Ageing U.S. country star Jerry Naylor has sensationally revealed today he used his international fame as cover to work as a secret agent for the CIA.
Naylor, 74, who replaced Buddy Holly in the Crickets, says he was recruited on more than 100 occasions to spy for America under his guise as a touring singer.
He says he was first hired by American spooks in Japan in 1968 and asked to use his tour as cover to collect a briefcase from Taiwan.
The singer, who enjoyed international success in the 1960s, agreed to help his country which was in the midst of the Vietnam war.
During one six-month mission, Naylor then helped the U.S. government derail the presidential campaign of one of Colonel Gaddafi's close allies.
He was also asked to use Chinese money to set up a bank on Marshall Island before handing ownership back over to the island's president.
In another daring ploy, similar to Hollywood blockbuster Argo, Naylor was part of a film crew that monitored the training of terrorists in Lebanon's Baqaa Valley in the late 70s.
The singer claimed other U.S. stars must have been recruited into similar roles.
Jerry, of Oregon, in the USA, said: 'My work with the government started in 1968 while I was in tour in Japan.
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'This man came up to me - and it was during the Vietnam War - and he just said that he was going to pick me up and send me to Taiwan.
'I had already been denied a visa there because of the war and I thought I was just going over there to do a few more performances.
Well connected: Jerry Naylor meets President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office in 1986. The musician says he was recruited on more than 100 occasions to spy for America under his guise as a touring singer
Spook: Jerry (pictured with Nancy and Ronald Reagan) said he also helped the U.S. government de-rail the presidential campaign of one of Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi's close allies
'We got on a plane, went over to Taiwan, I got off, went over to this man, took his briefcase and then took him back to the mainland.
'I don't know what my wife and kids would think if anything happened to me or if I got blown up by a mortar.
'I got back to America and just carried on with whatever it was I was supposed to be doing. I still don't know what that whole meeting was about. I didn't get told any of the details.
'Because I was over there doing a solo tour it must have been easy to use me as cover.'
International fame: Jerry (right) joined Sonny Curtis, Bobby Vee and Glen D Hardin in the Crickets after replacing Buddy Holly
Success: Jerry (second right), who dueted with Elvis and Jonny Cash, was brought in to replace Buddy Holly in The Crickets after the original singer died in a plane crash in 1959
He added: 'It wasn't a formal arrangement. I would get a call and they would lay out what it was I would have to do.
'Sometimes it could be something small like charter a plane to somewhere.
'I think using celebrities from Los Angeles and Hollywood for covert operations is probably something that the CIA liked to do. I doubt I was the only one.'
Jerry claims his biggest use has been as a cover for CIA agents who needed private jets booking without drawing attention to their movements.
Double life: Jerry (pictured with American singer and actor Kris Kristofferson) says he was first hired by American spies in Japan in 1968 and asked to use his tour as cover to collect a briefcase from Taiwan
But he also saw action closer to the 'frontline'.
In 1973, Jerry claims he was seconds from death when terrorists targeted an airport in Athens and killed 34 people.
Rock n' roll icon: Buddy Holly died in 1959 at the age of just 22
Between 1978 and 1982, Jerry worked on the research and production of a film called 'The Bounty Hunter', which he now claims was cover for monitoring terrorists in the Lebanon.
And in 1991 he claims to have been recruited to help de-rail the presidential campaign of Colonel Rashid, one of Colonel Gaddafi's close allies in the volatile state of Bangladesh.
Naylor spent six months helping Rashid promote his campaign and held numerous meetings with the tyrant in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
But all the while he was feeding vital campaign information to Rashid's political opponent to ensure the extremist didn't win.
The singer, who dueted with Elvis and Jonny Cash, was brought in to replace Buddy Holly in The Crickets after the original singer died in a plane crash in 1959.
He spent five years touring the world with the band and charting top ten hits in countless countries around the globe.
But when the band split in 1965 he decided to launch his own solo career, gaining three Grammy nominations for his single 'But For Love' in 1970.
Jerry revealed his surprise past ahead of the release of his 50th anniversary tribute album 'The Rocabilly Legends'.
The CIA declined to comment.