Bobby Craf ford was playing drums with a small-time band out of Cotton Plant, Arkansas , w hen he heard that Sonny Burgess and the Pacers were loo king for a drummer. Craf ford gave them a call and was hired. That was back in 1957 . Since then Craf ford has recorded and toured with Sonny Burges s and the Pacers , playing alongside acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash .
After the death of Sonny Burgess in 2017, the band changed their name to The Legendary Pacers , and they continue as a working band even though the band members are in their seventies and eighties . When discussing the band’s legacy , Craf ford states that he wants them to be remembered as " one of the first of rock and r oll. "
Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Bobby Crafford at Bubba's Blues Corner; Helena, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
