The Bobby Fuller Four

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The Bobby Fuller Four
General information
origin El Paso , United States
Genre (s) Rock 'n' roll , surf rock
founding 1962
resolution 1966
Last occupation
Bobby Fuller †
Randy Fuller
James "Jim" Reese †
Dalton Powell
former members
DeWayne Quirico
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
I Fought the Law
  UK 33 04/20/1966 (4 weeks)
  US 9 01/29/1966 (11 weeks)
Love's Made a Fool of You
  US 26th 04/16/1966 (6 weeks)

The Bobby Fuller Four was an American rock 'n' roll band. The first official record release took place in 1964 under this name. After the death of the singer and guitarist Bobby Fuller , the group broke up in July 1966.

Band history

The band was founded by Bobby Fuller in El Paso , Texas . Fuller had released various locally successful singles between 1961 and 1964 , including I Fought the Law , written in 1959 by Sonny Curtis (ex- Crickets ). Fuller's brother Randy ( electric bass ) and James Reese ( electric guitar ) could already be heard on these releases as accompanying musicians, but the first singles as a band did not appear until mid-1964 and initially as Bobby Fuller and The Fanatics . In late 1964, the group moved to Los Angeles and renamed The Bobby Fuller Four . Phil Spector first tried to sign her to his Phillies Records label , but the group signed to Bob Keane. The first single appeared at the end of 1964 on Donna , the following releases were made on Keane's new label Mustang . After a few only moderately successful singles, the commercial breakthrough came with a re-release of I Fought the Law , which reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 . The group achieved their second chart success in 1966 with Love's Made A Fool of You (26th place). The debut album KRLA King of the Wheels was also released in 1966 . In the spring of 1966, Billboard Magazine described the group as the most exciting thing current music had to offer, and compared Bobby Fuller to the musical charisma of the young Elvis Presley . Also in 1966, the group made a cameo in the feature film The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini .

On July 18, 1966, Bobby Fuller died under circumstances that have not yet been unequivocally clarified. According to some sources, Fuller is said to have pursued a career as a solo artist and left the Bobby Fuller Four in June 1966. According to other sources, the group should have decided on July 17, 1966, the day before Fuller's death, to split up. The band continued to play as Randy Fuller Four for some time , but then broke up due to unsuccessfulness. Randy was still in Texas in a formation called Predictions , James Reese formed the country rock band Murphy's Law , and Dalton Powell played in a band called the Moonpie Dance Band .

Stylistic classification

Initially, the group saw themselves in the tradition of rockabilly of the late 1950s and strived to preserve and develop the spirit of Buddy Holly's music . After moving to Los Angeles, Fuller tried to change the band's stylistic direction towards surf rock . He wanted to modernize his music along the lines of The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean and write lyrics about surfing and drag racing . But the commercial breakthrough came with the Sonny Curtis composition I Fought the Law from 1959, which is seen as a return to the group's roots. Her second hit Love's Made a Fool of You was also a cover version by Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery. The group also played the Buddy Holly songs Think it Over and Baby My Heart as well as Roy Orbison's Rockhouse live . The group's music was also inspired by Eddie Cochran , heard on Saturday Night .

Discography

Albums

  • KRLA King of the Wheels (Mustang, 1966)
  • I Fought the Law (Mustang, 1966)

Singles

  • Fool of Love / Shakedown (Exeter, 1964)
  • Those Memories of You / Our Favorite Martian (Donna, 1964)
  • Wolfman / Thunder Reef (Mustang, 1964)
  • Take My Word / She's My Girl (Mustang, 1965)
  • Never to Be Forgotten / You Kiss Me (Mustang, 1965)
  • Another Sad and Lonely Night / Let Her Dance (Mustang, 1965)
  • I Fought the Law / Little Annie Lou (Mustang, 1965)
  • Love's Made a Fool of You / Don't Ever Let Me Know (Mustang, 1966)
  • The Magic Touch / My True Love (Mustang, 1966)
  • It's Love Come What May / Wolfman (Mustang, 1966)
  • The Things You Do / Now She's Gone (Mustang 1966)

literature

  • Nick Talevski: Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries . Omnibus Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84609-091-2 , pp. 187 f .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chart sources: UK US
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 231.
  3. ^ Claude Hall: Bobby Fuller Four Fills Nitery Air With Excitement . In: Billboard Magazine . May 1966, p. 48 .
  4. ↑ Nick Talevski: Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries . Omnibus Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84609-091-2 , pp. 188 .
  5. ^ A b R. Gary Patterson: Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths, Legends, and Curses . Simon & Schuster, 2004, ISBN 978-0-7432-4423-7 , pp. 29 f .
  6. ↑ Dean Kuipers: Who Killed Bobby Fuller? In: Spin . April 1991, p. 42 .
  7. ^ Julia Edenhofer: The great oldie lexicon, p. 245; Weltbild-Verlag 1993, ISBN 3-89350-720-5
  8. ↑ a b Craig Morrison: Go cat go! Rockabilly Music and Its Makers . University of Illinois Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-252-06538-5 , pp. 184 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b as Bobby Fuller and The Fanatics
  2. ↑ as The Shindigs
  3. ↑ appeared after the death of Bobby Fuller on June 25, 1966
  4. ↑ a b as Randy Fuller Four