Songcraft: Spotlight On Songwriters

Sonny Curtis began his music career in Lubbock, Texas, playing lead guitar in Buddy Holly’s pre-Crickets band, The Three Tunes. He landed his first hit as a songwriter when Webb Pierce took his song “Someday” to #12 on the Billboard country chart in 1957. He went on to his own performing career, both as a solo artist and as the longtime guitarist and vocalist for the post-Buddy Holly Crickets, while continuing to write songs that became hits for others. These include The Everly Brothers’ “Walk Right Back,” Andy Williams’ “A Fool Never Learns,” The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law,” Bobby Goldsboro’s “The Straight Life,” Leo Sayer’s “More Than I Can Say,” and Keith Whitley’s #1 country hit, “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.” In addition, Curtis wrote and performed “Love is All Around,” the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. His music has been covered by Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead, The Stray Cats, Bryan Adams, John Cougar Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Waylon Jennings, Hank W