Harold David Box (August 11, 1943 – October 23, 1964) was an
American rock musician in the early 1960s.
Question : which singer-songwriter-guitarist from Lubbock,
Texas, was tragically killed in an airplane crash at the age of 21? The answer
is not Buddy Holly (who was 22 at the time of his death), but David Box. If his
name doesn't ring a bell, you are forgiven. His vocal talents were only ever
featured on five 45-rpm records during his lifetime. His music is best
described as Buddy Holly meets Roy Orbison.
David Box was born into a musical family (his father, Harold
Box, was a western swing fiddler) in the small town of Sulphur Springs in East
Texas. In 1945, the Box family moved to Lubbock, where David would live for the
next 17 years. On his ninth birthday, his parents bought him an acoustic guitar.
He showed great determination in his efforts to master the art of guitar
playing. Having growing up with country music, David's horizons were widened
with the advent of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s.
He became a regular spectator at Radio KDAV's weekly Sunday
Party, where he watched the development of Buddy Holly, who became his role
model. He was a founder-member of the Rhythm Teens, later the Ravens, a group
styled on the Crickets. They cut several demos in February-April 1960. Two of
these were sent to Jerry Allison (the drummer of the Crickets), which resulted
in David and his band-mate Ernie Hall being invited to record with the
Crickets, who were looking for a vocalist after Sonny Curtis had been drafted.
On his 17th birthday, David recorded "Peggy Sue Got Married" and his
own song "Don't Cha Know" (co-written with Ernie Hall) as lead
vocalist with the Crickets. The two recordings (issued on Coral 62238 in
November 1960) fulfilled the Crickets' contractual obligations with Coral,
before they moved on to Liberty Records.
In 1961 David signed with Ted Groebl's Joed label in Big
Spring, TX, first only as a songwriter. David's first solo professional
recording session was on April 5, 1962, in Nashville. While there, David stayed
at the home of Roy Orbison, in whom he found his next great influence. Box
recorded two songs by the trio of Roy Orbison, Joe Melson and Ray Rush :
"I've Had My Moments" and "If You Can't Say Something Nice")..
Apart from a positive review in Billboard on August 18, 1962, the recordings
received no further promotion, excellent as they were.
David graduated from Lubbock High School on June 1, 1962.
Sensibly seeking a possible alternative to music, he enrolled on a correspondence
course with the School of American Art in Westport, Connecticut. This was
completed in the summer of 1964, after which he had more time for touring. He
had come to realize the limitations of being signed to a small independent
label that had never had a hit record. On his 21st birthday, he was able to
take control of his legal affairs, cancelling his contract with Joed. Thanks to
Ray Rush, Box was signed to RCA Victor, a major label. David and Ray were
invited to travel to Nashville on October 24 for their first RCA session.
Meanwhile, David worked with a local band named Buddy and
the Kings : Buddy Groves (vocal/guitar), Carl Banks (bass) and Bill Daniels
(drums). Daniels was a qualified pilot and the quartet hired a Cesna Skyhawk
172 to take them to a gig in Harris County on 23 October 1964. The plane
crashed, probably due to a defective fuel gauge. There were no survivors. After
the sad news broke in Lubbock the Box's first visitors were Buddy Holly's
parents. Mr Holley hugged Harold Box and said simply "It's better you
should know this now; people will tell you that time heals the pain but it
doesn't".
David Box didn't live long enough to reach his full potential. He took his music very seriously and although he was heavily influenced by Buddy Holly, he was extremely talented in his own right. (Edited from BlackCat Rockabilly Europe)
1 comment:
For “The David Box Story” go here:
http://www60.zippyshare.com/v/47998920/file.html
01 Don't Cha Know
02 That's All I Want From You
03 Some Sweet Day
04 I've Had My Moments (1)
05 If You Can't Say Something Nice (1)
06 Valley Of Tears
07 Slippin' And Slidin'
08 Girl On My Mind
09 Waitin' (On The Steps At School)
10 I Do The Best I Can
11 Waitin' (So You'll Be Mine)
12 Apache
13 I've Got A New Love
14 Hey Baby
15 Ready Teddy
16 Dream Girl
17 I Can't Remember When (1)
18 Bittersweet
19 Love Someone
20 Heartbreak
21 If You Can't Say Something Nice (2)
22 Sweet Sweet Day
23 Teardrops
24 It's Not Too Late (To Wish For Love)
25 Blue, Baby Blue
26 Solid Ground
27 I Can Smile Again
28 No One Will Ever Know
29 Little Lonely Summer Girl
30 I Can't Remember When (2)
31 I've Had My Moments (2)
32 Funny How Time Slips Away
(A very big thank you to Jake @ Juke Box City for link)
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