Holly’s back-up singers honored
From left, Bob and Mary Lapham, Bill and Vicki Pickering, and Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, pictured Monday at the Capitol in Austin. Bob Lapham and Bill Pickering were members of the Picks, who sang back-up on several Buddy Holly recordings.
AUSTIN – Rock ‘n’ roll history hasn’t been kind to brothers John and Bill Pickering and their partner Bob Lapham, better known under their artistic name, the Picks.
Despite being the back-up singers in nine of Buddy Holly’s recorded songs, little has been said or written about the trio, two of whom are still alive.
But a Texas Senate resolution that Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, introduced on Monday could go a long way in making sure Holly’s fans know who the Picks are and what they contributed to the late singer’s recording success.
“The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize the musical group the Picks,” Senate Resolution 55 reads. “The Picks have made important contributions to the rich cultural heritage of our state, and they are truly deserving of recognition.”
John Pickering and Lapham said after the brief ceremony they were humbled by the honor and expressed hope that Holly’s fans will also recognize the trio’s contribution to his success. Bill Pickering died 24 years ago, his brother said.
“We have lived in the shadows for a long time,” John Pickering said. “The Crickets didn’t sing. We were the ghost voices in the studio.”
The trio, students at Texas Tech at the time of the recordings, worked with Holly between July 1957 and February 1958, a year before Holly was killed in a plane crash, Pickering and Lapham recalled.
Part of the reason for not being well known is because unlike the Jordanaires, the back-up singers for Elvis Presley, the Picks never performed in public with Holly, Pickering and Lapham said.
Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, right, shakes hands with Bill Pickering, a co-founder of the Picks, on Monday in Austin.
Lapham also recalled that while Holly liked the Pickering brothers, the singer never much cared for Lapham.
That was because one time when everyone was horsing around he told the singer “Buddy, I’m going to tell you a little secret: When Elvis goes to the Army, rock’n'roll is dead and will never rise again,” Lapham said.
“I was sort of wrong, wasn’t I”? Lapham added. “But I wasn’t making fun. I was really serious and he knew that I was serious and I don’t think he cared much for me.”
Lapham and Pickering, who were inducted into the New Mexico Music Hall of Fame in 2007 because they also had some artistic success on their own, said their goal is to be better known as Holly’s back-up singers.
Their efforts are paying off, the duo said.
“We were unrecognized for more than a quarter of a century,” Pickering said. “But now we are known more and more, especially in Europe. We are beginning to be recognized that now that we’re old.”
Pickering is 75 and Lapham 74.
