Norman Petty Studios was birthplace to Buddy Holly's signature sound

CLOVIS, N.M. — When it comes to pivotal cities with famous music studios, one routinely thinks of such locations as Nashville, Detroit and Memphis. However, Clovis, New Mexico, home to the Norman Petty Recording Studios, was once in high demand as a music recording destination, and rock legend Buddy Holly created some of his most polished efforts, such as "Peggy Sue" and "That’ll Be the Day" at the studio.

Norman Petty, born in Clovis, was a musician and producer who was able to turn his musical success into creating a sought-after studio finished in 1957 on 7th Street that was used by the likes of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings and other famous artists of the '60s.

Norm Petty and his wife Vi Petty formed the Norman Petty Trio with guitarist Jack Vaughn, going on to sell half a million copies of their recording “Almost Paradise,” recorded in 1957 and hitting No. 18 on the singles chart. Norm Petty built his studio at an estimated cost of $100,000, which was perfect for many musicians of the era, especially since it offered prices based on session rather than just by time or take.  A great deal of guitar instrumental surf music was made at the studio in the early 1960s.

More: Wildcat Bluff invites community to celebrate 30th anniversary with Beerology, live music

Petty was charged with putting the final touches on recordings, such as the overdubbing on Holly’s unfinished tracks.

Much of the success of Buddy Holly’s signature sound came out of this studio; a rerecorded version of “That’ll Be the Day” became his first major hit going all the way to No. 1, followed by his second major hit, “Peggy Sue”. Petty is credited as a songwriter on over half the songs of Holly's self-titled album.

As a tribute to the work of her husband, who passed away in 1984, Vi Petty was one of the main contributors to creating the Clovis Music Festival in 1987, named for the duo. What originally started as a spotlight of some of the acts and music that came out of the studio has had to transition to featuring other popular music acts, due to the lack of availability of still living performers from that era of music at the Norm Petty Studios.

In 1989, the music festival featured a reunion of one of the studio's most successful groups: The Fireballs, a group formed in Raton, N.M. The Fireballs featured Amarillo-raised singer Jimmy Gilmer and went on to have six top 40 hits, including the top selling single of 1963, “Sugar Shack”. Also billed as the band that Holly never knew he had, the Fireballs did the instrumentation for Holly’s posthumous releases that were overdubbed at the Norm Petty Studios.

Other previous performers at the Clovis festival have included Clint Black, Warrant, Night Ranger, Loverboy, Firehouse, Winger and Lou Gramm from Foreigner. Typically, attendance at the festival brings about 3,000 people attending the event, according to Randy Petty, Chairman of the Clovis Music Festival who has been involved with the event for the past decade.

More: The Beach Boys to perform at Amarillo Civic Center in September

Clovis is also home to the Norman & Vi Petty Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum, which features memorabilia from the era when the Petty Studios was in hot demand. Extensive sections of the museum are dedicated to Buddy Holly and other recording artists who worked at this location.

“This is a great opportunity for music fans to learn about Clovis’s rich music history and its impact on rock and roll history,” Randy Petty said. “This is a step back into history, and Norman Petty’s impact on music history is unmistakable."

The museum features a recreation of a '50s diner and two of the studio rooms from the Norman Petty Studios which were originally recorded in. Being the home studio responsible for the iconic Buddy Holly records makes this a must-visit location for fans of the rocker and of this era in the recording.

Also on display at the museum is a recreation of the Norman Petty Recording Studio where Holly did his iconic work, as well as other artists who recorded at the studio. By appointment, parties can tour the actual recording studio where Petty produced his records, with many of the original instruments and equipment on display. During the tour, visitors are given a full history of the music produced at the studio. Original microphones, a control board and many of the instruments that were used in recordings at the studio are also on display.

More: Lifting up their voices: Amarillo celebrates choral director George Biffle's 60 years of service

During the tour, snippets of interviews and music produced at the studio are played, along with details about how a session was recorded and how many acts preferred to record there due to not having the same time constraints as other studios.

Randy Petty said that many people including musicians come from all over the world to see the studio due to its history and ties to Holly.

The yearly Clovis Music Festival has spotlighted the studio’s history, including previous shows with some artists that recorded performances at the studio such as the Fireballs. For the 2022 festival, classic southern rockers 38 Special appeared with its original singer Don Barnes, whose distinctive voice appears on most of the early 80s classics such as “Hold On Loosely,” "Caught Up in You" and “Rockin’ into the Night”. Previous performers have toured the studio and have acknowledged its place in the history of rock music.

Clovis is about 80 miles from Route 66 in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and about 100 miles from Amarillo and Holly’s hometown of Lubbock, Texas. This trek makes for a good companion to touring the Buddy Holly Museum in Lubbock.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Norman Petty Studios in NM where Buddy Holly's sound originated