BOBBY FULLER

'Bobby Fuller' (October 22, 1942 – July 18, 1966) was an American rock singer and guitarist best known for his classic "I Fought the Law".

Contents

Career

Death

Legacy

Discography

Original US singles

Original US albums

Compilations and reissues

External links

Career

Born in Baytown, Texas, Robert Gaston Fuller spent most of his youth in El Paso, Texas, where he idolized Buddy Holly, a fellow West Texan. He played in clubs, bars, and recorded on independent record labels in Texas, with a constantly-changing line-up, during the early 1960s. The only constant band members were Bobby himself (on vocals and guitar), and his younger brother, Randy, on bass. All of these independent releases (except two songs that were recorded at the studio of Norman Petty in Clovis, New Mexico) were recorded in the Fullers' own home-cum-studio, with Bobby acting as the producer. He even built a primitive echo chamber in the backyard. The quality of the recordings, using a couple of microphones and a mixing board purchased from a local radio station, was so impressive that he even offered the use of his 'studio' to local acts for free so he could hone his production skills.
Bobby moved to Los Angeles in 1964 with his band 'The Bobby Fuller Four' and was signed to Mustang Records by producer Bob Keane, noted for discovering Ritchie Valens and producing many surf music groups.
At a time when the British invasion and folk rock were culturally dominant, Fuller stuck to Buddy Holly's style of classic rock and roll with Tex Mex flourishes. His recordings reveal the influence of Eddie Cochran, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Little Richard and the Everly Brothers in cover recordings and original compositions, as well as instrumental surf guitar. Less well known was Fuller's ability to emulate the reverb-laden surf guitar sounds of Dick Dale and the Ventures. His first Top 40 hit was "Let Her Dance" written by Bobby Fuller. His second hit "I Fought the Law" hit #4 on Billboard and was written by Sonny Curtis, a former member of Holly's group The Crickets, and recorded by the line-up of the Fuller brothers, James Reese on guitar and Dalton Powell on drums. His third Top 40 hit was the Buddy Holly cover song "Love's Made a Fool of You".

Death

Just after "I Fought The Law" became a top ten hit, Bobby Fuller was found dead in a parked automobile near his Los Angeles home. The police considered the death an apparent suicide, however many people still believe Fuller was murdered. He was found with multiple wounds all over his body and covered in gasoline leading many to speculate that the perpetrators fled before they could set the car on fire. He is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles. Dead at age 23, Fuller barely outlived his idol, Holly, who died at 22.
The 2002 novel ''The Dead Circus'', by John Kaye, includes the murder of Bobby Fuller as a major plot point. At the end of the book, the main character decides that Fuller had been killed by mafia henchmen trying to please Frank Sinatra.
The Rock
★ A
★ Teens refer to Fuller's alleged murder in the song "Who Killed Bobby Fuller?", on their 1995 self-titled debut. A different song with the same name was previously recorded by Irish rock band Black 47 in 1994.
After his brother's death, Randy Fuller took over lead vocal duties and named the band after himself. As this did not work out at all, the band broke up only within months of Bobby's death. Randy Fuller recorded a couple of solo singles and in spring 1969 joined Dewey Martin's New Buffalo (Springfield), which evolved into Blue Mountain Eagle in July 1969. He appeared on the band's lone LP for Atco Records in early 1970 before briefly joining Dewey Martin and Medicine Ball.

Legacy

Fuller's recordings have been reissued by Norton Records, Del-Fi Records, Rhino Records and Munster Records.
Fuller is referenced in the song "Dirt" on Lou Reed's solo album [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Hassle[Street Hassle]]
Fuller is also referred to in the song "Monster Hospital" by the band Metric.
Fuller is also the subject of Black 47's "Who killed Bobby Fuller?"
John Mellencamp refers to Bobby Fuller in the song, "R-O-C-K In the USA," on Mellencamp's "Scarecrow" album (1985/Riva Records).
A Japan-only tribute album, entitled ''Our Favorite Texan: Bobby Fuller Four-Ever!'' was released on CD in 1999 on #9 Records. It featured artists such as Marshall Crenshaw, Young Fresh Fellows, Bill Lloyd, Walter Clevenger, and Smithereens side project Buzzed Meg.
Fuller's death was once examined by the television series, "Unsolved Mysteries."

Discography

Original US singles

★ "Guess We'll Fall In Love" / "You're In love" (Yucca 45-140, 1962) ¹

★ "My Heart Jumped" / "Gently My Love" (Yucca 45-144, 1962) ²

★ "Nervous Breakdown" / "Not Fade Away" (Eastwood NO8W-0344/0345, 1962) ²

★ "Saturday Night" / "Stringer" (Todd 45-1090, 1963) ²

★ "Wine, Wine, Wine" / "King Of The Beach" (Exeter EXT 122, 1964) ²

★ "I Fought The Law" / "She's My Girl" (Exeter EXT 124, 1964) ²

★ "Fool Of Love" / "Shakedown" (Exeter EXT 126, 1964) ³

★ "Those Memories Of You" / "Our Favorite Martian" (Donna 1403, 1964) ³

★ "Wolfman" / "Thunder Reef" (Mustang 3003, 1964/65) ⁴

★ "Take My Word" / "She's My Girl" (Mustang 3004, 1965) ⁵

★ "Never To Be Forgotten" / "You Kissed Me" (Mustang 3011, 1965) ⁵

★ "Another Sad And Lonely Night" / "Let Her Dance" (Mustang 3012, 1965) ⁵

★ "Another Sad And Lonely Night" / "Let Her Dance" (Liberty 55812, 1965) ⁵

★ "I Fought The Law" / "Little Annie Lou" (Mustang 3014, 1965) ⁵

★ "Love's Made A Fool Of You" / "Don't Ever Let Me Know" (Mustang M 3016, 1966) ⁵

★ "The Magic Touch" / "My True Love" (Mustang 3018, 1966) ⁵

★ "It's Love, Come What May" / "It's Love, Come What May" (Mustang 3020 [promo], 1966) ⁵

Original US albums

★ ''KRLA King Of The Wheels'' (Mustang M-900 [mono] / MS-900 [stereo], 1966) ⁵

★ ''I Fought The Law'' (Mustang M-901 [mono] / MS-901 [stereo], 1966) ⁵

Compilations and reissues

★ ''The Bobby Fuller Memorial Album'' (LP, President 1003, 1981) ²

★ ''KRLA/King Of The Wheels'' (Line LP 5146, 1981) ⁵

★ ''I Fought The Law'' (Line LP 5133, 1981) ⁵

★ ''The Bobby Fuller Memorial Album'' (LP, Strand 6. 24885 AS, 1982) ⁵

★ ''The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four'' (LP, Rhino 201, 1982) ⁵

★ ''Let Them Dance (The Rare Sides)'' (LP, Line LP 5272, 1983) ⁵

★ ''Live On Stage'' (Line OLLP 5302, 1983) ⁵

★ ''Bobby Fuller Tapes, Vol. 1'' (LP, Rhino 057, 1983) ²

★ ''Bobby Fuller Tapes, Vol. 2'' (LP, Voxx LP 200.028, 1984) ²

★ ''Memories Of Buddy Holly'' (LP, Rockhouse LP 8407, 1984) ²

★ ''I Fought The Law'' (LP, Eva 12032) ⁵

★ ''The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four'' (CD, Rhino 70174, 1990) ⁵

★ ''The Bobby Fuller Four'' (CD, Ace 956, 1990) ⁵

★ ''Live At PJ's Plus!'' (CD, Ace CDCHD 314, 1991) ²

★ ''The Best Of The Bobby Fuller Four'' (CD, Ace 388, 1992) ⁵

★ ''El Paso Rock Vol. 1 : Early Recordings'' (CD, Norton 252, 1996) ²

★ ''El Paso Rock Vol. 2 : More Early Recordings'' (CD, Norton 260, 1997) ²

★ ''Shakedown! : The Texas Tapes Revisited'' (2CD box set, Del-Fi DFBX 2902, 1996) ²

★ ''Never To Be Forgotten : The Mustang Years'' (3CD box set, Mustang/Del-Fi DFBX 3903, 1997) ⁵

★ ''The Mustang Years'' (2LP, Munster 184, 2000) ⁵

★ ''I Fought The Law And Others'' (7" EP, Munster Ref. 7141, 2000) ^5
1 Released as by Bobby Fuller / Guitarist Jim Reese And The Embers, Vocal. Issued twice with the same catalog number, buth with completely different versions of both tracks.

² Released as by Bobby Fuller.

³ Released as by Bobby Fuller And The Fanatics.

⁴ Released as by The Shindigs.

⁵ Released as by The Bobby Fuller Four.

External links

★ Unofficial Bobby Fuller Fansite

★ Bobby Fuller entry at Rockabilly Hall of Fame

★ Bobby Fuller discography at Rockin' Country Style

★ Video of Bobby Fuller preforming ''I Fought The Law''

★ Bobby Fuller's Gravesite