Recording pioneer's legacy lives on at museum

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Opened in 2008, the Norman and Vi Petty Rock ’n’ Roll Museum tells the story of one of the birthplaces of popular music.

Editor’s note: Following is one in a series of features about destinations some consider treasures of the High Plains.

Norman Petty put Clovis on the music map as a recording pioneer in the formative years of rock ’n’ roll.

The avalanche of hits Petty churned out from his homespun Seventh Street studio in the 1950s and 1960s included some of Buddy Holly’s classic rockabilly beats and became known around the world as the Clovis Sound.

His legacy lives on at the Norman and Vi Petty Rock ’n’ Roll Museum.

Reason to go

Opened in 2008, the museum tells the story of one of the birthplaces of popular music.

The 7,500 square foot facility showcases memorabilia from a musical era that lasted only a few years. There are rare photographs, musical instruments, and recording equipment from the Petty collection. There is also a 20-minute film about the era, including interviews with artists who recorded in Petty’s studio.

While Holly was certainly the most famous artist Norman Petty collaborated with, the 1945 Clovis High graduate also worked with Roy Orbison and Waylon Jennings and took the Raton-based Fireballs to the top of the charts with “Sugarshack.”

Sentimental journey

Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce Director Ernie Kos shared this story about a couple from Michigan who recently visited the museum en route to Santa Fe.

“In my office there are surveillance monitors of the museum. I looked up and I saw this couple doing the jitterbug (a sound track of music from the era is played at the museum). Then they started to slow dance to another song. I just had to meet them.

“They told me the museum and the music took them back in time and brought up so many fond memories. They had tears in their eyes.”

That’s big

Oversized guitars modeled after Holly’s Fender Stratocaster greet visitors outside and inside the museum.

There is also a full-size replica of Petty’s studio in the museum.

By the numbers

Twenty of the songs produced by Norman Petty Studios reached Billboard Magazine’s Top 40 from 1957 to 1967, including three No. 1s.

Did you know?

Petty produced 40 to 50 Buddy Holly songs (and co-wrote many) at his studio in the space of 18 months, and almost every song was a $1 million-seller, either as a single or on an album collection, according to Clovis historian Don McAlvay.

Location: 105 E. Grand Ave., Clovis

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend tours are available by appointment.

Admission: $5; children 12-and-under free

Information: (575) 763-3435.

— Compiled by Rick White, correspondent