Crickets bass player Joe B Mauldin has died from cancer at the age of 74.
The Texas native was a member of Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets, who continued even after Holly’s death in 1959. He left the band in 1964 when he joined the US Army, but returned in the 1970s and also worked as a sound engineer.
He and The Crickets drummer Jerry Ivan Allison were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012 and he was a member of the group until his death in Nashville at the weekend.
Maria Elena Holly, Buddy’s widow, says: “Joe B was a great player and performer, a dear friend, and I know that Buddy loved him a great deal. Joe B was one of the greatest bass players of all time. Joe Baby, as Buddy called him, JI, and Buddy made such beautiful music together, and they were all so great together, both as friends and performers.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to him, his wife, daughters, and family, as well as to JI. I know that Joe B and Buddy are making some great music together in Heaven. We will all miss Joe B very much.”
