Jerry Allison died this week on August 22, 2022. His name may not be familiar to many at this date, but he was the drummer for Buddy Holly and continued as the leader of the Crickets after Holly died in 1959. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
His career is of interest to some, but his marriage to Peggy Sue Gerron is what I remember him for. Buddy Holly, the story goes, was writing a song that included his niece’s name, Cindy Lou. Allison and his girlfriend had recently broken up and, wanting her back, suggested that the song’s title and subject be changed to Peggy Sue. As they say, the rest is history.
I wrote about Peggy Sue when she died in 2018. The two divorced and both happily remarried, though their names remain tied to those who remember that long ago.
The Crickets held a farewell concert in 2016 at the Surf Ballroom in Cedar Lake, Iowa, where he had played with Holly toe evening Holly died in a plane crash upon leaving the city.
