The Crickets

 The Crickets  are an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed bysinger/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Released in 1957, their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", became a number-one hitSINGLE on the BillboardHot 100 chart on September 23. The sleeve of their first album, "The Chirping Crickets", shows the band line-up at the time: Buddy Holly on vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on backing vocals and rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe Mauldin on upright double bass. The Crickets helped set theTEMPLATE for subsequent rock bands such as the Beatles, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up and the talent to write most of their own material. After Holly's death in 1959 the bandCONTINUED to tour and record with different lead vocalists and other band members. They continued performing and releasing new material into the 21st century.

Formation
Holly had been making demo recordings with local musician friends since 1954.Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, and Larry Welborn participated in these sessions. In 1956 Holly's band (then known informally as Buddy and the Two Tones, meaning Buddy Holly with Sonny Curtis and Don Guess;[ 1 ] posthumous releases refer to The Three Tunes) recorded an album's worth of rockabilly numbers in Nashville, Tennessee, for Decca; the records were no more than mildly successful, and the band didn't hitFINANCIAL success until 1957, when producer and recording engineerNorman PettyHOSTED Holly's sessions in Clovis, New Mexico.

Holly had already recorded for another label under his own name, so to avoid legal problems he needed a new name for his group.[ 2 ] As the Crickets recalled in John Goldrosen'sBOOK The Buddy Holly Story, they were inspired by other groups named after birds. They were then considering insect-centered names, apparently unaware of the Bronx R&B vocal group "The Crickets", who recorded for Jay-Dee.[ 3 ] They almost chose the name "Beetles";[ 4 ] years later, the Beatles chose their band name partly in homage to the Crickets.[ 2 ][ 5 ]

The Crickets were lead guitarist and vocalist Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, andrhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. Sullivan dropped out after a little more than one year to resume his education. The Crickets, now a trio,CONTINUED to make stage and TV appearances, and recorded more songs, many composed by the band members themselves.

Early success
Trading card photo of the Crickets in 1957: Buddy Holly, Jerry Alison, Niki Sullivan, and at front Joe Mauldin. Topps gum cards issued a series of movie stars, television stars and recording stars. They were part of their recording stars cards.During 1957 Norman Petty arranged for the Crickets' recordings to be marketed under two separate names. The solo vocals went out as "Buddy Holly" and the songs with dubbed backing vocals were issued as "The Crickets".[ 2 ] Petty reasonedCORRECTLY that disc jockeys might be reluctant to program a single artist too heavily, but would have no problem playing records by two seemingly different groups. Some disc jockeys referred to the band as "Buddy Holly and the Crickets" but the record labels never used this wording until after Holly's death.

In 1958, Holly broke with producer Petty and moved to New York to be more involved with the publishing and recording businesses. Allison and Mauldin chose not to move andRETURNED to Lubbock. Holly now recorded under his own name with studio musicians Tommy Allsup and Carl Bunch. Waylon Jenningstoured with him shortly after the Crickets folded.

Allison and Mauldin looked forward to rejoining Holly after he returned from a winter tour through the northern Midwest. In the meantime, Joe B. Mauldin, J.I. Allison, and Sonny Curtis (a friend and collaborator with Buddy) began recording new songs as the Crickets, with Earl Sinks on vocals. While they were recording, it was announced that Holly had died in a plane crash while on tour.

After Holly's death
The Crickets in 1962.

Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Naylor<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The Crickets, now with vocalist Earl Sinks, went on performing after Holly's death.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Rockin50s.com_6-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 6 ] David Box, a native ofLubbock, Texas, and a near identical Buddy Holly soundalike, joined the group as lead vocalist for their 1960 single of "Dont Cha Know"/"Peggy Sue Got Married", released as Coral 62238 after the departure of Sinks. In April 1960 the Crickets backed the Everly Brothers on their first UK concert tour, but they were not billed as their backing group.<span class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;white-space:nowrap;">[<span data-title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (April 2015)" style="box-sizing:border-box;">citation needed]  Box died in a charter plane crash on October 23, 1964, while touring as a solo singer.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 7 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 8 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 1962, the Crickets' version of the Gerry Goffin–Carole King song "Don't Ever Change" (Liberty Records), featuring Jerry Naylor on lead vocals,<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-Rockin50s.com_6-1" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 6 ] reached the top five in the British single charts.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 9 ] Also in 1962 they released "Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets", an album with Bobby Vee on lead vocals. In 1964, the Crickets recorded their version of the rock and surf song "California Sun" for their album of the same title.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 10 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 1978, the award-winning film The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey as Buddy Holly, presented an engaging but inaccurate depiction of the band's early years. Allison and Mauldin's names were altered to Jesse Charles and Ray Bob Simmons respectively and Charles is portrayed as having racial attitudes. AlsoNiki Sullivan, Sonny Curtis, Bob Montgomery, Don Guess, and Larry Welborn are not included in the film which made them vote their portrayal as negative.

<span class="mw-headline" id="21st_century" style="box-sizing:border-box;">21st century
The Crickets are now recognized in Lubbock, Texas, with a downtown avenue named in their honor.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">The Crickets released "The Crickets and Their Buddies" in 2004 which features several classics from all parts of their career featuring guest appearances by several prominent artists including Eric Clapton,Rodney Crowell, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Graham Nash, Bobby Vee and Tonio K. The album was produced and mixed by Greg Ladanyi and included editing and additional mixes by Dave Carlock, Rob Hill, and Rogers Masson.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 11 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On October 28, 2008, the Crickets were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. They performed "Peggy Sue", "Not Fade Away" and "That'll Be the Day" at the ceremony, accompanied by guest guitarist Keith Richards.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-tennessean_12-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 12 ]<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-bbc-hof_13-0" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 13 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">In 2011, Allison was still touring with Sonny Curtis, a childhood friend and bandmate of Buddy Holly's, on vocals and guitar.<span class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-size:0.53em;line-height:0;position:relative;top:-0.5em;">[ 14 ]

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:15px;">On April 14, 2012, the Crickets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, aimed at correcting the mistake of not including the band with Buddy Holly when he was first inducted in 1986. The inducted members include Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis, Joe B. Mauldin, and Niki Sullivan. The group was unable to attend the ceremony because Mauldin was ill.

Timeline
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Discography

 * The "Chirping" Crickets (1957, with Buddy Holly)
 * The Sound of the Crickets (1958, single EP with Buddy Holly, on Coral Records)
 * Buddy Holly (1958, under Buddy Holly)
 * In Style with the Crickets (1960)
 * Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets (1962)
 * Something Old, Something New (1963)
 * California Sun (1964)
 * Rock Reflections (1971)
 * Remnants (1973)
 * Bubblegum, Pop, Ballads & Boogie (1973)
 * Long Way from Lubbock (1975) (With Albert Lee).
 * Back in Style (1975)
 * 3 Piece (1988)
 * T Shirt (1988)
 * Cover to Cover (1995)
 * The Original (1996)
 * Rockin (2000)
 * Too Much Monday Morning
 * Crickets and Their Buddies (2004)
 * About Time Too (With Mike Berry)
 * Double Exposure (2015) (Recorded 1992-3)