Buddy Holly and the Crickets Have A Very Important Connection To Buffalo, NY

The story goes that Buffalo disk jockey 'Madman' Mancuso, after having locked himself in the studio while he plays "That'll Be the Day" over and over, tracks down Buddy for a phone interview. Upon learning from Buddy that one of the songs the as-yet-unnamed group had recorded in Buddy's garage "has a cricket on it", Mancuso began calling them "Buddy Holly and the Crickets"--and it stuck.

The Crickets were lead guitarist and vocalist Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, bassist Joe B. Mauldin, and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan. Sullivan dropped out after a little more than one year to resume his education. After Buddy died in a plane crash in 1959, the band tried different vocalists and continued playing and recording. The only Cricket alive is Jerry Allison.

The Buddy Holly Story was a movie that was filmed in Buffalo in parts and the film won the Academy Award for Best Adaptation Score by Joe Renzetti.