From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat May 25, 2002  2:21 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Norman Petty
 
NORMAN PETTY (By Shaun Mather)

Born 25 May 1927, Clovis, New Mexico
Died 15 August 1984, Lubbock, Texas

Love him or loathe him, no one can deny that Norman Petty was one of the
most influential producers of the rock 'n' roll hey-day. His most famous
protegee Buddy Holly, was able to benefit from Petty's Sam Phillips-like
policy of holding open ended sessions where no clock hung on the wall,
stifling the creative juices.
Petty entered the music business as a songwriter and even scored a
# 14 pop hit in 1954 with his instrumental Trio which included his wife
Vi and guitarist Jack Vaughn. The royalties from their Moon Indigo hit
enabled to open a studio in the small desert town of Clovis, New Mexico
in 1955. Roy Orbison walked through the door one day with his Teen Kings
and made his first stab at the rockabilly classic Ooby Dooby, before heading
east to Memphis. Next came the Rhythm Orchids who reached the charts
with both sides of their debut single, Party Doll (as by Buddy Knox) and I'm
Stickin' With You (as by Jimmy Bowen). From across the state line in
Lubbock, Texas came Buddy Holly and the Crickets who had recorded
unsuccessfully for Decca in Nashville. They remade That'll Be The Day and
watched it become an instant hit for Brunswick, co-incidentally a subsidiary
of Decca. Another imprint of the label, Coral began issuing singles by both
Holly and the Crickets and registered massive hits with the likes of Rave On,
Oh Boy and Maybe Baby. Both Holly and Petty were very experimental in
the studio and it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Things changed
when Holly married Maria Elena Santiago, who encouraged him to move to
New York, thereby alienating the Crickets and Petty. It appears that Petty
retained monies that Holly felt were due him, which enforced Buddy to sign
up the Winter Dance Party Tour with the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Dion
& the Belmonts. After Holly was tragically killed during the tour, Petty
overdubbed some of his demos with the Picks and Fireballs, many of which
became hits in Europe. Outside of Holly, Petty recorded some first rate
rockabilly with a host of young wannabees, like Starlight by Jack Huddle and
my wifes favourite, Cast Iron Arm by Johnny Peanuts Wilson. The Fireballs
recorded a few hits in their own right for Petty but his involvement and
success rate lessened as the '60s progressed.

Recommended listening:
Various artists, West Texas Bop (Ace 699)
See also: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/NormanPetty.html