Although Wichita Falls is my hometown, most of my years have been spent abroad, and now being back, I am fascinated each day by new things I am learning about this wonderful city we call home. Music means the world to me and I don’t often associate Wichita Falls as being known for its musical history, but am now completely amazed by my new finding.

I was having a conversation with a dear older friend of mine who is not only a musical enthusiast, but quite a player also, and I happened to mention I lived near York Avenue. Well, a light went off and he was elated to tell me the story of a famous recording studio back in the day that happened to be, at one time, down the block.

I believe mostly all of us have heard of the greats stopping through over the years, like Elvis, but who would have thought Buddy Holly, in late 1954 and April of 1955, would have ventured to Wichita Falls with Don Guess and Sonny Curtis and recorded some of their very first songs before their Decca recordings.

Rock 'n' roll singer, songwriter and guitarist Buddy Holly (1936 - 1959), right, with his group The Crickets, Jerry Allison and Joe Mauldin. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

The Studio is now a private home, but in 1953, it was the dream-child of a couple by the name of Sally, who took on the role of studio manager, and Lewis Nesman, who was the primary owner and chief engineer. Other musicians such as The Sprague Brothers, Lew Williams, Slim Whitman and more also recorded and frequented Nesman studio.

There was an article all about Nesman Studios in the June, 1990 edition of Rockin' 50s Magazine. You can read the full article posted by Wichita Falls Records here.

I love coming across amazing historical moments like these, something I was completely unaware of and had never heard about. My dear friend recollected that one of his most cherished moments ever was standing in that studio and on that very stage knowing Buddy Holly had been there in the not-so-distant past.

The song American Pie “The Day the Music Died” written by Don Mclean was all about February 5,1959 when the world lost not just Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, but also “The Big Bopper” Richardson and the pilot that was flying them to their next show, Holly had chartered the flight.