Norman Petty
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Norman Petty (May 25, 1927 - August 15, 1984) was an American musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer of the Southwest who helped shape modern popular music, including pop and rock.
Born in the small town of Clovis, New Mexico near the Texas border, Norman Petty began playing piano at a young age and while in high school he had a 15-minute show on the local radio. He founded, with his wife Violet a/k/a "Vi", the Norman Petty Trio, along with guitarist Jack Vaughn. They landed a recording contract with ABC-Paramount Records and were voted Most Promising Group of 1954 by Cashbox magazine. In 1956, their major hit "Mood Indigo" had sold half a million copies and enabled Norman to expand the studio to how it is today. In 1957, their song “Almost Paradise” hit #18 and Norman won his first BMI writers award.
However, he is most famous for his recording studio in Clovis, a town about ten miles west of the Texas border. In his homespun studio, he made 78 and 45 rpm singles for his own musical group and for then unknown Texan singers Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, Waylon Jennings, Carolyn Hester, and a number of hits for Buddy Holly with whom he is most closely associated. Other hits made at Petty's studio included "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and "Wheels" by the String-a-Longs.
Petty served as Buddy Holly's recording engineer, and also as his manager and producer until late 1958. Their split came over differences in Petty's wanting co-writer's credit in Holly's songs, in exchange for his extra efforts in Holly's recordings. Many of Holly's best and most polished efforts were produced by Petty at the Clovis studio. After Holly's death, Petty was put in charge of overdubbing unfinished Holly recordings and demos, to add to his recorded output.
Norman Petty died in Lubbock, Texas in 1984 of leukemia; wife Vi died in 1992. The original 7th Street Studio is available for tours by appointment only. His downtown recording studio (aka theater) was recently donated to Eastern New Mexico University and renamed the Norman & Vi Petty Performing Arts Center. The Clovis Music Festival is held in September which include many artists who recorded at the Studio.
