Joe Benson Mauldin, Jr. (born July 8, 1940) is ranked among the top rock bassist

Bassist

A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

s and became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios

Gold Star Studios

Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most influential and successful commercial recording studios in the world....

, the Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 studio that became the hit factory for Phil Spector

Phil Spector

Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....

, Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

 and other major 1960s rock performers. He was born in Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

.

Mauldin became the bassist in the group The Crickets

The Crickets

The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....

, which included Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

 and drummer Jerry Allison

Jerry Allison

J.I. Allison is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for The Crickets and co-writer of their Buddy Holly hit "Peggy Sue"....

 and guitarist Niki Sullivan

Niki Sullivan

Niki M. Sullivan was an American rock and roll guitar player, born in South Gate, California. He was one of the three original members of Buddy Holly's backing group, The Crickets. Though he lost interest within a year or two of his involvement, his guitar playing was an integral part of Holly's...

. But the first rock band he played in was The Four Teens of Lubbock in 1955. He appears to have recorded with this group (that included the recording artist Terry Noland) in Dallas, prior to his recording with Buddy Holly in Clovis, NM. Since Holly's death in 1959 he has played on and off as an original Cricket with J.I. Allison, Sonny Curtis, Glen D. Hardin and with Niki Sullivan on occasion. He has also been inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock as an original Cricket.