For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Clyde Stacy is a great country rock singer I recently discovered. I did some research and was fortunately able to find recording dates for most of his tracks. A few songs released on compilations for Clyde were actually recorded by a Clarence Stacy. I didn’t want those to fall in the abyss, so stay tuned to an article for him. “Dream Boy” and my introduction to Stacy, “So Young”, are my two favorites. “I Sure Do Love You Baby” and “Return To Me” are other particular goodies, though all this material is worth rescue from obscurity, though this second “album” is weaker than the first.
Clyde Stacy – Sings SO YOUNG And Eleven More Great Songs (1958) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING SIDE A
“So Young” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Hoy Hoy” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Cotton Pickin’ Chicken” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Dream Boy” (Recorded July-August 1957)
“A Broken Heart (Is So Hard To Mend)” (Recorded July-August 1957)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
With my recent Buddy Holly fan album and story project, I canonized his two proper studio albums as having happened as I didn’t want to alienate those that would prefer to enjoy the official albums as is. My plan was to continue this methodology for the post-Buddy years. On top of that, considering the fact that Jerry Allison is by far the only consistent member, I came up with some fun albums based on the logic that any song with Jerry is the Crickets. I then listened to my albums with this concept in mind. While some may still prefer listening to the official albums as they are and slotting the stray track ones in, I have found many of the official and personal sequences problematic for a few reasons: Some of these tracks are quite bad and some albums have tracks that would fit better elsewhere. Thus, I’ve decided to publish my stray track sequences here, as well as certain story ideas that can’t be reused, then I’ll write the narrative around what I think would make the best albums, with new sequences that arrange any track how I see fit.
For those that are fans of Jerry Allison or Sonny Curtis, I hope I can do them justice by accumulating so many rare recordings, especially because some are quite solid. One example is that Allison, Curtis, and famed Crickets bassist Joe B. Mauldin did some better known recordings as the Crickets, but also some obscure ones under different names. Those obscure ones are gathered and treated like just any other Cricket track.
During the Bobby Vee and later Jerry Naylor eras of the group, there is shaky and unreliable personnel info. Thus, things are listed vaguely.
Any album without a tracklist is an official album, not a construction of mine (unless where noted).
Based on some research, I think that almost every recording credited to Sonny Curtis as a solo artist prior to his 1979 solo album features the then-current Crickets lineup. There’s a few cases where either a track from a Crickets album is released as a solo Sonny single or the personnel is simply known to include them. However, his first two singles and flipsides have worse odds of featuring them, but I still wanted to include those regardless. The other oddity here is from the 1955 recordings he did. Him and Buddy Holly did six songs together. Five were released on my Buddy Holly & The Two Tones project, but one more, “Queen of the Ballroom”, was excluded due to their being a version with Buddy on vocals. This track almost definitely lacks Jerry Allison, but I didn’t want any of these early rarities to go absent from these albums, so here they are.
The primary source I used for information was Praguefrank, as well as Discogs, Nor-Va-Jak Music, and the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
The first post-Buddy lineup
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 2 (1959) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Billy Walker – “On My Mind Again” (Recorded April 8th, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Who’s Gonna Be The Next One Honey” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Later Baby” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Johnny “Peanuts” Wilson – “I’ve Had It” (Recorded November 10th, 1957)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bingham) – backing vocals (track 3)
Buddy Holly – guitar (track 6)
Larry Welborn – bass (track 6)
Dudley A. Brooks – piano (track 8)
Johnny Mann, Alan Davies, Bill Lee – backing vocals (track 8)
The Crickets – In Style With The Crickets (1960) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Earl Sinks – lead vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1-12), lead vocals (tracks 1, 7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-12)
Dudley Brooks – piano (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7)
The Roses – backing vocals (track 12)
Tommy Allsup – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-5, 7-10)
A common issue with the one-off singers is they can’t sing very well. Bobby Vee and Johnny Burnette are personal least favorites. However, there are some gems. David Box is excellent and by far the group’s best singer that went for a Buddy Holly-vocal style. “You Made Me Love You” also has phenomenal backing vocals.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 3 (1960) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Derrell Felts – “It’s A Great Big Day” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “You Made Me Love You” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “(Til) I Kissed You” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Oh What a Feeling” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “Honeysuckle Rose” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Don’t Cha Know” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
SIDE B
Derrell Felts – “Lookie Lookie Lookie” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “Eenie Meenie Minnie Moe” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Let It Be Me” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Since You Broke My Heart” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “There’ll Never Be Another” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Peggy Sue Got Married” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
Derrell Felts – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
George Atwood – bass (tracks 2, 8)
Jimmy Bowen – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Chet Atkins – guitar (tracks 3-4)
Lightnin Chance – bass (tracks 3-4)
Floyd Cramer – piano (tracks 3-4)
Jack C. Smith – lead vocals (tracks 5, 11)
David Box – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 6, 12)
Ernie Hall – drums (track 6)
Howard Collins – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Barry Galbraith – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Mundell Lowe – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Lloyd Trotman – bass (tracks 9-10)
Hank Rowland – piano (tracks 9-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Dreamin’(1960) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Dreamin’” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“Kaw-Liga” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“You’re Sixteen” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“I Beg Your Pardon” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“Singing The Blues” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
SIDE B
“It’s My Way” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“That’s The Way I Feel” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“Little Boy Sad” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“I Love My Baby” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“(I Go) Down The River (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Howard Roberts – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Johnny Mann Singers – backing vocals (tracks 1-2)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 3-10)
Vincent Terri – guitar (tracks 3-4, 6)
George Callender – bass (tracks 3-10)
Ernie Freeman – piano (tracks 3-4, 6)
Milton Pitman – guitar (track 5, 7-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Let’s Think About Living (1961) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Let’s Think About Living” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“It’s Only Make Believe” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Oh Lonesome Me” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Dream Lover” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“You’re So Fine” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
SIDE B
“Blue Blue Morning” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Pledge Of Love” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Honestly I Do” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“Fools Like Me” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“God, Country And My Baby” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Milton Pitman – guitar (tracks 1-7)
George Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Dick Glasser – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Clifford A. Hils – bass (tracks 8-10)
unknown – mandolin (tracks 8-10)
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Rock Around With Bobby Vee (1961) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Stagger Lee” (Recorded September 12th, 1961)
“Party Doll” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Come On Baby” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Lonely Weekends” (Version 2) (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“Mountain Of Love” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
SIDE B
“No One Knows” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“I’m Feeling Better” (Recorded September 28th, 1961)
“Shanghaied” (Recorded September 1961)
“Keep A Knockin’” (Recorded September 1961)
“It’s Too Late” (Version 2) (Recorded September 1961)
PERSONNEL
Bobby Vee – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Red Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Cliff Crofford – lead vocals (track 7)
Sonny Curtis, Joe B. Mauldin, Howard Roberts, Earl Palmer, Ernie Freeman, and Gene Garf have been credited as being part of both sets of Bobby Vee recordings. The main four players listed above are probably on at least most of all the Bobby Vee tracks.
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets (1962) – YouTube, Spotify (Personnel matches the previous Bobby Vee album.)
Despite Bobby Vee’s recordings with Allison being credited as The Crickets, the reunion of Sonny Curtis, along with newbies Jerry Naylor and Glen Hardin, is in my eyes the closest we get to more of the Crickets sound. Mauldin is sometimes credited as being part of the group from the early to mid 60s, but that does not seem to be true. Oftentimes, other players are credited as having partaken in them. There’s some very barebones recordings from 1961 of Allison singing that I suspect were recorded with help from the Bobby Vee-era lineup, but that’s just speculation. If there had been an album of this, I would have made them a Jerry solo album, but as just three recordings, they’re included here. This album probably would have only been released like this if the band needed material quickly, as the flow isn’t great. Still, these songs, as well as the whole Naylor era, are mostly good.
The Crickets – Fell In Love With A Face (1962) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Fell In Love With A Face” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Never Ever Told Me” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“There’s No Better Way To Die” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Bottom Of The Sea” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“I’m Not A Bad Guy” (Recorded March 9th, 1962)
“I Don’t Need A Friend” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
SIDE B
“I Believe In You” (Recorded March 19th, 1962)
“The Real Thing” (Recorded June 4th, 1962)
“My Little Kim Ruth” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“It’s All Right With Me” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“Smooth Guy” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“So You’re In Love” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“Break It Easy” (Recorded June 19th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 11-12)
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 6, 9-10)
“Looking All Over Town” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Teardrops Fall Like Rain” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Farewell, My Bluebell” (Recorded October 23rd, 1962)
“The Ballad of Batman” (Recorded 1962)
“Batmobile” (Recorded 1962)
SIDE B
“Lost And All Alone” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Don’t Try To Change Me” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Surfin’ Special” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“April Avenue” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“A Harlem Girl” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
“Brand New Doll” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 5-6)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
The Crickets – California Sun / She Loves You (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
unknown – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Buzz Cason – backing vocals
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
Despite my criticism of some of the one-off projects, this album is solid other than the Everly Brothers tracks. If it wasn’t obvious, Eddie Cochran is rivaled only by Holly himself and a few others, but that track is out of place for the Crickets. Still two great cuts, regardless.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 4 (1964) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Eddie Cochran – “Cut Across Shorty” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “Dardanella” (Released November 1961)
The Everly Brothers – “No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
The Everly Brothers – “Dancing On My Feet” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
Lucille Starr – “The French Song” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
Joe Carson – “Be A Good Girl” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
SIDE B
Eddie Cochran – “Three Steps To Heaven” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “What Time Is It?” (Released November 1961)
Lucille Starr – “Sit Down And Write A Letter To Me” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
The Everly Brothers – “The Facts Of Life” (Recorded January 16th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Guess You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-11) (Possibly not on track 10)
Eddie Cochran – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 3-7, 9-11)
Conrad ‘Guybo’ Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
Unknown other musicians, possibly Bobby Keys on sax (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Billy Strange – guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Red Callendar and/or Pat Vegas – bass (tracks 3-4)
Ray Johnson – piano (tracks 5, 9)
Lucille Starr – lead vocals (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Maphis – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Bill Pitman – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Wilbur Pitman – bass (tracks 5, 9)
Herb Alpert – trumpet (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 6, 11)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 6, 11)
Ray Pohlman – bass (track 10)
Hal Blaine – drums (probably on track 10)
Leon Russell – keyboard (tracks 10)
Harold Cliner – trombone (track 10)
Kenneth Shroyer – trombone (track 10)
John Audino – trumpet (track 10)
Anthony Terram – trumpet (track 10)
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – Beatle Hits Flamenco Guitar Style (1964) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Tommy Allsup & The Crickets – The Buddy Holly Songbook (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Lynn Bailey – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
George Tomsco – guitar
Tommy Allsup – guitar
Buzz Cason – piano
The Crickets – Surfing, Bo Diddley, and Beatles!! (1964) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Don’t Breathe A Word” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Bring Back My Surfboard” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Don’t Say You Love Me” (Recorded June 28th, 1963)
“A Beatle I Want To Be” (Recorded Late 1963)
“So Used To Loving You” (Recorded Summer 1963)
“Right Or Wrong” (Recorded August 1st, 1963)
SIDE B
“Playboy” (Recorded December 12th, 1963)
“(They Call Her) La Bamba” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“All Over You” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“I Think I’ve Caught The Blues” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Bo Diddley Bach” (Recorded June 1964)
“I Pledge My Love To You” (Recorded June 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (track 10)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (absent from track 10)
Red Callender – bass (absent from track 10)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (absent from track 10)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (absent from track 10)
Buzz Cason – backing vocals, lead vocals (track 10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (track 10)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 10)
Stan Lark – bass (track 10)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
“Lord Of The Manor” and the Carson tracks are the ones here I like.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 5 (1968) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Joe Carson – “Release Me” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Who’ll Buy The Wine” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
The Everly Brothers – “I Used To Love You” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
The Everly Brothers – “It’s All Over” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
Rusty Steagall – “Motel Rooms And Coffee Shops” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
SIDE B
Joe Carson – “I’ll Be There” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Fraulein” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Rusty Steagall – “Playboy Heart” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
The Everly Brothers – “Lord Of The Manor” (Recorded February 27th, 1968)
Jammë – “Empty Feelings” (Recorded 1968)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10) (Possibly not on tracks 3-4)
Sonny Curtis – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Doris Hallcom – bass (tracks 3-4)
Jim Gordon – drums (probably on tracks 3-4)
Don Randi – harpsichord (tracks 3-4)
Leon Russell – keyboard (track 4)
Rusty Steagall – lead vocals (tracks 5, 8)
Don Lanier – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Larry Knechtel – bass (tracks 5, 8)
Don Randi – keyboard (tracks 5, 8)
Terry Slater – bass (track 9)
Don Adey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (track 10)
Timmy Smyser – bass (track 10)
Paul Downing – lead guitar (track 10)
These two Sonny Curtis albums, as well as some Crickets or Sonny material from around this time, are incredibly strong and deserved to have been released on Crickets albums. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that Style is the best work covered in this post, being comparable in quality with Buddy Holly.
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The 1st Of Sonny Curtis (1968) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The Sonny Curtis Style (1969) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – El Camino Real (1969) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Rick Cathaway – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
Lee Dresser – lead vocals, guitar
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Eric Clapton & The Crickets – Eric Clapton (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Eric Clapton – lead guitar, lead vocals
Delaney Bramlett – rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Stephen Stills – guitars, bass (track 11), backing vocals
Leon Russell – piano
John Simon – piano
Bobby Whitlock – organ, backing vocals
Carl Radle – bass
Jim Gordon – drums
Bobby Keys – saxophones
Jim Price – trumpet
Jerry Allison – backing vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – backing vocals
Rita Coolidge – backing vocals
Sonny Curtis – backing vocals
The 70s is the beginning of the downfall of the Crickets. This era is consistently okay, with this album of mostly Buddy Holly covers being one of the better efforts.
The Crickets – Rockin’ 50’s Rock’n’Roll (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums, vocals
Jerry Scheff – bass
Glen D. Hardin – piano
This is one of the weaker albums I constructed simply because it spans from the mid 60s to the early 70s. It was one reason I found issue with this “stray track” idea. Note there’s two 1972 Sonny Curtis tracks I could not find: “Sunny Mornin’” and “Lights Of L.A.”.
The Crickets – Million Dollar Movie (1971) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Million Dollar Movie” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“We Gotta Get Together” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Everybody’s Got A Little Problem” (Recorded August 28th, 1964)
“Now Hear This” (Recorded January 1st, 1965)
“Thoughtless” (Recorded January 2nd, 1965)
“Rave On” (Recorded January 3rd, 1965)
SIDE B
“A Million Miles Apart” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“Last Call” (Recorded July 1966)
“Love Is All Around” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Here, There And Everywhere” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Unsaintly Judy” (Recorded Spring 1971)
“You Don’t Belong In This Place” (Recorded Spring 1971)
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (tracks 4-6)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 7-12), lead vocals (tracks 7-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 2-6) (Probably on every track), lead vocals (track 2)
Glen D. Hardin – (Possibly plays piano on tracks 1, 7-12)
Buzz Cason – lead vocals (tracks 2-3)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-6)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 2)
Stan Lark – bass (track 2)
Lynn Bailey – bass (tracks 3-6)
Johnny Rivers & The Crickets – L.A. Reggae(1972) – YouTube
PERSONNEL
Joe Osborn – bass
Miss Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos
Jerry Allison and/or Jim Gordon – drums
Dean Parks and/or Larry Carlton – guitar
Herb Pedersen and/or Michael Georgiades – backing vocals
Gary Coleman – percussion
Larry Knechtel and/or Jim Webb and/or Michael O’Martian – piano/organ
A Long Way from Lubbock is an officially released album, though one frustrating issue is that it pointlessly takes recordings from the previous two 1973 albums. There were two much better ideas that could have been used for a follow up. There’s basically one album’s worth of strays listed below that have no overlap with previous albums. The other idea is to cut out the dud tracks and make these albums all much shorter. The Remnants album is bizarrely forty minutes long. The album listed below was all recorded in 1973, except for “Carolyn Walking Away”, where that’s just a guess.
The Crickets – A Long Way from Lubbock(1973) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“That Is Not What I Need”
“Carolyn Walking Away”
“Rock’n Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)” (Recorded October 1973)
“My Mama Sure Left Me Some Good Old Days” (Recorded October 1973)
“An American Love Affair”
“He’s Got A Way With Women”
SIDE B
“You Make It Way Too Hard”
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Demo version)
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Band version)
“Bony Moronie”
“I Like Your Music”
“Now & Then It’s Gonna Rain”
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Ric Grech – lead vocals, bass, piano
Jerry Allison – lead vocals, drums
Nick Van Maarth – lead vocals, guitar
Albert Lee – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Steve Krikorian – vocals
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – To Touch The Wind (1975) – Can’t find
PERSONNEL
Lee Dresser – lead vocals (tracks 1-12), guitar, banjo, harmonica (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Larry McNeely – banjo (tracks 1-12)
Pat Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Al Garibaldi – drums (tracks 1, 7)
Dan Crary – guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Pete Jolly – piano (tracks 1, 7)
Red Rhodes – steel guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Joe Osborn – bass (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Jerry Allison – drums, hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Ron Dasaro – organ (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Doug Gilmore – hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Al Perkins – steel guitar (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
The Teesdale Street Choir – backing vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Originally this album spanned into the 80s with a few solo Sonny singles. Two issues with that is that those 80s tracks almost certainly lacked Jerry Allison and Sonny’s real solo career where Jerry was absent is quite confusing. Many of the released albums are unavailable online and I later found more stray tracks. There’s also some repeats from one album to another. Thus, you can think of this as the last release of his for quite a while with Jerry before they went separate ways into less documented music, though it’s quite short. I liked that the 1973 strays perfectly make up their own album, while this is everything after in the 70s. Note that a track called “When It’s Just You And Me” is from 1975, but isn’t accessible. If it was, it would make this one a bit longer.
The Crickets – Reunion(1978) – Archive.org (All tracks recorded in 1978 except where noted otherwise.)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“It’s Only A Question Of Time” (Recorded July 10th, 1975)
“Where’s Patricia Now” (Recorded February 1976)
“The Breeze”
SIDE B
“Mulholland Drive”
“It’s Only Rock’n’Roll”
“Cruise In It”
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee”
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 3-7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 3-7)
Mauldin, Curtis, Jennings, and Allison
Note that half of Rollin’ and a 1982 track called “Dream Well All Of You Children” are missing. Also, the three Sonny Curtis albums listed below are not fan albums and instead are official. I’m writing out the tracklisting to make it more explicit what I do have. The personnel notes will be absent for solo Sonny due to this article being more about Jerry.
Sonny Curtis (1979) – Archive.org (Missing Two Tracks)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“The Cowboy Singer”
“Walk Right Back”
“So Used To Loving You”
“Tennessee”
“Do You Remember Roll Over Beethoven”
SIDE B
“It’s Not Easy Being Fifteen”
“I Fought The Law”
“I’ll Stay With You” (Can’t find)
“Cheatin’ Clouds” (Can’t find)
“Ain’t Nobody Honest”
Sonny Curtis – Love Is All Around (1980) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Love Is All Around”
“You Made My Life A Song”
“Eager For The Edge”
“The Real Buddy Holly Story”
“Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover”
SIDE B
“Wild Side Of Life”
“The Cowboy Singer” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“I Fought The Law” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“Walk Right Back” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“The Clone Song”
With one exception, the personnel for the Waylon Jennings albums won’t be listed due to how confusing it all is.
Sonny Curtis – 1981 and 1982 loose tracks – Archive.org
“Good Ol’ Girls” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Married Women” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Rollin’” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“More Than I Can Say” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“I Like Your Music” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“The Christmas Song” (Chestnut Roasting On A Open Fire) (1981)
“Together Alone” (1982)
“Love is All Around” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Hung Up In Your Eyes” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“My Worst Enemy” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Party Of The First Part” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & The Crickets – WWII(1982) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Waylon Jennings – guitar, vocals
Jerry Allison – drums
Gene Chrisman – drums, percussion
Chips Moman – guitar
Reggie Young – guitar
Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
Bobby Emmons – keyboards
Johnny Christopher – guitar, backing vocals
Bobby Wood – piano
Toni White – backing vocals
Mike Leech – bass
Jerry Bridges – bass
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – It’s Only Rock & Roll (1983) – YouTube, Spotify
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – Never Could Toe the Mark(1984) – YouTube, Spotify
Most of the Payne stuff feels like a parody of the band, with the new lead singer doing a bad Holly impression. It’s a shame Allison and Mauldin didn’t make Crickets albums with Waylon Jennings or Sonny, especially because most of the Crickets’ 60s and 70s songs lack Mauldin and now that he’s back they’re either inactive or making such poor material.
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Jigger, Crank & Jive (1988) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Back Home In Tennessee” (Released 1988)
“Blackmail” (Released 1988)
“I Can’t Hold On Any Longer” (Released 1988)
“For A While We Helped Each Other Out” (Released 1988)
SIDE B
“I Got A Woman” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“She’s Got A Right To Cry” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Do You Ever Think Of Me” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Let’s Do It Again” (Released 1988)
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-8)
Jerry Bridges – bass (tracks 5-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-8)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-4, 8)
The Payne lineup
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – T-Shirt (1988) – Archive.org
“I Think I’m In Love” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Now I’ve Got A Heart Of Gold” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Monetta” (Recorded 1990)
“Evening Shade” (Recording date guessed 1990)
“I Fought The Law” (Recorded June 1990 in Torino, ITA)
Sonny Curtis – No Stranger to the Rain (Released September 1990) – Archive.org
“I’m No Stranger to the Rain” (Possibly the same recording that was on the previous album, Spectrum)
“Hello Mary Lou”
“You’re the Lesson I Never Learned”
“When Amarillo Blows”
“Back When Has Been Lover”
“I Saved My Last Name for You”
“Bad Case of Love”
“Think It Over”
“That’ll Be the Day”
“More Than I Can Say”
“Well, All Right”
“Rock Around with Ollie Vee”
“Midnight Shift”
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Double Exposure (1993) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, probably guitar
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums
Joe B. Mauldin – bass
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Too Much Monday Morning is a shockingly good album that goes to show how much a shame it was that this lineup wasn’t more often all together. Naylor, and especially Sinks and Box are good, but Curtis’ voice feels more at home with the Crickets. After this album, the band would go back to being an oldies act, often redoing their own songs needlessly. Admittedly, not many people are out asking for the next hot Sonny Curtis and the Crickets album.
The Crickets – Too Much Monday Morning (1996) – YouTube, Spotify
The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Nanci Griffith, Bobby Vee, Albert Lee, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Rivers – guest vocals
Many, many more guest performers. Only ones that have previously worked with the Crickets are listed here.
Mike Berry & The Crickets – About Time Too! (2005) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals
Joe B. Mauldin – bass, backing vocals
Mike Berry – lead vocals, backing vocals
Chas Hodges – piano, backing vocals, guitar
Chad Hodges & Jerry Allison – Before We Grow Too Old (2007) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Jack Clement – dobro
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 7, 10)
Chas Hodges – piano, lead vocals, guitar
There seems to have been a whole album of John Beland tracks recorded, but this is the only one I could find. The Limitations’ “Well… All Right” I also can’t find.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Over The Years (2013) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
J.J. Cale – “I’m A Gypsy Man” (Released 1976)
John Beland – “True Love Never Runs Dry” (Recorded 1978)
Bobby Vee – “Buddy Holly Medley” (Recorded April 16th, 1989)
Dale Hawkins – “Rain On The Roof” (Recorded 1990s)
David Falconi (Might be misspelling his name) – keyboard (track 3)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (track 3), possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
Dale Hawkins – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 4-7)
Ray Flack – lead guitar (tracks 4-7)
Joe Osborn – possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
unknown – piano (tracks 4-7)
Joell Le Sonier – accordion (tracks 8-9)
Margot Buchanan – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sam Brown – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sonia Jones – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Gerry Conway – drums (tracks 8-9)
Brian Hodgson – bass (track 8)
Paul Henry – guitar (track 8)
Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle (tracks 8-9)
Nick Payne – harmonica (track 8)
Lonnie Donegan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (tracks 8-9)
Sticky Wicket – washboard (track 8)
Vic Pitt – bass (track 9)
Chad Hodges – performer (track 10)
Dave Peacock – performer (track 10)
Albert Lee – guitar (track 10)
Track 2’s personnel information is especially confusing, but it does seem Allison, Mauldin, and Curtis are on it in some capacity.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Three Tunes/Sonny Curtis on guitar era of Buddy Holly yielded a period of growth. It’s interesting to hear the interpretation of the material by Buddy Holly backing vocalists, The Picks, in the 1980s and Buddy Holly producer, Norman Petty, in the 1960s. In cases where both The Picks and The Fireballs overdubbed a song, The Fireballs version was included on the album proper and The Picks only got bonus track status.
On the overdub album for the first Buddy album, The New Kid’s Rock Group, The Fireballs played on 11/15 tracks. Here they are only on 6/15, thus The Three Tunes garnered a title credit.
BUDDY HOLLY & THE FIREBALLS WITH THE THREE TUNES – BABY, WON’T YOU COME OUT TONIGHT?
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Baby Won’t You Come Out Tonight” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Midnight Shift” (The Picks Overdub) (Jimmy Ainsworth, Earl Lee)
“Don’t Come Back Knockin’” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly, Sue Parrish)
“Blue Days, Black Nights” (The Picks Overdub) (Ben Hall)
“Love Me” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly, Sue Parrish)
“I Guess I Was Just A Fool” (Buddy Holly)
“It’s Not My Fault” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Ben Hall, Weldon Myrick)
SIDE B
“I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock-A-Bye Rock” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Because I Love You” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee” (Sonny Curtis)
“I’m Changin’ All Those Changes” (Clovis Overdub Between May 1962 to January 1963) (Buddy Holly)
“That’ll Be The Day” (Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison)
“Girl On My Mind” (The Picks Overdub) (Don Guess)
“Ting-A-Ling” (The Picks Overdub) (Ahmet Nugetre)
BONUS TRACKS
“It’s Not My Fault” (The Picks Overdub) (Ben Hall, Weldon Myrick)
“I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
“Rock-A-Bye Rock” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
“Because I Love You” (The Picks Overdub) (Buddy Holly)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
The Filme Diary 