Jerry Allison

Drummer and songwriter Jerry Ivan Allison, 82, died Aug. 22, 2022. He was a founding member of the Crickets, and his unique playing style had an undeniable impact on the budding rock & roll scene of the late ‘50s. Allison was a life member of Local 257 who joined March 29, 1977. He first joined the Amarillo, Texas, local in 1956.

Allison was born Aug. 31, 1939, in Hill County, Texas, to J.D. “Buddy” Allison and

Louise Ferguson Allison, and raised in Plainview and Lubbock. He met Buddy Holly in junior high school, and while teenagers they formed a band in 1955, originally a threepiece that included bassist Joe B. Mauldin. Their first gigs included dates at local roller rinks, and at Lubbock’s Cotton Club. The young musicians avidly listened to the R&B they heard on Black radio stations, along with Elvis Presley and Bill Haley. Allison quotes other early influences as Gene Krupa and Charles Connor, who drummed for Little Richard and appeared in a 1956 movie musical called The Girl Can’t Help It. Holly and Allison were mesmerized by the film. “We must have watched it seven or eight times,” Allison later said. Like Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who were similarly obsessed with the landmark film, Allison and Holly were determined to write their own tunes for their band.

The following year the Allison and Holly cowrite “That’ll Be the Day,” brought the band worldwide attention. The two also