Jerry “JI” Allison, the drummer for Buddy Holly and the Crickets (a.k.a. The Crickets), who is credited as a co-writer on influential rock ‘n’ roll hits “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue,” has died at age 82, according to a post on the Buddy Holly Foundation’s Facebook page.

“JI was a musician ahead of his time, and undoubtedly his energy, ideas and exceptional skill contributed to both The Crickets, and rock n’ roll itself, becoming such a success,” the post reads. “Buddy is often heralded as the original singer-songwriter, but JI, too, wrote and inspired so many of the songs that would go on to be eternal classics.”

Born Aug. 31, 1939, in Hillsboro, Texas, Allison attended the same middle school as Holly in Lubbock, Texas, but the two didn’t become friends until high school, when they formed a band and began playing gigs at roller rinks and other local venues. Alongside bassist Larry Welborn (subsequently replaced by Joe Mauldin) and rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan, they later found success as The Crickets, scoring their first hit with “That’ll Be the Day,” recorded during a February 1957 session with songwriter and producer Norman Petty in his Clovis, N.M., studio (a country-leaning version of the song had previously been released by Decca during Holly’s short-lived stint in Nashville).

Co-written by Allison, Holly and Petty, the 1957 version of “That’ll Be the Day” was released by Brunswick Records and slowly picked up steam on radio before hitting the peak of the Billboard Top 100 (the progenitor of the Hot 100) in September of that year. Though they never scored another No. 1 hit, The Crickets followed “Day” with a string of successful singles including “Oh, Boy!”, “Maybe Baby” and “Think It Over” (the latter co-written by Allison). “Peggy Sue,” on which Allison was also credited as a co-writer and which was named after his then-girlfriend and future wife Peggy Sue Gerron, hit No. 3 on the Top 100 later that year as a solo single for Holly. Allison himself scored a modest solo hit with “Real Wild Child” — a cover of Johnny O’Keefe’s “Wild One” — which was released under his middle name, Ivan, in 1958 and peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard singles chart.

Following Holly’s death in a plane crash in February 1959 alongside fellow rock ‘n’ roll pioneers Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (a.k.a. The Big Bopper), Allison continued recording and touring as The Crickets with a rotating cast of band members including Mauldin, Sonny Curtis, Glen Hardin, Earl Sinks and Jerry Naylor. “More Than I Can Say,” a 1960 Crickets single co-written by Allison and Curtis, later became a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 for Leo Sayer. Over the ensuing decades, Allison also became an in-demand session player, recording with such artists as Bobby Vee, Eddie Cochran, Waylon Jennings, Paul McCartney and Nanci Griffith.

Jerry Allison has left the building. For what I’m into, this is the greatest drumming ever televised. ❤️ https://t.co/IYu5mPV5c7

— Jon Wurster (@jonwurster) August 22, 2022

Austin City Limits #1406: The Crickets – “Peggy Sue” https://t.co/lKrAybNhb6 via @YouTube R.I.P. Crickets drummer J.I. “Jerry” Allison.

— Austin City Limits (@acltv) August 22, 2022

Sad news . https://t.co/3exj32XMj1

— Clem Burke (@clem_burke) August 23, 2022

Earlier Monday (Aug. 22), Hayley Hubbard posted an Instagram story of her husband Tyler Hubbard onstage with his Florida Georgia Line partner Brian Kelley playing Canada’s Country Thunder Alberta festival over the weekend with the caption, “Got a little emotional last night knowing this was one of the last FGL shows.”

With only two concerts left on their schedule for Aug. 26 and Aug. 31, one of country music’s most successful duos is putting a (perhaps temporary) cap on their collective career, ending what has been a barnburner decade for the twosome.

Though Hubbard and Kelley have never officially announced that they are splitting, both are working on solo music, and Hubbard talked openly about their parting on The Bobby Bones Show in late July.

“We’re not breaking up, we’re just taking a break,” Hubbard told Bones, describing their next chapter. He says despite rumors that began when the two unfollowed each other briefly on social media around the 2020 presidential election, the split is not over politics. “They can’t just say, ‘Oh the guys want to have some individuality and do something different,’ but ultimately, it does bum me out because that’s not the narrative.”

After the rumors of a split first surfaced in late 2020, Hubbard and Kelley posted a video in early 2021 saying they planned to pursue solo projects, while continuing to work on FGL music, leading up to the February 2021 release of their fifth album, Life Rolls On. While Hubbard wouldn’t say the split was permanent to Bones, it’s clear they’re looking at a much longer break now, telling Bones that maybe they will get back together in 10 to 15 years and even says they would “probably not” come back together for $1 million to play a wedding.

The duo has also been quietly unwinding some of their businesses: The pair sold its interest in Old Camp whiskey, the brand they launched in 2016, back to Proximo Spirits in 2021, Hubbard told Billboard in July. In June, Nashville Post reported that Kelley and Hubbard had sold the two properties in Nashville’s Hillsboro Village that housed their Meet + Greet café, retail store Tribe Kelley Trading Post and their Tree Vibez music publishing company for $6.9 million. (Sources tell Billboard that the music publishing company remains active.) Round Here Records, the boutique label Hubbard and Kelley started in 2019 to put out music by singer-songwriters signed to Tree Vibez, most recently released two new songs from RaeLynn this spring. FGL House, a 22,000-square-foot entertainment space that the pair opened in 2017 in partnership with LRC Restaurant LLC, also remains open.

Hubbard, now managed by Borman Entertainment, is preparing his solo album for EMI Records Nashville while his debut single, “5 Foot 9,” rises to No. 12 this week on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. He will tour with Keith Urban this fall. After releasing an album, Sunshine State of Mind, on Warner Music Nashville last year, Kelley, managed by Vector Management, is now signed to Big Machine Records and working on new material as well as kicking off a 20-date residency in Grayson Beach, Fla., in September. Sources confirm that the duo’s contract with Big Machine Label Group Records has ended.

But what a run it has been. Here are some of the highlights of Florida Georgia Line’s impressive career — so far.

-Starting with their 2012 debut single, “Cruise,” FGL has scored 16 No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (with 26 total entries) and four No. 1 albums on Top Country Albums.

-The duo landed 47 entries on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, including six No. 1s. FGL’s “Meant to Be” (with Bebe Rexha) holds the record for the most weeks spent at No. 1 on the chart at 50 weeks, while the pair also hold the record for the most combined weeks at No. 1 on the chart with 106 weeks.

-Although they canceled their 2021 I Love My Country fall tour, citing COVID concerns, FGL has been a powerhouse on the road, reporting a gross of $191 million for 3.8 million tickets sold across 319 headlining shows between 2013 and 2019, according to Billboard Boxscore. (This does not include festival dates, which they are playing a handful of right now.)

-Florida Georgia Line are the only country act to receive two diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America, for the 11 times platinum “Cruise” and the 10 times platinum single “Meant to Be.” According to Big Machine Label Group Records, FGL has earned more than 13.2 billion global streams and sold more than 40 million tracks.

-The pair’s myriad accomplishments are on display in the Mix It Up Strong exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame through Jan. 1, 2023.

Of course, FGL aren’t the first wildly popular country duo to take some time away from each other. In 2009, Brooks & Dunn announced their split after 20 years of hitmaking. In 2015, they reunited for a Las Vegas residency and completed a successful arena tour this spring. In between, in 2019, they released Reboot, their first album of new material in 12 years.

In other words, never say never.

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House of the Dragon is a hit! The long-awaited Game of Thrones prequel, which premiered Sunday (Aug. 21), drew nearly 10 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 10-episode series is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and shares the story of House Targaryen. New episodes of House of the Dragon will debut weekly leading to the finale on Oct. 23.

Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans star in the series.

Fans can dive even deeper into the show by listening to The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon, featuring interviews with cast, crew and celebrity fans.

Keep reading for details on when and how to watch the House of the Dragon premiere and future episodes.

How to Watch House of the Dragon Online for Free

House of the Dragon episodes air on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and stream exclusively on HBO Max at no extra cost to subscribers. If you’re a cable customer, check your local listing for channel information.

Not subscribed to HBO Max? Plans starts at $9.99 a month for the ad-supported package, or $14.99 a month to stream without ads. Annual plans are usually priced at $99.99 a year for HBO Max with ads, and $149.99 for commercial-free streaming. But for a limited time only, new and returning HBO Max customers can save up to 40% off annual streaming plans, which drops the price down to $69.99 a year or $104.99 for the ad-free package. This promo ends on Oct. 30.

Although HBO Max offers discounts and free episodes, the platform does not provide a free trial, but there are ways to get HBO Max for free. For starters, if you’re subscribed to HBO through a cable or streaming provider, you may already have free HBO Max to watch the latest House of the Dragon episode and future episodes, live or on demand. Not sure if you already have HBO Max? Click here for more details.

Direct TV Stream is another way to land a free trial to HBO Max. Get free HBO Max, Showtime, Starz and other premium channels for up to three months when you subscribe to the Choice or Ultimate Package. Subscriptions to those plans currently start at $69.99 a month after a free five-day trial, and include up to 140+ channels.

With HBO Max, Game of Thrones fans can stream old episodes of the hit series and other exclusive shows and movies, including Westworld, Succession, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Hard Knocks, Euphoria, Hacks, Selena + Chef, Gossip Girl, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Insecure, The White Lotus, The Gilded Age, Belfast, Rap Sh!t, The Batman, Father of the Bride and more. Stream programs on your smart TV, laptop, smartphone or another compatible streaming device via the HBO Max app. And if you’re outside of the U.S., stream HBO Max through ExpressVPN.

Shopping for Game of Thrones gear? The Warner Bros. merch shop launched an official House of the Dragon collection featuring Funko Pop! figurines including the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Viserys Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon, along with T-shirts, hoodies, a tote bag, coffee mugs, and more collectibles. Shop items from the House of the Dragon collection below.

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