Biography
It's crazy. How could a land so flat, something that appears so utterly rural have ever been a launching pad for rock n' roll? An outsider may not get it... to them it's little more than endless flatlands broken up by farm acreage and feedlots. But by God-- Buddy Holly and his Crickets hit like an atom bomb and showed the world that you didn't have to look bad and dangerous (i.e. Elvis Presley) to know how to rock n' roll. Them Hub City boys basically set the standard for how rock n' roll worked and looked in a small group setting.
And what Buddy, Sonny, Nikki, Joe, Jerry I., Don Webb, Jack Huddles, the Veveteens, the Sparkles, Don Guess, Bob Montgomery, Sonnee West, Jim Solley, KDAV, Waylon Jennings, Bill Mack, Ben Hall, and the Cotton Club started out in Lubbock whipped through the Panhandle like a dust storm. Buddy Knox, Don Lanier, and Jimmy Bowen were up in Canyon. And a hop, skip, and a jump away was Amarillo where you had Rick Tucker and the Turks and the Nighthawks. Back to the south in Plainview the String-A-Longs were working their thing after a false start back up in Hereford as the Rock n' Rollers. And if west Texas was the launching pad for this crazy little thing then Norman Petty's Clovis, New Mexico studio(s) were like mission control funneling all these cats off to diskeries like Hamilton, Dot, Decca, Jaro, Brunswick, and Coral.
One of those cats was Larry Trider. Pretty much all histories list Larry's place of birth as the TINY and out-of-the-way farming town of Lazbuddie and then jump right on along to his Amarillo days as a member of Rick Tucker's band, though Bill Griggs gives mention to a spot in Clovis hosting his own program in '56 and '57 on KICA in A 'Who's Who' of West Texas Rock 'n' Roll Music (2002). Rick Tucker, like most other West Texas artists, had a serious hangup on the Holly hop sound and this is born out on his releases on Erwin Short's Veeda label. Bill Griggs mentions that when Tucker moved on to the West Coast in the early 60s Larry Trider fronted a series of his own bands, making his first recordings with Petty in 1961.
"Don't Stop" and "The Ha-Ha Song" were picked up by Roulette and released in the Spring of 1961. If there is one negative thing that can be said about so many of the artists from the South Plains and the Panhandle it is that they took the Holly influence and stuck with it. Even after Buddy was gone from this earth they couldn't shake either the vocal mannerisms or guitar style, both of which were so very influential. And listening to the Roulette 45 one can't dismiss that influence. "Don't Stop", written by
Petty and Amarillo's Bob Venable, is a thin rewrite of "When Sin Stops" by the Nighthawks... and Bob Venable... from 1958. "The Ha-Ha Song", co-written by Venable co-hort Eddie Reeves, again mines the Holly sound, but a trace of clownishness helps the song stand out a bit. Based on the recollections of Robin Brown Larry's next few years in Amarillo were busy. He eventually got a deal with Petty's ol' standby Coral Records, getting two releases.
Trider's first release on Coral, in 1963, paired "I'm Comin' Home" with "Note Upon My Door". Though penned by Charlie Rich, it is Carl Mann who tore through an OUTSTANDING version of "I'm Comin' Home" for Phillips International in 1960. Though it ain't got the go of Mann's waxing, Trider does a fine job reworking the tune in a Cricket-y style. "Note Upon My Door" came from the pen of a Ken Davis. This would not be the "Shook Shake" Ken Davis guy, but the Ken Davis guy that recored "Drop Out" at Petty's studio for a 1964 release on Dot. "Note"'s got a twistin' go-go style to it, and while I can hear Buddy I know that had he been alive in 1963 he would have been years beyond this sound and style.
Larry's next Coral release would be 1964's "Carbon Copy" which was written in part by Plainview's Keith McCormack. While Larry never had a big run at the charts during his time, the string-y "Carbon Copy" was picked up by the Northern Soul crowd a few years back and has gone on to be big soul/popcorn hit. Larry's last 45 for Coral was "Make It Do" b/w "Who's Gonna Stand By Me" and it was not a hit upon its release in 1965 and nor has it been a hit since.
1965 seems to have been a busy year for Trider as he jumped from Coral to Dot and was also in California for a short stretch as a Cricket, after which he returned to Texas taking up a residence in Lubbok and jumping to the Amy label for a country-ish release. Then in the 70s it was off to Las Vegas for a stretch and an album on Rainwood and then back on into Lubbock and the Red Raider club. Last seen, Trider was back in Vegas where he may - or may not have- passed away 10 years back or so.
And what Buddy, Sonny, Nikki, Joe, Jerry I., Don Webb, Jack Huddles, the Veveteens, the Sparkles, Don Guess, Bob Montgomery, Sonnee West, Jim Solley, KDAV, Waylon Jennings, Bill Mack, Ben Hall, and the Cotton Club started out in Lubbock whipped through the Panhandle like a dust storm. Buddy Knox, Don Lanier, and Jimmy Bowen were up in Canyon. And a hop, skip, and a jump away was Amarillo where you had Rick Tucker and the Turks and the Nighthawks. Back to the south in Plainview the String-A-Longs were working their thing after a false start back up in Hereford as the Rock n' Rollers. And if west Texas was the launching pad for this crazy little thing then Norman Petty's Clovis, New Mexico studio(s) were like mission control funneling all these cats off to diskeries like Hamilton, Dot, Decca, Jaro, Brunswick, and Coral.
One of those cats was Larry Trider. Pretty much all histories list Larry's place of birth as the TINY and out-of-the-way farming town of Lazbuddie and then jump right on along to his Amarillo days as a member of Rick Tucker's band, though Bill Griggs gives mention to a spot in Clovis hosting his own program in '56 and '57 on KICA in A 'Who's Who' of West Texas Rock 'n' Roll Music (2002). Rick Tucker, like most other West Texas artists, had a serious hangup on the Holly hop sound and this is born out on his releases on Erwin Short's Veeda label. Bill Griggs mentions that when Tucker moved on to the West Coast in the early 60s Larry Trider fronted a series of his own bands, making his first recordings with Petty in 1961.
"Don't Stop" and "The Ha-Ha Song" were picked up by Roulette and released in the Spring of 1961. If there is one negative thing that can be said about so many of the artists from the South Plains and the Panhandle it is that they took the Holly influence and stuck with it. Even after Buddy was gone from this earth they couldn't shake either the vocal mannerisms or guitar style, both of which were so very influential. And listening to the Roulette 45 one can't dismiss that influence. "Don't Stop", written by
Petty and Amarillo's Bob Venable, is a thin rewrite of "When Sin Stops" by the Nighthawks... and Bob Venable... from 1958. "The Ha-Ha Song", co-written by Venable co-hort Eddie Reeves, again mines the Holly sound, but a trace of clownishness helps the song stand out a bit. Based on the recollections of Robin Brown Larry's next few years in Amarillo were busy. He eventually got a deal with Petty's ol' standby Coral Records, getting two releases.
Trider's first release on Coral, in 1963, paired "I'm Comin' Home" with "Note Upon My Door". Though penned by Charlie Rich, it is Carl Mann who tore through an OUTSTANDING version of "I'm Comin' Home" for Phillips International in 1960. Though it ain't got the go of Mann's waxing, Trider does a fine job reworking the tune in a Cricket-y style. "Note Upon My Door" came from the pen of a Ken Davis. This would not be the "Shook Shake" Ken Davis guy, but the Ken Davis guy that recored "Drop Out" at Petty's studio for a 1964 release on Dot. "Note"'s got a twistin' go-go style to it, and while I can hear Buddy I know that had he been alive in 1963 he would have been years beyond this sound and style.
Larry's next Coral release would be 1964's "Carbon Copy" which was written in part by Plainview's Keith McCormack. While Larry never had a big run at the charts during his time, the string-y "Carbon Copy" was picked up by the Northern Soul crowd a few years back and has gone on to be big soul/popcorn hit. Larry's last 45 for Coral was "Make It Do" b/w "Who's Gonna Stand By Me" and it was not a hit upon its release in 1965 and nor has it been a hit since.
1965 seems to have been a busy year for Trider as he jumped from Coral to Dot and was also in California for a short stretch as a Cricket, after which he returned to Texas taking up a residence in Lubbok and jumping to the Amy label for a country-ish release. Then in the 70s it was off to Las Vegas for a stretch and an album on Rainwood and then back on into Lubbock and the Red Raider club. Last seen, Trider was back in Vegas where he may - or may not have- passed away 10 years back or so.