Buddy Knox
b. Buddy Wayne Knox, 14 April 1933, Happy, Texas, USA. Knox was one of the first ‘pop-abilly’ hitmakers in the '50s. With bassist Jimmy Bowen, he formed the country band the Rhythm Orchids in 1956, adding Don Lanier (guitar) and Dave Alldred (drums). The following year Knox sang lead vocals on Party Doll, recorded at Norman Petty's Oklahoma studio. First issued locally on the Triple-D label, it became the first release on Roulette, formed by New York nightclub owner Maurice Levy. Party Doll went to number 1 in the USA. At the same session Bowen recorded another hit, I'm Stickin With You’. With his light voice skimming over the insistent rhythms, Knox was the first in a line of Texan rockers which included Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison. Both Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep and the gimmicky Hula Love were Top 20 hits later in 1957, when he also appeared in the film DISC JOCKEY JAMBOREE. Although he toured frequently with Alan Freed's package shows, Somebody Touched Me (1958) was his only later hit and in 1960, Knox and Bowen moved to Los Angeles. There, Knox turned to ‘teenbeat’ material like Lovey Dovey, Ling Ting Tong and She's Gone (a minor UK hit in 1962) with producer Snuff Garrett. During the mid-60s he returned to country music, recording in Nashville for Reprise and had a hit with Gypsy Man, composed by ex- Crickets’ Sonny Curtis. This led to film appearances in TRAVELLIN’ LIGHT(with Waylon Jennings) and SWEET COUNTRY MUSIC (with Boots Randolph and Johnny Paycheck). Knox was now based in Canada, where he set up his own Sunnyhill label. He also visited Europe with rockabilly revival shows during the '70s and early '80s. Jimmy Bowen became one of Nashville's most powerful A&R men, working for Dot, MCA and latterly Capitol.