By Gail M. Williams
Muleshoe Journal Correspondent

Long-time singer, songwriter and band leader, Larry Treider will take his place on the West Texas Walk of Fame at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Theatre at 1501 Mac Davis Lane.
Raised on a farm near Lazbuddie, Treider, 79, started recording at Norman Petty’s Clovis studio when he was just 15.
Since then, he has traveled through 42 states, marched with the farmers in Washington, D.C., and played on the steps of the Capitol with Senator Bob Dole standing beside him.
“I started playing at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas in 1963,” Treider said. “I have been on seven major record labels and played the prestigious Palomino Club in North Hollywood. I recorded in Nashville at the RCA studios twice. All this time, I was working the circuit and pushing these records.”
In 1974, Treider, whose stage name is Larry Trider, cut an album titled “Country Soul Man.” In the song “Barroom Star,” Treider refers to his roots.
“Reckon I’m a Parmer County barroom last chance star,” he sings.
In the beginning, Treider leaned toward rock ’n’ roll, performing with Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
“Most of my first album was rock ’n’ roll,” Treider said. “Then Merle Haggard came along, and I went country.”
“I’ve always loved country,” he added. “It’s got a story and you can understand the words.”
For 27 years, Treider and Paula Rae Treider, his wife of 50 years, lived in Las Vegas. More recently, they moved back to Lazbuddie.
“I was trying to get a little peace of mind, and that’s where most of my family lives,” Treider explained.
Just when Treider thought he was through with the music business, the music business came looking for him.
“A fellow came through and started going through all of Norman Petty’s catalogs and vault. He heard several demos of mine,” Treider said.
Shawn Nagee, the fellow who called Treider, had some trouble getting in touch with him, tracking him through Las Vegas and Lubbock before he found Treider back where it all started – in Lazbuddie, Texas.
“I had just turned 77 two years ago, when I get this call. Shawn Nagee said, ‘Mr. Treider, I’ve got 31 songs here, and I’d like to put an album out on you.’”
In Treider’s words, they “re-digitalized, re-mixed and souped them up.” The songs can be found by searching Larry Trider/Norman Petty Studio Vaults or Larry Trider/norvajak music.
“A bunch of that stuff I thought was lost,” Treider said. “I was old and wasn’t trying to keep up with the music business.”
However, when the release came out, Treider says, “I was tickled to death.”
More recently, Treider received another phone call, this time from a representative of the West Texas Country Music Walk of Fame.
“Mr. Larry Treider,” he said. “We just voted you in unanimously to the Walk of Fame.”
Treider stays current with country music by watching it on television and talking to people he knows on the phone. He is grateful to many people who have helped him through the years.
“I give thanks to God, and to Mr. Norman Petty, Lloyed Maines, Shawn Nagee, Royce Glenn, my niece Marnet Winter and Wally Moyer,” Treider said. “I’m trying to personally get around to thank people for my career. This is my chance to thank all of them, and that makes me feel so good.”