Sonny Curtis, a gifted singer-songwriter whose prolific career included performing with Buddy Holly, opening for Elvis Presley, and crafting evergreen hits such as “I Fought the Law,” “Walk Right Back,” and “Love Is All Around”—the spirited theme song for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which he also famously sang—passed away on Friday in Nashville. He was 88 years old.
His daughter, Sarah Curtis Graziano, confirmed that the cause of his death, in a local hospital, was complications arising from pneumonia.
Born in humble circumstances in a Dust Bowl dugout in West Texas to sharecropper parents during the challenging years of the Great Depression, Curtis evolved into a pivotal, though perhaps not widely recognized, figure in the intertwined histories of both rock ‘n’ roll and country music.
Over a remarkable seven-decade span, he composed hundreds of songs, which were performed by a diverse array of celebrated musicians. His interpreters included the Everly Brothers, country superstar Keith Whitley, and 1960s teen idol Bobby Vee.
His most enduring composition, “I Fought the Law,” with its unforgettable chorus, “I fought the law and the law won,” was famously covered by numerous acts, including the Bobby Fuller Four, Hank Williams Jr., Roy Orbison, Bruce Springsteen, and The Clash.
Reflecting on its creation, Curtis once told the International Songwriters Association, “The song came quick. 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 exceptionally rewarding. He later shared with The Tennessean in 2014, “It has been recorded a lot. It’s my most important copyright.”
Curtis began his musical journey as a teenager, introduced to Buddy Holly, who also hailed from Lubbock, Texas, by a mutual friend. In 1957, he lent his guitar talents to Holly’s album “That’ll Be the Day,” whose title track soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a single.
The following year, Curtis joined Holly’s band, the Crickets, as a guitarist. However, after successful tours opening for Elvis Presley and other significant performances, the band temporarily disbanded when Holly relocated to New York. Tragically, Holly died in a plane crash in 1959.
Not long after, the Crickets reformed, and Curtis eventually rejoined. “I Fought the Law” was featured on the band’s 1960 album, “In Style With the Crickets.”
The band continued to perform in various configurations throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Their significant contributions to music were recognized with an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
In 1970, while residing in Los Angeles and composing commercial jingles, Curtis received a tip from a friend: the creators of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” were in search of a theme song. The producers presented him with a four-page synopsis of the show.
“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 penned began with the relatable question, “How will you make it on your own?”
Curtis performed the song for the show’s producers, including the acclaimed 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 famously began, “Who can turn the world on with her smile?”
Sonny Curtis was born in Meadow, Texas, on May 9, 1937, the second youngest of six children to Arthur and Violet (Moore) Curtis.
“I was born in a dugout,” he shared with The Austin Chronicle in a 2004 interview. “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.”
His uncles, who played in a bluegrass band, taught him to play the guitar at the tender age of four.
Working on his family’s farm provided him with ample time and inspiration for songwriting.
“Driving a tractor,” he explained on “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.”
Curtis married Louise Halverson in 1970. She survives him, along with their daughter, Sarah Curtis Graziano, and three granddaughters. He is also survived by his sister, Alene Richardson.
His daughter, Sarah Curtis, an accomplished essayist and journalist, recently completed a book about her father titled “Daughter of a Song,” scheduled for publication next month.
“When he was growing up, I know he definitely wanted to be famous,” she commented 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.”
Ultimately, she said, her father found contentment in his ability to live a normal life while still thriving in the music industry: “He was able to live a normal life but still make a living in the music business. And that’s no small feat.”