Niki Sullivan, 66; Played Guitar With Buddy Holly, Crickets

Niki Sullivan, 66, who played guitar as a member of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, died in his sleep Tuesday at his home in Sugar Creek, Mo.

Sullivan played on many of the songs Holly released before his death in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959.

Also killed in that Iowa accident were the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

Raised in Lubbock, Texas, Sullivan joined Holly in the Crickets in early 1957 and can be heard on one of the band’s seminal hits, “That’ll Be the Day.” But Sullivan eventually grew tired of the rigorous tour schedule and left the band.

Sullivan served in the Navy and was a longtime employee of Sony Electronics in the Kansas City area.

In a 2002 interview with the Independence (Mo.) Examiner newspaper, Sullivan said he still received about 30 fan letters a year from people wanting to know about his life with the Crickets.