Tommy Allsup
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
and swing musician.


Personal life

Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma, in 1931, and was an enrolled member of the
Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...
. Allsup had a son, Austin, who is also a musician and competed as a contestant on the 11th season of '' The Voice''.


Career

Allsup worked with entertainers such as
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 ...
, including playing lead guitar on " It's So Easy!" and "Lonesome Tears", as well as playing with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Allsup was touring with Holly,
Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens died i ...
, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson when he serendipitously lost a fateful coin toss with Valens for a seat on the plane that crashed, killing Valens, Holly, Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson on February 3, 1959. Investigators initially thought that Allsup had died in the crash because he had given Holly his wallet so that Holly could use Allsup's ID to claim a mailed letter on his behalf. Allsup moved to Los Angeles, played with local bands, and did session work, including songwriting credits for
The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...
"Bluer Than Blue", "Guitar Twist", and "Opus Twist". Allsup is known to be playing the lead guitar for these tunes on The Ventures albums ''The Colorful Ventures'' and ''Twist With The Ventures''. Allsup played guitar on
Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...
recording sessions, including playing lead guitar on the album ''Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets''. In 1964, he played guitar on the Buddy Holly tribute album ''The Buddy Holly Songbook'' produced by
Norman Petty Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician, record producer, publisher, and radio station owner. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of early rock & roll. With Vi Ann Petty—his wife and vocalist—he ...
. He returned to
Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
, where he worked with Ronnie Smith,
Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...
, and producer
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
. He was also producer on the futuristic, prophetic trans-Atlantic and Australasian hit "
In the Year 2525 "In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Zager and Evans. It reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for six weeks commencing July 12, 1969. It peaked at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for t ...
" by one-hit-wonders Zager & Evans. Later in 1968, he moved to Nashville, where he did session work and produced
Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...
' ''24 Great Hits by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys''. In the mid-1970s Allsup served as the producer for a pair of
Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...
albums. In 1979, he started a club named Tommy's Heads Up Saloon in
Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
. The club was named for Allsup's coin toss with Valens 20 years beforehand. The last surviving member of Buddy Holly's touring band for the 1959 Winter Dance Party, Tommy Allsup died on January 11, 2017, at 85 years old in a hospital in
Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
, after complications from hernia surgery.


See also

*
The Day the Music Died On February 3, 1959, American rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson were all killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, together with pilot Roger Peterson. The event became known as " ...


Further reading

* *


References


External links


Online biography

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame—Tommy Allsup


* ttp://www.voicesofoklahoma.com/interview/allsup-tommy/ Voices of Oklahoma interview with Tommy Allsup.First person interview conducted on September 8, 2011, with Tommy Allsup.
Tommy Allsup - MyBestYears.com INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allsup, Tommy 1931 births 2017 deaths Cherokee Nation musicians People from Owasso, Oklahoma Guitarists from Oklahoma American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists Native American musicians Western swing performers Record producers from Texas People from Odessa, Texas Grammy Award winners American country guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Native American people 21st-century Native American people