On this day (November 24) in 1931, Tommy Allsup was born near Owasso, Oklahoma. As a guitarist, Allsup worked with Buddy Holly, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, and several others. Late in life, he worked as a producer for Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, and more. However, if he had won a coin toss in February 1959, Allsup would have been on the plane that killed Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens when it went down.
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Allsup grew up in a musical family. He formed a Western swing band in high school. After graduation, he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he joined Johnnie Lee Wills and All His Boys. Not long after that, he moved to Lawton, where he fronted the house band at the Southern Club…