Jerry Allison
We're celebrating the life of Jerry Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly and The Crickets, who died this week (8/22). This extended interview was recorded at Vancouver's Legends of Rock'n'Roll show at EXPO 86. One of my favourite lines in the interview is when Jerry says, \u201cI think we were the first ugly band... and then The Rolling Stones just took it and went all the way with it!\u201d\n\nJerry and Buddy met in high school in 1956 and the two began playing as a duo \u2014 Allison on drums, Holly on guitar and vocals. One year later, they linked up with bassist Joe B. Mauldin and guitarists Niki Sullivan and Sonny Curtis to become The Crickets. Jerry also co-wrote a couple of their biggest hits: \u201cThat\u2019ll Be the Day\u201d and \u201cPeggy Sue\u201d.\n\nAfter Buddy left The Crickets in 1958, the group continued to tour and record into the Sixties and beyond, with Jerry Naylor replacing Holly after his death in 1959. Jerry Allison\u2019s career flourished as a studio musician at The Crickets\u2019 label, Liberty Records in Los Angeles, working with artists like Eddie Cochran, Bobby Vee and Johnny Rivers. \n \nAlong with fellow original Crickets Mauldin, Sullivan and Curtis, Jerry Allison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Smokey Robinson at a special ceremony in 2012. Smokey said, \u201cBuddy Holly wasn\u2019t just Buddy Holly. He was a Cricket. One day they gave us \u2018That\u2019ll Be the Day,\u2019 on another \u2018Maybe Baby\u2019. They were indeed the original rock\u2019n\u2019roll band.\u201d\n\nJerry Allison\u2019s drums are the best part of some of my favourites: \u201cPeggy Sue,\u201d \u201cEveryday\u201d and especially \u201cNot Fade Away\u201d. \u201cThat\u2019ll Be The Day\u201d was Jerry\u2019s favourite. It was the first song he and Buddy recorded together.