Curtis was a member of Buddy Holly's band The Crickets and became the new frontman for the group after the famous plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in 1959.
His perhaps most famous song is "I fought the law", which achieved great success in later versions by The Bobby Fuller Four and The Clash.
He also wrote and performed the theme song for "The Mary Tyler Moore show" and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Sonny Curtis was 88 years old.
