R.I.P.: Songwriter Buddy Buie Has Died at 74

Buddy Buie

Perry "Buddy" Buie – a Dothan, AL native who wrote or co-wrote hits like “Spooky” and “Traces” and was associated with Roy Orbison, The Atlanta Rhythm Section and The Classics IV – died Saturday at Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

He was 74-years-of-age accordinh to  The Dothan Eagle.

Buie was a songwriter, producer, promoter and publisher over a career that spanned more than half a century. He has 340 songs registered in the Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) catalog, according to the John Jarrard Foundation website.

Buie helped put together The Atlanta Rhythm Section and impacted the careers of hundreds of musicians.

Richard Burke said he met Buie when he started playing music in junior high school.
“I would go on Friday and Saturday nights to the rec center to see a band called Wilbur Walton Jr. and the James Gang,” he said. “Buddy managed the band, but he was also the promoter.”
Buie had a band he was working with called The Webs, with Bobby Goldsboro.

“That was Buddy’s first band that he was managing,” Burke said.

The Webs later became The Candymen, the backup band for Orbison, and Buie became the road manager for Orbison.


Buie has been inducted into the music halls of fame for both Alabama and Georgia.