After Buddy ’s tragic death in a plane crash , the Picks quietly settled down outside the celebrity lifestyle and Bob Lapham became a successful newspaper editor . John and Bill ( The Pickering Brothers ) regrouped at Houston in 1969 – 1970 and released Nashville-recorded turntable hits for Pete Drake 's Stop Records . Some of the six national Pickering Brothers ' releases were " Proud Mary " , " Words " , " Going Down to the River " and their own version of " Oh , Boy ! " . Some of the '' Buddy Holly and The Picks '' albums also contain the Picks ' versions of " Words " and " You 've Lost That Lovin ' Feeling " from those sessions at Nashville , as well as Houston-recorded Buddy Holly Tributes written by John Pickering , entitled " Buddy Holly Not Fade Away " and " Forever 22 " . In 1971 , the Pickering Brothers were managed and produced on the Daffan Record label in Houston by Songwriter Hall-of-Famer Ted Daffan , writer of " Born To Lose " , Worried Mind " , and many other monster hit songs . Unfortunately , the Pickering Brothers ' career as a duet came to an abrupt stop on October 8 , 1973 when Bill Pickering suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm . John Pickering , however , continued as a solo artist , releasing on Pick Records the " Picks 25th Anniversary " cassette tape for fan clubs . At first comatose , blind , and unable to sing for a long time afterwards , Bill Pickering survived , regained his vision , and recovered his high tenor voice prior to 1984
tragic death in a plane crash
The Day the Music Died
The Picks