Biography

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 moved to Los Angeles, played with local bands, and did session work, including writing credit for the Ventures', "Guitar Twist".

He returned to Odessa, Texas, where he worked with Ronnie Smith, Roy Orbison and producer Willie Nelson. In 1968 he moved to Nashville, where he did session work and produced Bob Wills', "24 Great Hits by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys". In 1979, he started a club, "Tommy's Heads Up Saloon", in Dallas. The club was named for Allsup's coin toss with Valens 20 years beforehand.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]