Last updated on December 25, 2025
TEXAS: Sonny Curtis, the singer-songwriter who penned the theme to The Mary Tyler Moore Show and fronted Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets, has died at the age of 88 following a sudden illness, his family confirmed.
Curtis’ daughter Sarah announced his passing in a Facebook post on Saturday, saying he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones.
“I’m heartbroken to tell you that my dad Sonny passed away yesterday after a sudden illness,” she wrote. “I’m so grateful that I was with him at the end, along with my mom. It was peaceful and he didn’t suffer.”
She remembered her father’s “exceptional life,” adding: “He made a mark on this world, and he made a mark on the hearts of all who knew him. It’s a sad day, but what a life. May we look at his life with joy rather than sadness. He would have wanted that.”
From West Texas to Rock and Roll History
Born in Meadow, Texas on May 9, 1937, the son of cotton farmers, Curtis began playing guitar at age four, inspired by his uncles, the Mayfield Brothers, a bluegrass group.
In the mid-1950s, he started collaborating with Buddy Holly, opening for stars such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. After Holly formed The Crickets in 1957, Curtis joined in 1958 and became lead vocalist and guitarist following Holly’s tragic death at age 22.
Curtis wrote I Fought the Law, first released on The Crickets’ 1960 album In Style with the Crickets. The song became a top 10 hit when covered by the Bobby Fuller Four in 1966, and later gained new life through covers by The Clash and Green Day.
Reflecting on the track, Curtis once told Classic Rock: “It was a real windy day, which happens a lot in west Texas. The sand was blowing outside. I picked up my guitar, and I can’t imagine where the idea came from, but I just started writing this song, I Fought the Law. It only took about twenty minutes. You can tell that it didn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with those lyrics. But it’s my most important copyright.”
Penning a Cultural Touchstone
Curtis also wrote Walk Right Back, recorded by The Everly Brothers, which reached No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and topped the U.K. Singles Chart in 1961.
In 1970, he composed Love Is All Around, the theme for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Written in two hours and approved the same day, the song became a cultural marker at the start of the women’s liberation movement.
“It was sort of a cultural touchstone, and the song was a part of that,” Curtis told the Los Angeles Times in 2017.
The CBS sitcom ran for seven seasons and earned Mary Tyler Moore three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
A Lasting Legacy
Beyond rock and television, Curtis also wrote jingles and penned songs recorded by Andy Williams and other artists.
He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1991 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as part of The Crickets.
Curtis is survived by his daughter Sarah and his wife Louise, his partner for over 50 years.
