Norman Petty

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Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 – August 15, 1984) was an American musician and record producer who is mostly known for his association with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, who recorded in his studio.

Biography

Born in the small town of Clovis, New Mexico, near the Texas border, Petty began playing piano at a young age. While in high school, he was regularly heard on a fifteen-minute show on a local radio station.

Petty and his wife Vi founded the Norman Petty Trio, along with guitarist Jack Vaughn. They landed a recording contract and were voted Most Promising Group of 1954 by Cashbox Magazine. In 1956, their major hit "Mood Indigo" had sold a half million copies and enabled Norman to expand his recording studio considerably. In 1957, their song "Almost Paradise" hit #18 and Norman won his first BMI writers award.

Despite the success with his own records, Petty is most famous for his recording studio in Clovis. In his homespun studio, he produced successful singles for his own musical group and for Texas musicians Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, Waylon Jennings, Charlie "Sugartime" Phillips, Sonny West, Carolyn Hester, Terry Noland, Jimmy & Cliff Blakley, and Buddy Holly. "Sugar Shack" and "Bottle of Wine" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and "Wheels" by the String-A-Longs were recorded at Petty's studio. Petty produced a number of Canadian groups including Wes Dakus & the Rebels, Barry Allen, Gainsborough Gallery, and the Happy Feeling; all which had chart success in their homeland. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Petty had productions on virtually every major record label in the United States and Canada with numerous regional successes, and of various musical styles.