SUNG, BUT UNSUNG

Prolific Singer-Songwriter Behind ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ Theme Dead at 88

Sonny Curtis composed hit songs such as “I Fought the Law” and “Walk Right Back” but never became famous.

Singer-songwriter Sonny Curtis, who composed the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and other classic hits like “I Fought the Law” and “Walk Right Back,” has died at the age of 88. Curtis died Friday at a hospital in Nashville from what his daughter, journalist Sarah Curtis Graziano, said were complications of pneumonia. Born in West Texas at the height of the Great Depression, Curtis’ 70-year career brought him relatively little public recognition despite his composing hundreds of songs for a wide variety of different artists, including country icon Keith Whitley, teen rock-and-roll sensation Bobby Vee, and steel-string duo the Everly Brothers. As well as writing and performing “Love Is All Around” for Tyler Moore, he also played guitar for Buddy Holly when the rock icon was just starting out, opening for other acts like Elvis Presley. Curtis’ daughter said he came to appreciate the fact that he was not a well-known figure as he enjoyed music industry success in his later years. “He was able to live a normal life but still make a living in the music business,” Curtis Graziano said. “And that’s no small feat.”