The Late Great Sonny Curtis

Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader of The Crickets following Buddy Holly's death, Sonny Curtis died on September 19, 2025, at the age of 88. The cause was pneumonia.

Sonny Curtis was born on May 9 1937, in Meadow, Texas. He was born to a musical family. His uncles were The Mayfield Brothers, a west Texas band who were among the pioneers of bluegrass music. Sonny Curtis learned to play guitar by the time he was four years old. 

Sonny Curtis was 15 years old when he met Buddy Holly. With Buddy Holly's friend from high school, Bob Montgomery, they formed a band. They performed on bills with such artists as Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. He wrote the song "Rock Around with Ollie Vee," which Buddy Holly recorded. He played on that recording, as well as on Buddy Holly's recording of "Blue Days, Black Nights."

Sonny Curtis went onto tour with Slim Whitman, during which time Buddy Holly formed The Crickets. It was in late 1958, not long before Buddy Holly's death, that he joined The Crickets. Following Buddy Holly's death, Sonny Curtis took over as The Crickets' leader. He was drafted in 1959 and it was during basic training that he wrote "Walk Right Back," which was recorded by The Everly Brothers. 

The Cricket's first single without Buddy Holly was "When You Ask About Love," which written by Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis. It was in 1960 that The Crickets recorded "I Fought the Law," which was written by Sonny Curtis. Although not a hit upon its release in 1960, it would be a hit for The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. Sonny Curtis continued to perform with The Crickets until bassist Joe B. Maudlin died in 2015.

Sonny Curtis also wrote jingle for commercials. as well as the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Love is All Around." Sonny Curtis also had a solo career as a country starting in 1966. Over the years he wrote several songs recorded by other artists. His song "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" by Keith Whitley was named the 1989 Country Song of the Year. He also wrote "Honky Tonk Song," recorded by Webb Pierce, "More Than I Can Say," recorded by Bobby Vee, "Don't Breath a Word," recorded by Ricky Nelson, "The Straight Life," which was recorded by Glen Campbell, and "A Fool Never Learns" by Andy Williams. 

Alongside Buddy Holly and the other Crickets, Sonny Curtis was a pioneer of rock 'n' roll. In particular, he helped shape what would become garage rock, which would in turn lead to such subgenres as power pop and punk. Of course, Sonny Curtis was nothing if not versatile. While he performed rock 'n' roll with The Crickets, he also recorded as a Country artist himself. He also wrote songs in a variety of genres. "I Fought the Law" is rock 'n' roll. "A Fool Never Learns" is a ballad that charted on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (Andy Williams's version went to no. 4 on the chart in 1963. Sonny Curtis was a remarkable talent who has had a lasting influence on music that is still felt today.