His music dates back to the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, as an early bandmate of Buddy Holly, and the writer of such classic songs as «I Fought the Law.» But Sonny Curtis’ most memorable composition may be a TV theme song that turned the world on with a smile.
The theme song to «The Mary Tyler Moore Show» is familiar to generations of TV watchers. The name of the man who wrote and sang it, less so. Who can turn the world on with her smile? Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? Well, it’s you, girl, and you should know it With each glance and every little movement you show it Love is all around, no need to waste it You can have the town, why don’t you take it You’re gonna make it after all But by the time Sonny Curtis recorded «Love Is All Around» in 1970, he’d «made it» several times over himself, as a songwriter, as a recording artist, and as an early bandmate of the legendary Buddy Holly. Born in 1937 in rural West Texas, Curtis grew up picking cotton on his father’s farm. «Oh, it was a miserable job,» he told correspondent Mo Rocca. «The heavier the cotton sack gets, the worse it is, man.» His love of music came from family. His aunt taught him to play the guitar, and while working those fields, Curtis dreamed up his own songs: «Driving a tractor, you go down half a mile that way, and when you get there, you turn around and come back a half mile this way. You have plenty of time to write a song!» Curtis was just 14 when he met a young Buddy Holly in nearby Lubbock. «Buddy had black hair, but he had dyed it blonde, and it was growing out. And he reminded me of a black-and-tan coon hound. We sorta skipped all the niceties and got our guitars and started playing.» Rocca asked, «How quickly did you realize this guy’s serious about music?» «Buddy, he exuded confidence. He just knew he was gonna make it big one day.» The two became fast friends, bonded by their love of music. Sometimes, Curtis said, he’d spend the night at Buddy’s. The two would wake up at midnight and flip on the car radio for a show out of Shreveport, Louisiana, to hear some of the rhythm and blues voices that would shape rock ‘n’ roll: «We heard, oh, Big Mama Thornton and Lonnie Johnson, and Lead Belly, Little Richard, Ray Charles, you name it.» «Were you just absorbing this?» asked Rocca.
