For nearly three decades, residents of a small southeastern Manitoba town counted a 1950s rock ’n’ roll star among their neighbours.

Buddy Knox, best known for his 1957 chart-topping hit Party Doll, settled in Dominion City in the 1970s after marrying a woman from nearby Arnaud. Although he spent much of his career on the road, locals say the Texas-born musician was simply another friendly face in the community.

“Dominion City was good to him and he fit in like a glove,” said his son, Michael Knox. “He was just a regular joe in rural Manitoba.”

Born in Happy, Texas, in 1933, Knox grew up in modest surroundings. “We didn’t even have electricity or a radio,” he recalled in a 1993 interview. “I played guitar and harmonica to entertain myself.”

He began writing songs as a teenager, eventua

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