Joe B. Mauldin

Joseph Benson Mauldin, Jr. (July 8, 1940 – February 7, 2015) was an American bass player, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initially played a double (standup) bass, then switched to a Fender Precision Bass guitar. After several years with the Crickets, he became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio which became the "hit factory" for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, and other major 1960s rock performers.
Mauldin was born in Lubbock, Texas. When he was four, his parents divorced. During his time at Lubbock Junior High, he learned piano, trumpet and steel guitar. He was one of the founding members of the Crickets, the others being Buddy Holly, drummer Jerry Allison, and guitarist Niki Sullivan. The first rock band he played in, starting in 1955, was a Lubbock group named the Four…