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Sonny Curtis \u2014 the songwriter best known for <\/span>The<\/span><\/a> Mary Tyler Moore<\/span><\/a> Show<\/span><\/a> theme song and the frontman for <\/span>Buddy Holly<\/span><\/a>\u2018s band The Crickets \u2014 is dead at 88.<\/span><\/p>\n On Saturday, September 20, Sonny\u2019s daughter, Sarah, announced her father\u2019s death in a <\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a> post. \u201cI\u2019m heartbroken to tell you that my dad Sonny passed away yesterday after a sudden illness,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful that I was with him at the end, along with my mom. It was peaceful and he didn\u2019t suffer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In the death announcement, Sarah continued, \u201cHe was 88 and he lived a more exceptional life than anyone I\u2019d ever met. He made a mark on this world, and he made a mark on the hearts of all who knew him. It\u2019s a sad day, but what a life. May we look at his life with joy rather than sadness. He would have wanted that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Facebook users flooded the comments with condolences and tributes to Sonny.<\/span><\/p>\n One fan recounted, \u201cHe was a songwriting hero of mine. I only met him once, and only briefly, about 20 years ago, but he \u2014 amazingly \u2014 stopped to talk to me as he was on his way to the stage to perform with the Crickets, backstage at the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame\u2019s tribute to Roy Orbison in Cleveland, where an audience of about 2,000 people was waiting for him. I asked him if I could interview him sometime and he gave me his card and took a minute to talk to me. Then he smiled and pointed to the stage and said, \u2018I\u2019ve got to go out there.\u2019 I don\u2019t think many other artists would have even stopped, in that situation, let alone been so polite about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another fan shared, \u201cA great musician and singer, and my all-time favourite rockabilly guitarist. Trying to copy Sonny\u2019s solos on Midnight Shift and Rock Around With Ollie Vee was what got me into playing lead guitar. I will be forever grateful. RIP Sonny. x\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Someone else commented, \u201cMy condolences to you and your family. Your dad was an incredible songwriter and storyteller. He brought a lot of joy to the world with his words! May he rest in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, yet another Facebook user wrote, \u201cSo sorry for your loss, Sarah. Your dad was genuinely the nicest person. So grateful my dad and our families were able to meet so many times. Memories for a lifetime. My prayers go out to you and your mom and family. May he rest in peace.<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n In 1957, Holly formed the band The Crickets. Sonny joined the following year, becoming the lead guitarist and vocalist in 1959 after Holly died.<\/span><\/p>\n Sonny wrote \u201cLove Is All Around\u201d in 1970, and it became the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which aired for seven seasons on CBS.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a deal that happened all in one day. I had a very good friend who worked for the Williams-Price Agency, and they managed <\/span>Mary Tyler Moore<\/span><\/a>,\u201d Sonny told the <\/span>Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/a> in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n He added, \u201cHe called me one morning in the summer of 1970 and asked me if I would be interested in writing a song for Mary Tyler Moore. He said they\u2019re going to do a sitcom on her and they all need a theme song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sonny said he wrote \u201cLove Is All Around\u201d in just two hours.<\/span><\/p>\n Of the song\u2019s impact, Sonny pointed out, \u201cAnd that was at the beginning of the women\u2019s liberation movement and <\/span>Gloria Steinem<\/span><\/a> and all those people were coming on pretty strong.\u201d He continued, \u201cI think they all identified with that show. It was sort of a cultural touchstone, and the song was a part of that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In 1991, Sonny was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of The Crickets in 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n