Tommy Allsup

Thomas Douglas Allsup (November 24, 1931 – January 11, 2017)^[1] was an American rockabilly and country swing guitarist.

Tommy Allsup
Allsup in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Thomas Douglas Allsup
Born	(1931-11-24)November 24, 1931 Owasso, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	January 11, 2017(2017-01-11) (aged 85) Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Rock and roll, country, western swing
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1949–2016
Labels	Liberty

Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma in 1931.^[2] He was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

He worked with entertainers such as Buddy Holly and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. Allsup was touring with Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson when he lost a fateful coin toss with Valens for a seat on the plane that crashed, killing Valens, Holly and Richardson on February 3, 1959.

Allsup died on January 11, 2017 at his home in Springfield, Missouri of complications from hernia surgery.^[1] He was 85 years old.^[3][4]

Further reading

• Lehmer, Larry (2004). The day the music died: the last tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Music Sales Group. ISBN 0-8256-7287-2.
• Patterson, R (2004). Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths, Legends, and Curses. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-4423-0.