October 22, 1966
The leader of the mid-60’s group The Bobby Fuller Four was born in Baytown, TX.
Bobby Fuller grew up in Salt Lake City, but returned to the Lone Star State in 1956, settling in El Paso.
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There, he became a huge fan of a fellow West Texan from Lubbock, singer Buddy Holly, and decided he wanted to be a rock’n’roll star like his idol.
Through the early 60’s, Fuller, along with his bass guitarist-brother Randy Fuller, formed various incarnations of bands in and around El Paso, with a style that combined early rock’n’roll with a genre of rock known in the region as Tex Mex.
They eventually relocated to Los Angeles in 1964, where they solidified as a quartet known as the Bobby Fuller Four – adding Jim Reese on guitar and DeWayne Quirico on drums.
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I FOUGHT THE LAW
Bobby Fuller
(Exeter Version)
[1964]
Once in L.A. the BF4 recorded a song that had been a staple for the band while in Texas, called I Fought The Law. It was a cover version of a 1959 record by The Crickets, the backup band for Fuller’s idol, Buddy Holly.
Released as just by Bobby Fuller on the Exeter label in 1964, it failed to chart.
https://youtu.be/G5owiSAShyg
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After the failure of the Exeter release of IFTH, they next hooked up with another independent L.A. record label owner named Bob Keane. His Mustang Records was a sister label of DelFi, on which Keane recorded the hits by the late Ritchie Valens (Donna, La Bamba).
The Bobby Fuller Four:
(L-R): Randy Fuller, DeWayne Quirico, Bobby Fuller and Jim Reese
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I FOUGHT THE LAW
Bobby Fuller Four
(Hit Single Version)
[1966]
After signing a contract with Keane, they would re-record the song and release it as by Bobby Fuller Four on Mustang in December, 1965.
https://youtu.be/fblq8yozfhs
‘I Fought The Law’ by the Bobby Fuller Four peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 12, 1966.
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DEEP TRAK!
I FOUGHT THE LAW
The Crickets
(Original Version)
[1960]
After Buddy’s tragic death on February 3rd, 1959 (the plane crash that killed Holly and fellow artists Valens and The Big Bopper), new Crickets member Sonny Curtis wrote ‘I Fought The Law’ after joining the band in 1960.
The recording was released on December 4th, 1960, with Curtis replacing Holly on guitar, original Crickets Joe B. Mauldin on standup bass and Jerry Allison on drums, along with Earl Sinks filling Holly’s vocals role.
https://youtu.be/g_OLWo7jnBE
IFTL initially was part of their new LP called In Style With The Crickets, and the following year appeared as the B-side of their single, A Sweet Love. Unfortunately, the song never received any radio airplay.
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DEEP(er) TRAK!
LOVE’S MADE A FOOL OF YOU
Bobby Fuller Four
[1966]
In April of ’66, a followup to ‘I Fought The Law’ – another Buddy Holly-written and recorded song – Love’s Made A Fool Of You – debuted on Billboard, but sputtered at #26 on May 14th.
https://youtu.be/wtxJ2DK7j_I
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The last known photo of Bobby Fuller alive in 1966.
On July 18th, 1966, Bobby Fuller was found dead inside his car in the parking lot of his Hollywood apartment building – a death which led to suspicions that he’d been murdered, but nothing was concluded.
The official cause of his death was listed as from gasoline vapors and the high mid-summer temperature in L.A. that day. Suicide was also noted as a possibility – but again was unproven.
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DEEP(est) TRAK!
THE MAGIC TOUCH
Bobby Fuller Four
[1966]
On July 16th, 1966 – two days prior to Bobby Fuller’s death, a third single from the Mustang recordings for Bob Keane entered the Billboard chart. Posthumously, it failed to crack the Hot 100 and stalled at #117 on the chart’s “Bubbling Under” section.
https://youtu.be/vSZqwT-bMf4
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Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
A special thanks to Dick Rosemont of The Originals Project for ‘I Fought The Law’ by Bobby Fuller on Exeter.
