Jerry Allison, once a drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets, has died at the age of 82. He has been with the band since the formation of The Crickets in 1957. His death has now been officially confirmed on Facebook. The cause of death is still unknown.
The news was announced on August 22 on Buddy Holly’s Facebook account. The remaining band members dedicated a post to him, expressing their condolences. They describe Allison in the post as “one of Buddy’s closest friends and an inspiration to drummers for decades.” In addition, they further explained:
“Allison was a musician ahead of his time, and there is no doubt that his energy, ideas and exceptional skill helped make both The Crickets and rock ‘n’ roll itself so successful. Buddy is often hailed as the original singer-songwriter, but so is [Allison] wrote and inspired so many of the songs that later became all-time classics. In the coming days we will say and publish more here. For today we are thinking of his family and friends and wishing [Allison]that he may rest in peace”.
The recently published Facebook obituary already alludes to Allison’s great musical influence: he was particularly involved in the production of Buddy Holly’s songs – including “That’ll Be The Day” (1956) and “Peggy Sue” (1957). ). In addition, the two were supported by music producer Norman Petty.
Despite several deaths: The Crickets did not give up
The Texas-born drummer completed the cricket quartet, which also included Buddy Holly, Joe B. Mauldin – who died of cancer in 2015 – and Niki Sullivan. However, the latter left the band after a short time, so that the remaining three musicians continued as a trio.
After Holly died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 en route to a performance in Moorhead, the Crickets continued touring and recording with the likes of Earl Sinks, Sonny Curtis, Glen D. Hardin and Jerry Naylor. The group last performed at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa – the same venue where Holly last performed.
Blondie drummer Clem Burke, the Mountain Goats and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster paid tribute to the late musician. In addition, Wurster called Allison’s playing in the 1957 performance of “Peggy Sue” on The Ed Sullivan Show “the best drumming ever shown on television.”
Watch The Crickets perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957: