Niki Sullivan

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Niki M. Sullivan (June 23, 1937 – April 6, 2004) was an American rock and roll guitar player, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing band, The Crickets. Though he lost interest within a year or two of his involvement, his guitar playing was an integral part of Holly's early success. He performed on 27 of the 32 songs Holly recorded over his brief career. He also co-wrote a number of his own songs. In 2012, Sullivan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Crickets by a special committee, aimed at correcting the mistake of not including the Crickets with Buddy Holly when he was first inducted in 1986.

Becoming a Cricket

Prior to getting involved in the recording business, Niki Sullivan briefly served in the United States Navy. During the summer of 1956, the 19-year old Sullivan first met Holly, by way of his high school friend Jerry Allison, at a jam session in Lubbock, Texas. Holly was impressed by his guitar-playing talents and offered him the chance to join both of them, as well as Joe B. Mauldin in a band. Sullivan readily accepted the offer, and thus the Crickets were born.
While trying to record "Peggy Sue" after many dissatisfying takes, Sullivan ended up kneeling next Buddy while he played, and when cued flipped a switch on Holly's Stratocaster, allowing him to break into the now-famous guitar solo. He also helped sing on back up and arrange the music to "Not Fade Away" (which he helped write), "I'm Gonna Love You Too", "That'll Be the Day" and "Maybe Baby". It was around this period that he also wrote and produced the single "Look to the Future," which was recorded by Gary Tollett and The Picks, who often did back-up vocals for the Crickets.
Since he had a slight resemblance to Holly in his skinny posture and spectacles, he was often called "the other guy in glasses" by critics in their reviews.^{[citation needed]} Coincidentally, he and Holly were related third cousins, but it is not known whether they knew this or not. After their December 1, 1957 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the group briefly went on hiatus to plan their next recordings. In early 1958, Sullivan formally announced that he had left the band for good. Exactly why he chose to do so remains in debate today. According to his memoir about life with Holly titled Rave On, he admitted that he was not comfortable with the amount of touring, and he felt that he did not fit in with Allison and Mauldin. Since Holly sang and played lead guitar, Sullivan was left without much of a role in the group.

Life after Holly

He eventually retired from the recording business altogether and took a job at Sony. Later, he married in 1967, which he considered the most rewarding experience of his life. In 1978, he reunited with Allison, Mauldin, and new-lead singer Sonny Curtis for a one-night performance at a Buddy Holly Festival. Over the years, he gave numerous interviews about his life with the Crickets and played at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, where Holly had given his last concert.
For the 1978 movie The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Busey, his character was left out of the story line. In the stage show The Buddy Holly Story, the character of Niki Sullivan plays a prominent role. This role was played by Andy Umscheid in the Klingenberg am Main festival's production of the show.,^[1]
Sullivan died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 66, on April 6, 2004 in Sugar Creek, Missouri, near Kansas City; despite his good health and no indications of any illness. He was survived by his wife Fran E. Sullivan, Sugar Creek, MO who later died on April 1, 2012; his two sons, two grandchildren and his sister.
One of his grandchildren, Holly Sullivan (named in honor of Buddy Holly) has displayed exceptional musical aptitude even from a young age.

References

"Andy Umscheid wins role of Niki in gruelling process". Josco. 2007-04-11. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

[hide] v t e The Crickets

Glen Hardin Jerry Allison Joe B. Mauldin Sonny Curtis Buddy Holly Earl Sinks Gordon Payne Jerry Naylor Larry Welborn Niki Sullivan Tommy Allsup

Studio albums	The "Chirping" Crickets (1957) In Style with the Crickets (1960) Bobby Vee Meets the Crickets (1962) Something Old, Something New, Something Blue, Something Else! (1963) California Sun (1964)

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