Jerry Allison, drummer for Buddy Holly whose wife inspired "Peggy Sue," dead at 82
CBSN
Jerry Allison, an architect of rock drumming who played and co-wrote songs with childhood friend Buddy Holly and whose wife inspired the classic "Peggy Sue," has died. He was 82.
His death was confirmed Wednesday by a spokesperson for Gold Mountain Entertainment, which manages Holly's one-time backing band The Crickets, of which Allison was the last surviving original member. Further details of his death were not immediately available.
Born in Hillsboro, Texas, Allison met Holly in junior high, and they started playing together in roller rinks and The Cotton Club in Lubbock in the early 1950s, predating the rise of rock music. The two wrote numerous hits together as teenagers, including "That'll Be the Day," inspired by a line from John Wayne in the classic Western "The Searchers."
