Buddy Knox, 65, Had Hit With `Party Doll'

BREMERTON - Buddy Wayne Knox, a rockabilly singer and songwriter who hit the top of the charts with "Party Doll" in the 1950s, has died. He was 65.

Mr. Knox, who lived in Port Orchard the past two years, died at Harrison Memorial Hospital Sunday after a short bout with cancer, said Johnny Vallis, the singer's spokesman and promoter.

"He died as he lived - with great spirit and courage," Vallis said.

"I remember him as a person who couldn't do enough for you, couldn't be kind enough to you. He was always there for you. He's a true gentleman."

Born Wayne Knox in Happy, Texas, his career paralleled that of Buddy Holly, who was a good friend. Holly and two other pioneer rockers - J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens - and a pilot died on Feb. 2, 1959, when their plane crashed just north of Clear Lake, Iowa.

In 1997, Mr. Knox joined The Crickets, Bobby Vee and The Shirelles at a Buddy Holly Tribute concert to mark the 38th anniversary of the singer's death. Concerts commemorating "the day that music died" - as singer-songwriter Don McLean put it in his 1972 hit "American Pie" - have become an annual event.

Mr. Knox penned his biggest hit, "Party Doll," in 1948. Seven years later, he formed the Rhythm Orchids with Jimmy Bowen on bass and Don Lanier on guitar. Studio owner Norman Petty cut "Party Doll" and Bowen's "I'm Stickin' With You" on the local Triple-D label in 1956, using a cardboard box instead of drums.

The tunes were later picked up by Roulette's then-new NYC label, which split the songs onto two records, each with a "B" side.

Each sold a million copies and "Party Doll" became a No. 1 hit.

Mr. Knox had a string of other songs on the charts in the `50s, including "Hula Love," "Rock Your Little Baby To Sleep," and "Somebody Touched Me."

He later moved into straight pop and then country, where Bob Montgomery, Holly's old producer, helped make Mr. Knox's "Gipsy Man" a modest success in 1968.

Mr. Knox attributed his success to his fans, said Vallis, whose company, In the Spotlight, is based in Victoria, British Columbia.

"Buddy always left communication with his fans open. He always said his fans made him," he said. "It's a major loss for me . . . the rest of the world is also hurting like me."

Mr. Knox is survived by his fiancee Becky Carpenter and five children from two of his three previous marriages.