Sonny Curtis
| Sonny Curtis | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 9, 1937 |
| Origin | Meadow, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Country, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Associated acts | The Crickets |
Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Most of his work falls into the pop and country genres. He was a teenage pal and band member with Buddy Holly in Lubbock, Texas.
Curtis was born in Meadow, Texas, United States. He played on some of Buddy Holly's earlier 1956 Decca sessions including minor hit 'Blue Days Black Nights' and a song he wrote 'Rock Around With Ollie Vee'. In 1955 & '56 he along with Buddy opened concerts for rising new star Elvis Presley. Although he had gone on the road with other musicians by the time Buddy Holly put together the Crickets in 1957, Curtis joined the Crickets after Holly's death in 1959, and soon took over the lead vocalist role in addition to lead guitar. As the credits show, he was part of the band for the 1960 album In Style with the Crickets for which they recorded the original versions of two of Curtis's best known songs, "I Fought the Law" and "More Than I Can Say" (co-written with drummer Jerry Allison). Along with Cricket Jerry Allison he participated in Eddie Cochran's last recording sessions, including the song 'Three Steps to Heaven'. In 1964 he released the single "A Beatle I Want to Be". He has continued to record and perform intermittently as part of the band over six decades, most recently in their album The Crickets and their Buddies (2004) where they reprised most of their hits with help from many noted fellow musicians. Curtis did leave the band several times to pursue his solo career but even during those periods made occasional guest appearances, in performance and on record, with the Crickets. His song "The Real Buddy Holly Story" was written in response to the inaccuracies in the movie The Buddy Holly Story.
Curtis wrote the theme song of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Love is All Around", which he also recorded. He also wrote "Walk Right Back", which was a 1960 hit for the Everly Brothers and later in 1978 for Anne Murray; (Sonny and the Crickets also were the supporting back up band for the Everly Brothers for a tour of England in 1960) and "More Than I Can Say", recorded after the Crickets' original by Bobby Vee, then Leo Sayer.
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