Sonny Curtis, Crickets Frontman Behind ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ Theme, Dies at 88

Sonny Curtis, the singer and guitarist who played with Buddy Holly, fronted The Crickets and wrote and performed “Love Is All Around,” the indelible theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died. He was 88.

Curtis died Friday after a “sudden illness,” his daughter, Sarah, announced on Facebook.

Curtis also wrote the rebellious “I Fought the Law” in 1958 and recorded it with The Crickets following the death of Holly, Ritchie Valens, J.P. Richardson (“The Big Bopper”) and pilot Roger Peterson in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959.

The Bobby Fuller Four took the song to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966, and it also was memorably covered by The Clash, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Green Day, the Dead Kennedys and dozens of other acts over the years.

His songwriting credits also included “Walk Right Back” and “More Than I Can Say,” top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 for The…