Sonny Curtis, the prolific singer-songwriter whose melodies graced the airwaves for decades, has passed away in Nashville at the age of 88. His legacy includes performing alongside Buddy Holly, opening for Elvis Presley, and crafting timeless hits such as ‘I Fought the Law,’ ‘Walk Right Back,’ and ‘Love Is All Around’—the upbeat theme song for ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ which he also lent his voice to.
His daughter, Sarah Curtis Graziano, confirmed that his death on Friday, in a hospital, was due to complications from pneumonia.
Born into humble beginnings in a Dust Bowl dugout in West Texas to sharecropping parents during the Great Depression, Curtis might not have been a household name, but his impact on both rock ‘n’ roll and country music was undeniably significant.
Over his impressive seven-decade career, Curtis penned hundreds of songs that found their way into the repertoires of a diverse array of artists. From the Everly Brothers and country icon Keith Whitley to 1960s teen idol Bobby Vee, his compositions resonated across genres.
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The iconic ‘I Fought the Law,’ with its unforgettable chorus, ‘I fought the law and the law won,’ was covered by numerous acts, including The Bobby Fuller Four, Hank Williams Jr., Roy Orbison, Bruce Springsteen, and The Clash.
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“The song came quick,” Curtis once shared in an interview with the International Songwriters Association. “It was one of those West Texas afternoons where the sand was blowing, those days you have in the spring. Probably March 1958. I wrote it in 15 minutes — bam! If you listen to it, you can tell you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to write those lyrics.”
Those 15 minutes proved to be incredibly rewarding. “It has been recorded a lot,” he told The Tennessean in 2014. “It’s my most important copyright.”
Curtis’s musical journey began in his teenage years after a friend introduced him to Buddy Holly, a fellow Lubbock, Texas native. In 1957, he played guitar on Holly’s album ‘That’ll Be the Day,’ whose title track soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The following year, Curtis joined Holly’s band, The Crickets, on guitar. However, after successful tours opening for Elvis Presley and other major acts, the band temporarily disbanded when Holly relocated to New York. Tragically, Holly died in a plane crash in 1959.
Shortly thereafter, The Crickets reformed, and Curtis eventually rejoined. ‘I Fought the Law’ made its debut on the band’s 1960 album, ‘In Style With the Crickets.’
The band continued to play together in various iterations throughout the 1980s and ’90s. In recognition of their contributions to music, The Crickets were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 1970, while living in Los Angeles and composing commercial jingles, Curtis received a tip from a friend: the creators of ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ were looking for a theme song. Producers presented him with a four-page summary of the upcoming series.
“I honed in on the part that she was renting an apartment she had a hard time affording,” Curtis recalled in a 2002 interview on ‘CBS Sunday Morning.’
The song he crafted began with the poignant question, ‘How will you make it on your own?’
Curtis performed the song for the show’s producers, including James L. Brooks.
“He smiled and said, ‘Sing that again,’” Curtis recounted. “And I had to sing it about 10 times before I left that afternoon. The room was full of people standing all around the wall. I thought, ‘I believe I got a shot at this.’”
After Mary Tyler Moore’s character achieved professional success as a TV news producer in the show’s inaugural season, Curtis revised the lyrics. The updated version, instantly recognizable, began with, ‘Who can turn the world on with her smile?’
Sonny Curtis was born in Meadow, Texas, on May 9, 1937, to Arthur and Violet (Moore) Curtis, the second youngest of six children.
“I was born in a dugout,” he shared in a 2004 interview with The Austin Chronicle. “My dad dug a hole in the ground, put a corrugated tin roof on top of it, and that’s where I was born. I beat my sister ahead of me. She was born in a tent.”
Sonny’s uncles, who had a bluegrass band, taught him to play guitar at the tender age of four.
Working on the family farm provided him with ample time to conceive new songs.
“Driving a tractor,” he explained to ‘CBS Sunday Morning,’ “you go down half a mile that way, and when you get there you turn around and come back a half mile this way. You have plenty of time to write a song.”
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Mr. Curtis married Louise Halverson in 1970. She survives him, along with their daughter, Sarah Curtis Graziano, and three granddaughters, as well as his sister, Alene Richardson.
His daughter, Sarah Curtis Graziano, an essayist and journalist, recently completed a book about her father, ‘Daughter of a Song,’ which is slated for publication next month.
“When he was growing up, I know he definitely wanted to be famous,” she reflected in an interview. “I think as time went on, he saw a lot of tragedies related to fame. He saw people succumb to accidents and addiction. He saw Buddy Holly die.”
Her father, she added, came to accept, and even appreciate, the freedom of anonymity. “He was able to live a normal life but still make a living in the music business. And that’s no small feat.”