The Crickets was an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed… Read Full Bio ↴The Crickets was an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day" (written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison), released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the US Billboard Top 100 chart on 16 September 1957. The sleeve of their first album, The "Chirping" Crickets, showed the band line-up at the time: Holly on lead vocals and lead guitar, Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar, Jerry Allison on drums, and Joe B. Mauldin on bass. The Crickets helped set the template for subsequent rock bands, with their guitar-bass-drums line-up, performing their own self-written material. After Holly's death in 1959 the band continued to tour and record into the 1960s and beyond, with other band members through to the 21st century.

It is said not to be the case that The Crickets chose their name while listening to a playback of "I'm Gonna Love You Too" ; rather, the name was chosen while going through an encyclopedia of names. Other names had been considered including The Scoundrels and The Spiders. Holly's manager (Norman Petty) and owner of the Norman Petty Studio in Clovis ,NM, decided to keep the chirping in the record, but this is in no way tied to the origin of the band's name. In real life, they chose the name due to huge number of crickets in Texas that particular time of year. It should be worth noting that they almost chose the name The Beetles (it is said that John Lennon later named his band in homage to Holly and The Crickets).

Rhythm guitarist Sullivan wasn't comfortable with the amount of traveling and to a lesser extent, he didn't fit in with Jerry and Joe B. For the same reason, Jerry and Joe were not ready to leave small town Lubbock for big city NY. The big move was the real reason why The Crickets initially broke up, but Holly was not daunted by the breakup; he chose a new back-up band for the Winter Dance Party Tour. The new band consisted of Tommy Allsup, Waylon Jennings and Carl Bunch on drums. Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were booked on the tour with Holly and his new band. Dion and newcomer Frankie Sardo also performed on this particular tour. But after about 4 months, Jerry and Joe B began to have second thoughts about the breakup of the band. They had planned to fly to Moorehead, MN, and surprise their friend. Destiny stepped in and the music world suffered its first tragic accident February 3, 1959.

The Crickets (Jerry and Joe) continued to record on their own with guitarist Sonny Curtis and vocalist Earl Sinks. The album Remnants was released in 1973 with band members Allison, Curtis, Albert Lee, Ric Grech, Steve Krikorian (later known as Tonio K.), Carol Montgomery, and Nick VanMaarth.

In the film The Buddy Holly Story, the story of the band was altered drastically and includes many inaccuracies. Due to The Crickets selling the rights to another studio, their film counterparts' names were changed for legal reasons. In addition, there are only two Crickets -- a bass player clearly being Mauldin and a drummer modeled on Allison, and the character of Sullivan and his quitting the band is omitted entirely. The real Crickets were outraged on being portrayed as racists, as well as the latter scene in which they appear at Holly's door wanting to reunite. In reality, they had discussed with Holly, shortly before his death, about going on a reunion tour.

The Crickets released The Crickets and Their Buddies in 2004, featuring classics from all parts of their career, with performances by several prominent artists, including Eric Clapton, Rodney Crowell, Waylon Jennings, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Graham Nash, and Bobby Vee.

On 28 October 2008, The Crickets were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. On 14 April 2012, The Crickets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On February 6, 2016, "The Crickets & Buddies" performed in Clear Lake, Iowa, at the Surf Ballroom, the site of Holly's last performance. Members of previous line-ups appeared, including Sonny Curtis, Glen D. Hardin, Albert Lee, Tommy Allsup, Gordon Payne and others. After the show, Allison announced that it was the group's final performance.

Send Me Some Lovin'
The Crickets Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Send me some lovin', send it I pray
How can I love you, when you're far away
Send me your picture, send it my dear
So I can hold it, pretend you are near
Can't you send me your kisses, I can feel their touch
I need you so badly, I miss you so much
My days are so lonely, my nights are so blue
I'm here and I'm lonely, I'm waiting for you

Overall Meaning

The Crickets's song Send Me Some Lovin' is a melancholy ballad about a lover who yearns for the physical presence of their distant partner. The opening line, "send me some lovin', send it I pray," sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the singer pleading for the affection of their loved one. They are struggling to maintain their love for this faraway partner and are unsure about how to keep the relationship alive. The line, "how can I love you, when you're far away," speaks to the difficulty of long-distance relationships and the emotional toll they can have on both parties.

The singer is desperate to feel closer to their lover and asks them to send a picture, so they can hold it and pretend they are near. The lyrics, "can't you send me your kisses, I can feel their touch, I need you so badly, I miss you so much," are particularly poignant and emphasize the singer's longing for their partner's physical affection. The song's chorus repeats, "send me some lovin'," as if the singer is begging for even the smallest gestures of love to bridge the distance between them.

Overall, Send Me Some Lovin' is a heart-wrenching song about the difficulties of loving someone who is far away. The lyrics capture the sense of loneliness and desperation that can come with a long-distance relationship and underscore the importance of physical closeness in romantic connections.

Send Me Some Lovin'The Crickets Lyrics

Send Me Some Lovin'
The Crickets Lyrics