A legend of early Texas rock ‘n’ roll and Western Swing, Tommy Allsup, died Wednesday. His passing was announced on a Facebook post from his son, singer Austin Allsup of Fort Worth.
Austin Allsup recently appeared on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ and his father was often in the audience.
Tommy Allsup was born in Oklahoma and began playing music early. He eventually went to on tour with Buddy Holly & the Crickets, famously losing a coin toss to get to ride on the plane with Holly. The plane crash, immortalized as ‘The Day The Music Died; took the lives of Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens, as well as the pilot.
Allsup continued in the music business and eventually played with and produced Western Swing legend Bob Wills. Allsup produced Wills’ final album.
Allsup was inducted into both the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Allsup lived in the Fort Worth area and often played in North Texas with various bands.
For more on Allsup:
ww.fortworthbusiness.com/news/briefs/in-market-the-day-the-music-lived/article_8d27007a-a2b4-11e6-a5b0-df45ac69b75d.html