Joseph Benson Mauldin Jr. (July 8, 1940 – February 7, 2015) was an American bassist, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

group

the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top ...

. Mauldin initially played a double (standup) bass, then switched to a

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (or "P-Bass") is a model of bass guitar, electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instrument ...

guitar. After several years with the Crickets, he became a recording engineer at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

, the Los Angeles studio which became the "hit factory" for

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

, and other major 1960s rock performers.

Biography

Mauldin was born in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. When he was four, his parents divorced. During his time at Lubbock Junior High, he learned piano, trumpet and steel guitar. He was one of the founding members of

, the others being

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

, drummer

Jerry Allison Jerry Ivan Allison (August 31, 1939 – August 22, 2022) was an American musician. He was best known as the drummer for the Crickets and co-writer of their hits "That'll Be the Day" and "Peggy Sue", recorded with Buddy Holly. His only solo cha ...

, and guitarist Niki Sullivan. The first rock band he played in, starting in 1955, was a Lubbock group named the Four Teens. He appears to have recorded with this band (which included recording artist Terry Noland) in Dallas, prior to his recording with Buddy Holly in

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The population was 38,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the eastern part of the state. A ...

. After Holly's death in 1959, Mauldin played on and off as an original ''Cricket'' with J.I. Allison,

Sonny Curtis Sonny Curtis (born May 9, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Known for his collaborations with Buddy Holly, he was a member of the Crickets and continued with the band after Holly's death. Curtis's best known compositions include " Wa ...

, Glen D. Hardin, and occasionally Niki Sullivan. After several years with the Crickets, he became a

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

, the Los Angeles studio which became the "hit factory" for

, and other major 1960s rock performers. Mauldin was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock and the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Mission Statement The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is a 501(c)(3) charity organization. The mission of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is to honor all great musicians regardless of genre or instruments. This is done by exhibiting t ...

in Nashville, Tennessee, as an original Cricket. In 2012, he was inducted into

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and th ...

as a member of the Crickets by a special committee which corrected the mistake of not including the Crickets with Buddy Holly when he was first inducted in 1986. Mauldin died of cancer in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, on February 7, 2015, aged 74.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mauldin, Joe B. 1940 births 2015 deaths American rock double-bassists American male double-bassists American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists The Crickets members Songwriters from Texas Musicians from Lubbock, Texas American audio engineers Deaths from cancer in Tennessee Guitarists from Texas American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Lubbock High School alumni