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In 1962 West started a family and was employed in the [[jukebox]] industry, starting his own company before moving to work for a larger company in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]].<ref name=CTRF/> He return to performing in the mid 1970s, with a six nights a week 6-month residency in a club on the outskirts of New Mexico and playing in Arizona on Sundays.
In 1962 West started a family and was employed in the [[jukebox]] industry, starting his own company before moving to work for a larger company in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]].<ref name=CTRF/> He return to performing in the mid 1970s, with a six nights a week 6-month residency in a club on the outskirts of New Mexico and playing in Arizona on Sundays.


In 2001 West played at a Lubbock fan Fair show, and the following Spring recorded new tracks in his own studio.<ref name=JI/> In 2002 Sonny made his European appearance at the Hembsey Rock’n’Roll Weekender. He received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. He played at the Clovis Music Festival in 2005 which is now an annual event. In 2011 Sonny surprised fans, in not only finishing the songs he had started for Holly back in 1958, but releasing them. This had many praising his talent once again, with belief they would have gone on to be the next hits of the late Holly. His songs have been featured in movies, and television shows, including ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', ''[[Happy Days]]'', ''[[American Idol]]'', ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]'', ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'', ''[[Pleasantville (film)|Pleasantville]]'' and ''[[Glory Road (film)|Glory Road]]''.
In 2001 West played at a Lubbock fan Fair show, and the following spring recorded new tracks in his own studio.<ref name=JI/> In 2002 West made his European appearance at the Hembsey Rock’n’Roll Weekender. He received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. He played at the Clovis Music Festival in 2005 which is now an annual event. In September 2011 West released an album, ''Sweet Perfume'', on Lance Records, comprising his previously recorded songs and including two songs that he had started writing for Holly back in 1958.<ref name=FOX34>{{cite web|url=http://www.fox34.com/story/32749301/new-inductees-announced-for-west-texas-walk-of-fame|title=New inductees announced for West Texas Walk of Fame|first=James|last=Eppler|publisher=FOX34|date=|accessdate=12 July 2019}}</ref> His songs have been featured in movies, and television shows, including ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', ''[[Happy Days]]'', ''[[American Idol]]'', ''[[So You Think You Can Dance]]'', ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|Cocktail]]'', ''[[Pleasantville (film)|Pleasantville]]'' and ''[[Glory Road (film)|Glory Road]]''.


West won a BMI songwriter 'Million-Air' award, an award given to a song writer who has had a song play over 1 million times on the radio.<ref name=JI/><ref name=HoF/> ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' ranked "Rave On" as the No.154 greatest song of all time.<ref name=ARN/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/buddy-holly-and-the-crickets-rave-on-19691231|title=The Rolling Stone Magazine's List of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|date=7 April 2011|accessdate=10 July 2019}}</ref> In 2016 West was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock.<ref name=ARN/>
West won a BMI songwriter 'Million-Air' award, an award given to a song writer who has had a song play over 1 million times on the radio.<ref name=JI/><ref name=HoF/> ''[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]'' ranked "Rave On" as the No.154 greatest song of all time.<ref name=ARN/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/buddy-holly-and-the-crickets-rave-on-19691231|title=The Rolling Stone Magazine's List of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|magazine=[[Rolling Stone (magazine)|Rolling Stone]]|date=7 April 2011|accessdate=10 July 2019}}</ref> On September 15, 2016 West was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock.<ref name=ARN/><ref name=FOX34/>


==Discography==
==Discography==

Revision as of 03:42, 12 July 2019

Sonny West
Birth nameJoseph Sunny West
Born (1937-07-30) July 30, 1937 (age 87)
Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active1956–1961, 2001-present
LabelsNor-Va-Jak, Atlantic, Rollercoaster, Sleazy, Lance

Joseph "Sonny" West (born July 30, 1937) is an American songwriter and musician, best known as the writer of two of Buddy Holly's biggest hits: "Oh, Boy!" and "Rave On".

Joseph Sunny West was born on July 30, 1937, near Lubbock, Texas, the fifth and youngest child of Joseph William, a sharecropper and Alberta Grimes West.[1][2] The family moved numerous times around Texas and New Mexico, ending up in Levelland, Texas.[3] In 1956 West formed a band with Jimmy Metz (string bass), Doc McKay (drums) and Buddy Smith (guitar).[1] They recorded "Rock-Ola Ruby" and "Sweet Rockin' Baby" at the local Radio KLVT in Levelland. Bob Kaliff, a DJ at KLVT, then arranged for West to re-record the two songs at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico. The studio however did not have an echo chamber at the time and Perry therefore arranged for the recording to occur at the local Lyceum Theatre, essentially a live recording on an AMPEX recorder, in August 1956.[2] Only 700 copies of the songs were released on Petty's Nor-Va-Jak label.[1][2][4] According to Tom Lincoln and Dick Blackburn's Guide to Rare Rockabilly and Rock and Roll 45 rpms "Next to Elvis' Sun rockabilly pieces, this may be the next most sought after rockabilly record by collectors".[5] At this time Petty changed the spelling of West's name from Sunny to Sonny.[3] Smith quit the band shortly after the recording session and West took on the responsibility for all the guitar work.[1]

In February 1957 West recorded a song, "All My Love", with McKay (drums), Metz (trumpet) and Glen D. Hardin (piano) however only a few copies of this recording were made, which were sent to record companies to attract their interest in releasing the record commercially.[1][3] One of the copies was heard by Buddy Holly who with The Crickets recorded a version of the song at Petty's studios in Lubbock, as "Oh, Boy!" in July 1957. It was subsequently released in October[1] and went onto to reach number 10 on the US charts and number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958.[6] The song was attributed to West, Petty and Bill Tilghman although it was written by West, with Petty requiring his name to be added as part of the commercial contract with Holly.[3] In 2002 West’s version of "All My Love" was commercially released.

At the end of 1957 Petty took over as West's manager and arranged a two-year recording contract with Atlantic Records, with a minimum of four releases.[2] In December that year West recorded "Rave On", which was released on 17 February 1958, with the B-side, "Call on Cupid", on Atlantic Records but achieved little commercial success.[1] The song was inspired by a line from Carl Perkins' 1956 song "Dixie Fried".[7][8] On 25 January 1958 Holly recorded a version of "Rave On" at Bell Sound Studios in New York[8] as a track for his debut solo album, Buddy Holly with Coral Records releasing it as a solo single in April 1958. Although it barely made the top 40, peaking at No. 37 in the United States, it reached No. 5 in England, topping the British charts for three weeks straight.[6][9][10]

In the spring of 1958 West recorded "Baby Bessie Lee", "Doll Britches" and "Linda Loves a Hula Hoop", backed by Sonny Curtis (guitar), Vi Petty (piano), George Atwood (bass) and McKay/Bo Clarke (drums) at Petty's Clovis Studios.[1] Due to a dispute with Perry over including Perry as a writer in the recording contracts the songs were never released.[1][2][3] West then moved to Odessa, Texas.[3]

In early 1959 Sonny flew to Phoenix, Arizona where he recorded two songs, "Love Denied" and "Pretty Little Girl" with Al Casey on guitar.[1] Whilst neither song was released "Love Denied" was later covered by Waylon Jennings, who had also previously covered "Rave On" prior to Holly.[11] In 1961 West and Casey also recorded a version of Freddy Fender’s "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".[1] West sent the tapes to a Denver based label who initially offered to finance re-recording the songs, but subsequently changed their minds.

In 1962 West started a family and was employed in the jukebox industry, starting his own company before moving to work for a larger company in Albuquerque.[2] He return to performing in the mid 1970s, with a six nights a week 6-month residency in a club on the outskirts of New Mexico and playing in Arizona on Sundays.

In 2001 West played at a Lubbock fan Fair show, and the following spring recorded new tracks in his own studio.[1] In 2002 West made his European appearance at the Hembsey Rock’n’Roll Weekender. He received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. He played at the Clovis Music Festival in 2005 which is now an annual event. In September 2011 West released an album, Sweet Perfume, on Lance Records, comprising his previously recorded songs and including two songs that he had started writing for Holly back in 1958.[12] His songs have been featured in movies, and television shows, including Quantum Leap, Happy Days, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Cocktail, Pleasantville and Glory Road.

West won a BMI songwriter 'Million-Air' award, an award given to a song writer who has had a song play over 1 million times on the radio.[1][4] Rolling Stone ranked "Rave On" as the No.154 greatest song of all time.[6][13] On September 15, 2016 West was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock.[6][12]

Discography

  • "Rock-Ola Ruby" / "Sweet Rockin' Baby" - Nor-Va-Jak (45WA1956) (November 1956) limited release - 700 copies
  • "Rave On" / "Call Me Cupid" - Atlantic (45-1174) (February 1958)
  • "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights" / "Maybe You’re The One" - Band Box (LB-2885) (1961) promotional release only
  • Sweet Rockin' Rock-Ola Baby - Rollercoaster (RCCD 3050) (3 September 2002)
  • "Rock-Ola Ruby" / "Sweet Rockin' Baby" - Sleazy (SR 19) (2010)
  • Sweet Perfume - Lance (L-2017) (27 September 2011)

Further reading

  • West, Sonny (2002). Sonny West Papers. Texas Tech University. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ingman, John (2000). "The Sonny West Story". Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Homer, Sheree (2015). Catch That Rockabilly Fever: Personal Stories of Life on the Road and in the Studio. McFarlane. p. 102-107. ISBN 9780786458110.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Leigh, Spencer (2019). Buddy Holly: Learning the Game. McNidder & Grace. ISBN 9780857161895.
  4. ^ a b "RHOF Inductee:Sonny West". Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. ^ Lincoln, Tom; Blackburn, Dick (1998). Guide to Rare Rockabilly and Rock N' Roll 45 Rpms. Alabama Free Press.
  6. ^ a b c d Jaklewicz, Greg (10 September 2016). "This week, music fans will rave on Sonny West". Abilene Reporter News. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Steve (2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volume 3. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 302. ISBN 9781442254497.
  8. ^ a b Amburn, Ellis (2014). Buddy Holly: A Biography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466868564.
  9. ^ Evans, Richard (2010). The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll. Chartwell Books. p. 100. ISBN 9780785826255.
  10. ^ Leszczak, Bob (2014). Who Did It First?: Great Rock and Roll Cover Songs and Their Original Artists. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 174. ISBN 9781442233225.
  11. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (9 July 2019). "Flashback: Waylon Jennings Signs With A&M, Cuts Haunting 'Love Denied'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  12. ^ a b Eppler, James. "New inductees announced for West Texas Walk of Fame". FOX34. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  13. ^ "The Rolling Stone Magazine's List of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2019.


Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lubbock, Texas Category:American male guitarists Category:American male singer-songwriters Category:American country singers Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Guitarists from Texas Category:American rock singers Category:American rock musicians Category:Singers from Texas

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