Norman Petty

Norman Petty
Petty and his wife, Vi
Background information
Born	(1927-05-25)May 25, 1927, Clovis, New Mexico, U.S.
Died	August 15, 1984(1984-08-15) (aged 57), Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Hammond organ
Associated acts	Norman Petty Trio

Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician and record producer who is best known for his association with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, who recorded in his studio.

Petty was born in the small town of Clovis, New Mexico, near the Texas border. He began playing piano at an early young age. While in high school, he regularly performd on a fifteen-minute show on a local radio station.

Petty and his wife, Vi, founded the Norman Petty Trio with the guitarist Jack Vaughn. They landed a recording contract and were voted Most Promising Group of 1954 by Cashbox magazine. In 1956, their major hit, "Mood Indigo", had sold a half million copies and enabled Petty to expand his recording studio considerably. In 1957, their song "Almost Paradise" hit number 18, and Petty won his first BMI writers award.

Despite the success of his own records, Petty is most famous for his recording studio in Clovis. In his homespun studio, he produced successful singles for his own musical group and for Texas musicians Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, Waylon Jennings, Charlie "Sugartime" Phillips, Sonny West, Carolyn Hester, Terry Noland, Jimmy & Cliff Blakley, and Buddy Holly. "Sugar Shack" and "Bottle of Wine" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and "Wheels" by the String-A-Longs were recorded at Petty's studio. Petty produced a number of Canadian recording artists, including Wes Dakus & the Rebels, Barry Allen, Gainsborough Gallery, and the Happy Feeling, all which had chart success in their homeland. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, recordings produced by Petty, in various musical styles, were issued by virtually every major record label in the United States and Canada, with numerous regional successes.