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Today, July 20, is the birthday of Buddy Knox whose hit Party Doll, written by him and Jimmy Bowen, was a major hit when it was released on the Roulette record label and went to No.1 on the Cash Box record chart in 1957. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.
I remember I was in high school when Party Doll was released and going to friends' houses for parties and it was one of the songs that HAD to be played and we danced with such glee to it.
I remember I was in high school when Party Doll was released and going to friends' houses for parties and it was one of the songs that HAD to be played and we danced with such glee to it.
While Knox never achieved the same level of artistic success as Holly or
Orbison, he outlived both and enjoyed a long career in music. For his
pioneering contribution, Knox was elected to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Party Doll was voted one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
In the early 1960s Knox signed with Liberty Records and released several more mainstream pop records, featuring string arrangements and backing vocalists. Lovey Dovey and Ling-Ting-Tong were the most notable recordings
from this era. The sound captured on these recordings was a distinct
departure from his earlier rockabilly work for Roulette. Ling Ting Tong, was recorded by The Five Keys, Otis Williams & the Charms, Bill Haley & the Comets as well as by Hawkshaw Hawkins.
Knox also did a cover of the 1957 country/western song, A White Sport Coat, written by Marty Robbins (link below). I loved this song; I even had one I bought for my junior prom, a white sport coat, that is. Unfortunately, the lyrics all too well fit the event, a long story.
Knox also did a cover of the 1957 country/western song, A White Sport Coat, written by Marty Robbins (link below). I loved this song; I even had one I bought for my junior prom, a white sport coat, that is. Unfortunately, the lyrics all too well fit the event, a long story.
Buddy Knox ~ My Baby's Gone
45 RPM
photo by Styrous®
photo by Styrous®
After pressing copies of the record, a DJ in Amarillo began playing Party Doll in 1956 and it soon became a regional hit. After being contacted by Roulette Records in New York City, the song was distributed around the U.S. and became a chart-topping hit, spending a week at No. 1 on the Top 100 chart, the precursor to the Billboard Hot 100, in March 1957. Jerry Allison, drummer for The Crickets (who also recorded for Petty at Clovis), stated in an interview that the drum on Party Doll (which he said was played on a cardboard box) was the inspiration for the drum sound he used for Not Fade Away.
Almost immediately after Roulette released the Knox version of the song, competing versions of Party Doll were recorded and released by other record labels. Wingy Manone and Roy Brown recorded R&B versions of the song which saw some success and The Crests in 1960, The Fleetwoods and Ronnie Dove in 1961. A less rock and roll version by Steve Lawrence (with Dick Jacobs conducting the orchestra) also became a pop hit that year, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100. Lawrence's version was released on the Coral label.
Buddy Knox ~ My Baby's Gone
45 RPM label detail
detail photo by Styrous®
detail photo by Styrous®
Knox was born in 1933 in the tiny farming community of Happy, Texas, where, in 1948, when he was fifteen, he wrote the original verses of Party Doll behind a haystack on his family farm. Knox's sister and two of her friends, Iraene Potts of Amarillo and a neighbor, sang background vocals on the song.
Buddy Knox - 1951
photographer unknown
He learned to play the guitar
in his youth and in his teens, he and some high school friends formed a
band called the "Rhythm Orchids".
After they performed on the same 1956 radio show as fellow Texan Roy Orbison and his "Teen Kings" band, Orbison suggested that Knox go to record producer Norman Petty, who had a recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico, the same studio where Buddy Holly recorded several of his early hits, including That'll Be the Day.
There's a great video of his Swingin' Daddy on YouTube (link below); it's fun to watch the fashion and dance moves from this 1958 television broadcast.
Rhythm Orchids - 1955
photographer unknown
After they performed on the same 1956 radio show as fellow Texan Roy Orbison and his "Teen Kings" band, Orbison suggested that Knox go to record producer Norman Petty, who had a recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico, the same studio where Buddy Holly recorded several of his early hits, including That'll Be the Day.
There's a great video of his Swingin' Daddy on YouTube (link below); it's fun to watch the fashion and dance moves from this 1958 television broadcast.
Buddy Knox - 1956
photographer unknown
Trading card photo of Buddy
Knox. In 1957, Topps gum cards issued a series of movie stars,
television stars and recording stars. He was part of their recording
stars cards.
Buddy Knox - 1957
Trading card photo
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
45 Cat ~ Buddy Knox Discography
Black Cat Rockabilly ~ Buddy Knox
Cover Me ~ Covering the hits ~ Party Doll (Buddy Knox)
Daily Doo Wop ~ Party Doll lyrics
Geezer Music Club ~ Buddy Knox vs Buddy Holly
History Link ~ Buddy Knox at Bingen on January 30, 1957
Independant ~ obit
Northern Daily Leader ~ Buddy Knox: Adult Volunteer of the Year
Rockabilly Hall of Fame ~ Buddy Knox: A Texas Gentleman
Seattle Times ~ obit
TSHA ~ Knox, Buddy Wyne
Rockabilly Hall of Fame ~ Buddy Knox: A Texas Gentleman
Seattle Times ~ obit
TSHA ~ Knox, Buddy Wyne
Way Back Attack ~ Buddy Knox
YouTube links:
Marty Robbins ~ A White Sport Coat And A Pink Carnation
“Life without music would be a mistake.”
~ Buddy Knox
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