Overview

• Curtis died Friday following a sudden illness, with his wife confirming his death to the Associated Press and family posts saying he passed peacefully.
• A Texas native and early collaborator of Buddy Holly, he joined the Crickets in 1958 and became the group’s frontman after Holly’s 1959 death.
• He wrote and recorded “Love Is All Around” for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and penned “I Fought the Law,” later popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four and the Clash.
• His songwriting catalog also produced hits like “Walk Right Back” for the Everly Brothers and “More Than I Can Say,” a later success for Leo Sayer.
• Career honors included induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1991), the Musicians Hall of Fame (2007), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Crickets (2012), and he is survived by his wife, Louise, and daughter, Sarah.