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1. What happened to the baby and Maria Elena?
Maria supposedly lost the child after the trauma of Buddy's death. She remarried, got divorced, reclaimed Buddy's last name and is now alive & well and living in Texas.
2. What happened to the original Crickets?
Niki Sullivan was briefly with the group in 1957. He found the schedule too tough, left the group and recorded a few singles, but soon after that, he quit performing. He lives in Missouri & occasionally takes part in Buddy related events. J.I. Allison, Joe B. Mauldin still perform as The Crickets with '60s Crickets' member & Buddy's performing buddy "Sonny Curtis".
3. Were the Crickets trying to reunite with Buddy when he died?
Supposedly they were trying to contact Buddy to try to talk things over while he was on the Winter Dance Party tour, hoping to get back together. Unfortunately they never got in touch with each other.
4. Is it true that "Peggy Sue" was originally named "Cindy Lou" and who was Cindy Lou?
Originally with a Calypso beat, Buddy penned "Cindy Lou" for his niece of the same name. Drummer J.I. Allison was dating "Peggy Sue Gerron" and they had just had an argument. Figuring a song named after her would impress her, J.I. asked if the title could be changed. Buddy daringly bet that if J.I. could drum the whole song doing "paradiddles" (the fast beat) that he would change the song. Buddy didn't expect he could, but J.I. did and the song (and rock & roll) was forever changed.
5. Are there photos from the last show in Clear Lake?
There are 9 B&W shots verified to exist, unfortunately the owner seems to have no interest in releasing them or doing anything with them. He has shown them in the past at the Surf Ballroom festivities including a great photo of Buddy playing drums behind the other acts! We have been waiting without progress since the '80s for these photos to become available in any form.
6. Why did Buddy take the plane & who was supposed to be on it?
They were travelling in the cold Mid-West in the worst part of winter, and after a few break-downs and no heat in their tour bus, Buddy wanted to charter a plane for himself & The Crickets...who at that time were Tommy Allsup & Waylon Jennings. Buddy's drummer Carl Bunch had been hospitalized the night before with frost-bitten feet. Not only were they tired, but they had worn the same clothes since the start of the tour and they wanted to get their laundry done (believe it or not!). The Big Bopper had the flu & needed to rest, so Waylon Jennings let him have his seat. Ritchie Valens thought the plane trip sounded a lot better than taking the cold bus too, and flipped a coin with Tommy Allsup for his seat. Ritchie won the toss, and Tommy's seat in the plane. Years later Tommy opened his own club appropriately named "Head's Up".
7. Did Buddy smoke or drink alcohol?
Buddy occasionally smoked. A stomach ulcer prevented Buddy from drinking, and being enlisted in the Army too (along with his bad eye-sight).
8. Why didn't Buddy stay with his girlfirend Echo & what happened to her?
After Graduation, Echo went to a school 160 miles from where Buddy was. They got to see each other on most weekends, but they slowly drifted apart. Buddy was soon busy on tour, and she went to College in Nebraska. Echo married on Valentine's Day of 1958 to Ron Griffith. The couple resides in New Mexico.
9. Did The Crickets sing backup vocals?
No. Three backup groups are featured on Buddy & The Crickets most popular songs; The Tolletts, The Picks and The Roses.
10. What was Buddy's biggest hit?
Billboard claims "That'll Be The Day" hit #1 in the US. Cashbox says "Peggy Sue" hit #2.
11. How did The Crickets get their name?
Insect & animal names were just starting to be the "fad" at the time so they sat down and looked through the dictionary...they looked at but passed on "The Beetles" but figured since there were so many crickets around Texas that year (and still are) that "The Crickets" would be appropriate. It also is the name of the Lubbock baseball team. They figured that name hadn't been taken (but had been by a black group, Dean Barlow & The Crickets) which later caused the famed "Apollo gig" confusion.
It all worked out great, because at the very end of their Petty Studio recording of "I'm Gonna Love You Too" you can hear a cricket chirp!
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