Sonny Curtis, Member of Buddy Holly’s Crickets & ‘I Fought the Law’ Writer, Dies

Sonny Curtis, who played with and wrote songs for Buddy Holly as a member of the Crickets, then wrote songs as varied as “I Fought the Law” (recorded by the Bobby Fuller Four, the Clash and others) and “Love Is All Around” (the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme), died Sept. 19, 2025. His death was reported on the Buddy Holly Facebook page. No cause or place of death was cited. Curtis was 88.

Curtis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, alongside fellow Crickets alumni Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin and Niki Sullivan.

Born May 9, 1937, in Meadow, Tex., Curtis played guitar on some of Holly’s early recordings for Decca Records, including “Blue Days, Black Nights,” which Curtis wrote. Curtis did not join the Crickets until late 1958, but continued with the group as its frontman after the demise of Holly in a plane crash in early 1959. Curtis was drafted that year, and upon his discharge, he continued to write songs that were recorded by other artists, including (in 1961) the Everly Brothers (“Walk Right Back”).

In 1960, Curtis wrote “I Fought the Law,” which was included on the Crickets’ first post-Holly album, In Style With the Crickets. The rocking song has since been covered, either on recordings or live, by generations of artists, most notably by the Bobby Fuller Four, who took it to #9 in Billboard in 1966; the Clash, who included it on their second album, 1979’s Give ’em Enough Rope; Hank Williams Jr., Green Day, Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, the Grateful Dead, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, Nanci Griffith, Status Quo, Waylon Jennings, the Dead Kennedys, the Stray Cats and many others.

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The In Style With the Crickets album also included Curtis’ “More Than I Can Say,” which became a hit in the U.K. for American singer Bobby Vee at the time and was later covered by Leo Sayer, who took the song to #2 in the U.S. in 1980.

Sonny Curtis (l.) with Keith Richards (Photo from Curtis’ website)

Curtis maintained a solo career while also remaining at the helm of the Crickets for more than five decades. His performance of his composition “Love Is All Around” was used as the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which ran from 1970-77. Other songs written by Curtis were recorded by such artists as Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro, Keith Whitley, Andy Williams and others.

Curtis was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in addition to his induction into the Rock Hall.

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Watch Curtis perform “I Fought the Law”

Curtis’ recordings with Holly are available here.

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Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for nearly five decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan, and 'Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender: The Illustrated Story of Santana's Musical Journey.'

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