Bob Montgomery (May 12, 1937 – December 4, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer and publisher.
Biography
Montgomery was born in
Lampasas, Texas, United States.
He was a songwriting partner and best friend of
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
, performing together as the duo "Buddy and Bob" while teenagers in high school.
Initially, they played a variety of
bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...
, which evolved into rockabilly sounds.
Montgomery met Holly at Hutchinson Junior High School in
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, in 1949.
They started playing together at
school assemblies and on local radio shows. Montgomery sang lead and Holly harmonized.
They soon had a weekly Sunday radio show on station
KDAV
KDAV (1590 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Lubbock, Texas. The KDAV broadcast license was held by Monte and Gentry Todd Spearman through licensee High Plains Radio Network, LLC.
From August 18, 1998, to March ...
.
On October 14, 1955,
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
played a concert at the Fair Park Auditorium, and Montgomery, Holly and bassist Larry Welborn were also on the bill.
Eddie Crandall,
Marty Robbins' manager, spoke to KDAV station owner Pappy Dave Stone and told him he was interested in Holly as a solo performer.
Holly's career then began after
demo recordings of his music were made and sent to
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
.
Montgomery co-wrote some of Holly's songs, such as "
Heartbeat
A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart.
Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to:
Computing
*Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system
*Heartbeat, clus ...
", "Wishing", and "
Love's Made a Fool of You
"Love's Made a Fool of You" is a song co-written and originally performed by Buddy Holly. It was later re-recorded by Sonny Curtis and the Crickets, with the lead vocal by Earl Sinks, and famously covered by the Bobby Fuller Four.
Buddy Holly fi ...
".
He wrote the pop standard "
Misty Blue"
and, for
Patsy Cline, "Back in Baby's Arms". His son Kevin recorded a version of this, which appeared on his album ''True''. Montgomery produced
Bobby Goldsboro's 1968 number 1 hit "
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
" and his follow up 1973 number 9 UK hit, “
Summer (The First Time)”.
Montgomery died on December 4, 2014, in
Lee's Summit, Missouri, of
Parkinson's disease, at the age of 77.
Discography
Singles
* "Taste Of The Blues" b/w "Because I Love You",
Brunswick, November 1959
Albums
* ''
Holly in the Hills'', Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery,
Coral, January 1965
References
External links
45cat Bob Montgomery
1937 births
2014 deaths
People from Lampasas, Texas
American country rock singers
American country singer-songwriters
American male singer-songwriters
Record producers from Texas
Singer-songwriters from Texas
Bluegrass musicians from Texas
American rockabilly musicians
Neurological disease deaths in Missouri
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
Country musicians from Texas
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