), Jim Sandling (bass), Bill Sandling (drums) in Amarillo high school, then the latter two left and were replaced by Mike Hinton (bass) and John Thompson (drums), and became The Ravens, after Buddys "Rave On", their signature song at dances/gigs, then Norman told them that name was taken by another band, so they became The Nighthawks.
In July 1958, they recorded "All A Your Love" and "When Sin Stops", with backing harmony vocals by The Roses.
Eddie Reeves would later become Norman Petty's New York office manager in the early 60s, then joined Murray Deutch, focusing on Songwriting & Publishing with UA Music in 1965, working with known names in music, such as Bobby Goldsboro, to name a few, then opened up UA Music's west coast office, and had writers under him, such as Sharon Sheeley (Eddie Cochran's girlfriend), Jackie De Shannon, Mac Davis, Bobby Womack and many more.
Their tracks below are very Buddy Holly/Crickets, with that Clovis Sound, so much so, that some folks thinking Buddy played guitar on them !
There's an excellent, more in depth article about them and their recordings at Norman's studio HERE
Ronnie Smith & The Poor Boys
Ronnie Smith and the Poor Boys were a 1950s rockabilly band from Odessa, West Texas. Formed by Richard Porter in Odessa, the group recruited teenager Ronnie Smith as their lead singer after he impressed them at a local telethon in 1955 singing That's Alright.
Carl Bunch played drums with The Poor Boys & Tommy Allsup recorded with them in Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, and, after Buddy Holly died, the Winter Dance Party tour continued on and Tommy/Carl enlisted Ronnie Smith to sing vocals on their sets/dates, for the rest of the that terrible tour. Ronnie & The Poor Boys regrouped after the Winter Dance Party finished, with Eddie Williams (Ld guitar), Richard Porter (rthm gtr), Brent Clark (sax) and Carl Bunch (drums). Ronnie later signed to Imperial in 1960.
Sadly, through substance abuse, Ronnie Smith took his own life in 1962, aged 22.
Carl Bunch bottom right, would end up playing drums on Buddy Holly's last tour
Don Lanier
Don Lanier was the lead guitar player in The Rhythm Orchids, who also had Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen in it's ranks. Buddy Knox had a major hit with "Party Doll" (incidentally where Jerry Allison go the carboard box drum idea for "Not Fade Away") and Jimmy Bowen had hit with "I'm Sticking With You". Don Lanier also recorded with The Roses previous to this at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis.
Don Lanier's sisters were June Clark and his other sister worked at Roulette Records. Their cousin was Gary Tollett, who, with his wife and Niki Sullivan, sang backing vocals on "That'll Be The Day"/"I'm Looking For Someone To Love". He would go on to have an illustrious music career, along with Jimmy Bowen and then as a Music Exec. He wrote several big hits, including Ray Charles' 'Here We Go Again,' which was also recorded by Nancy Sinatra. He also penned songs for Hank Snow, Glen Campbell and Norah Jones, among others.
He is credited with helping start the careers of some of country music's biggest stars, including George Strait and Reba McEntire. He also found songs for several artists, including Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn and others. In addition, he is credited for finding 'Rose in Paradise,' which became one of Waylon Jennings biggest hits.
Don Lanier died on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at age 78.
Johnny "Peanuts" Wilson
Johnny Peanuts Wilson moved from West Virginia to Texas as a child. He recorded some fantastic early West Tex Bop/Rock & Roll tracks and he was a member of Roy Orbison's "Teen Kings", where he co-wrote "You've Got Love" with Roy Orbison. He played guitar on Orbison's early Sun sessions. "You've Got Love" was of course recorded by Buddy Holly & The Crickets at Tinker Air Force Base, when Norman Petty coincided a tour date of his Norman Petty Trio and met up with The Crickets to record 4 songs in the Officer's Hall.
Wilson's "My Heartbeat" is superb and is featured on the "West Texas Bop" album (click here), recorded at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis. He released "You've Got Love" / "Cast Iron Arm" (a classic) on Brunswick. He later became a songwriter, writing songs for the likes of Kenny Rogers "Love The World Away" and Brenda Lee "Rock On Baby".
