Overview

• His wife, Louise, confirmed the death to the Associated Press after a sudden illness, and he is survived by her and their daughter, Sarah.
• A childhood collaborator of Buddy Holly, he later led The Crickets following Holly’s death in 1959.
• He wrote and performed The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme, “Love Is All Around,” which debuted in 1970.
• He penned “I Fought the Law” in 1958, recorded it with The Crickets, and the Bobby Fuller Four later took it into the Top 10 before widely covered versions followed.
• He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with The Crickets in 2012.