“If you have a tendency to quit, you’ll never make it in the music business." —John Pickering
On February 3, 1959, the rock and roll world lost the musical talents of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper, J. P. Richardson, as a plane crash claimed their lives. Today, 53 years later, as we remember those whose mortality was brief, yet whose works have lasted two generations beyond their own, and still counting, there’s one more musical colleague to add to the singing group now in ‘rock and roll heaven.’ His name may not be as familiar, but he’s a soul who spent a lifetime contributing greatly to the world of gospel music as well as the rock and roll music of Buddy Holly himself: Singer John Pickering, who passed away a year ago this month, February 28, 2011.
For most of the last 50 years of his life, John Winton Pickering was a man on a mission, but not for himself. Instead, he was about the business of keeping a promise he’d made to his brother, Bill Pickering: to make sure that people knew who the real voices were on most of the beloved hits of musician Buddy Holly, whose star rose to fame in the 1950s, on the wings of background vocals of John Pickering, his brother Bill, and their boyhood friend, Bob Lapham. Together, they were called ‘The Picks,’ not that you’d know it originally. Theirs were the actual harmonies you heard singing on 9 of the 12 Buddy Holly records produced by iconic Norman Petty, yet theirs were the names uncredited on the records for almost 30 years.
The world of music is far from perfect, and the dealings of many of those in power leave much to be desired in setting an example for others. In short, some people are out just for themselves, and they don’t mind if they take a shortcut or two, or twelve. Success, at any cost, the objective. And so it was that three young vocal talents, two brothers and a friend, were asked to provide some on-the-spot harmonies to back the vocals of Buddy Holly and his instrumental players, the Crickets.
And, despite their good faith in the word of producer Norman Petty’s promise to make sure they were credited, when the records were issued, their names were absent. Excuses, delays, and broken promises left The Picks (the Pickering Brothers and Bob Lapham) in the shadows of anonymity, a painful place to be. Imagine how you’d feel to have everyone around you buying records you were on, singing harmonies along with the songs, in the parts you created, but no one had a clue who you were or what you’d done.
John’s brother, Bill, suffered from poor health for many years during his life. Doubtless too, he also suffered a broken heart when this egregious circumstance left a wound that would not heal. As he battled for life in his final days, Bill pleaded with John to please, once and for all, make sure people knew whose backing voices were really on the Buddy Holly records.
It wasn’t going to be easy, but John promised Bill he would. Years of perseverance, developing advocacy within record corporations whose ownership and executives changed like the seasons, John forged ahead until he was finally able to keep that promise to Bill.
When I first met John Pickering in October 2009, he was accompanied by the love of his life for over 53 years, his wife, the former Vicky Bilington. The childhood sweethearts, originally from Lubbock, were one of the booth presenters of music offered at the iconic Austin Record Convention. Passing by their booth, I was struck by their unique record and photo display, and stopped to talk. John had a web site set up with more information, www.buddyhollyandthepicks.com, and he was a career scientist/geologist whose presentation of information was linear, detailed, and accurate. His printed material begged further review. The real voices on the Buddy Holly hits, for years had gone uncredited. At last, The Picks were being acknowledged.
Intrigued, I took their business card, showing their hometown as Houston, Texas, and as I drove home from Austin that day, having been immersed in 50 years of classic rock history at every turn, I couldn’t get the memory of John Pickering’s shining eyes and gentle smile out of my mind. I had to know more. I called the Pickerings in September, 2009 to arrange an interview, and they welcomed me into their home, filled with family, love, photographs, and all signs of a book in progress. John was busy with two projects: one, a geological data base that he’d spent a lifetime compiling with valuable data for petroleum geologists and engineers, and two, his memoirs of the battle to gain simple, rightful credit on the Buddy Holly recordings.
The point of the latter pursuit was ‘future’ and ‘perpetual’ credit rights. There’s not a day that goes by that someone doesn’t record their own rendition of a Buddy Holly song, that independent record labels don’t press and print new compilations and boxed sets of Holly tunes listing the original sources and credits for the material. John wasn’t fighting to patch up past wrongs as much as he was working to prevent future new injustice. And, beside him at each and every turn of the way was his loving wife Vicky.
John had an unmistakable pure tenor voice that was even more special when he was singing gospel songs. One of his talents was in hearing harmonies in his head and being able to sing them; another was writing gospel music and praise songs that spoke of his lifetime of Christian faith that was particularly admirable as you learned the hardships of his youth and the absence of a great deal to be joyful about or offer thanks for, except the love of his (then future) wife, Vicky, whose love sustained him throughout the very rest of his life.
Even after his passing, John’s triumphs continued. As Vicky noted on his web site, ‘The Picks are singing on "Oh Boy" and "Maybe Baby" on the new CD "Buddy Holly - Icon", released March 1, 2011. The Picks are singing on 16 songs with Buddy Holly on "Raining In My Heart" released July 12, 2011.’
The chance to meet John and Vicky Pickering, first in 2009, provided an introduction to two of the most gracious individuals in the world of music. Accompanying this article is an historical look back at that first meeting, and the background into John Pickering’s lifetime quest for truth.
On this, the anniversary of the day oft-heralded as ‘the day the music died,’ it’s really the first time that trio in rock and roll heaven found the perfect fourth voice for harmony in its choir. In loving memory of John Pickering, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J. P. Richardson.
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