This is from another email list I'm on. For those of
you who may not know, The Roses sang backup on several
of The Crickets songs:

Robert Linville, one of The Roses, passed away this
morning. Robert and David Bigham, another one of the
Roses, both lived in Clovis and were instrumental in
helping us get the ball rolling for the Buddy Holly
Festival in 1996. They have been staunch supporters
and have done much behind the scenes to make things
happen here. Robert and David stood on either side of
Peggy Sue at the induction concert this September,
singing backup for the Fireballs. They also recorded
backup for the Fireball's latest CD. As I'm sure most
of you know, the Roses were a backup vocal group who
worked with Norman Petty and who recorded and toured
with Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and Buddy Knox. They
were from Odessa and first came to the Norman Petty
Studio in Clovis, New Mexico, with Roy Orbison
when he went there to record.

Robert had been undergoing colon cancer treatment and
shortly after he was here at the music festival this
year, he went to Dallas. Coming back, he started
having difficulty breathing and soon had
life-threatening breathing problems. After massive
doses of antibiotics in ICU, he finally got out of the
hospital, but could never breathe well after that. It
was assumed by some of us that the cancer had spread,
but the doctors say that there was no sign of cancer
in his lungs. They simply don't know what it was. This
morning, he began going into respiratory distress
again, but by the time they got him to the hospital,
he was gone.

There was no finer, gentler man or truer friend in the
world than Robert Linville. He loved life and always
had a smile on his face. He also loved Buddy Holly
like a brother and did everything he could to keep
Buddy's memory alive and true. That's one of the main
reasons I know Buddy and Norman Petty were good men...
because Robert loved and respected them both so much.
I can only imagine the reunion they must be having
today. No doubt Roy is there, too, and I bet they are
singing for the angels.

Robert's funeral will probably be on Monday, in
Clovis. I will write when I find out for sure and let
you know. Please keep his wife, Ann, and their
children and grandchildren in your hearts and prayers.


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