Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017) was an American
rockabilly and
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
musician.
Personal life
Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma in 1931,
and was an enrolled member of the
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...
. 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 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 ...
, including playing lead guitar on "
It's So Easy!" and "Lonesome Tears",
as well as playing with
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing 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 S ...
. Allsup was touring with Holly,
Ritchie Valens, 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 due to the fact that 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 "Bluer Than Blue","Guitar Twist", "Opus Twist". Tommy is known to be playing the lead guitar for these tunes on
The Ventures albums, "The Colorful Ventures" and "Twist With The Ventures".
He returned to
Odessa, Texas, where he worked with Ronnie Smith,
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...
, and producer
Willie Nelson.
He was also producer on the futuristic, prophetic trans-Atlantic & Australasian hit, "
In the Year 2525" by one-hit-wonders
Zager & Evans Zager may refer to:
*Bruce B. Zager (born 1952), American justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
*Michael Zager (born 1943), American record producer
*Zager, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran
See also
* Bert Zagers (1933–1992), American foot ...
. Later in 1968, he moved to Nashville, where he did session work and produced
Bob Wills' ''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 Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty 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 the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
. The club was named for Allsup's coin toss with Valens 20 years beforehand.
The last surviving member of Buddy Holly's "touring" Crickets for the 1959 Winter Dance Party, Tommy Allsup died on January 11, 2017, at 85 years old in a hospital in
Springfield, Missouri after complications from hernia surgery.
See also
*
The Day the Music Died
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
Online biographyOklahoma 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 artists
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 Americans
21st-century Native Americans