Freddy Fender, the Mexican-American vocalist best known for his mid-70s hits "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights" and "Before The Next Teardrop Falls," died on Saturday, October 14th from lung cancer. The 69-year-old Tex-Mex legend had experienced various health problems over the past few years, including a kidney transplant in 2002 and a liver transplant two years later.
Born as Baldemar Huerta in 1937 in San Benito, Texas – a border town known as the birthplace of the Mexican-polka style called conjunto – Fender was the son of migrant workers who worked in the fields at an early age. He began performing at an early age, singing on the radio and winning various talent contests at the young age of ten. Fender’s career really began during the late-50s, however, when he completed a stint with the Marines and recorded Spanish-language versions of Elvis Presley’s hit "Don’t Be Cruel" and Harry Belafonte’s "Jamaica Farewell," songs that became hits in Mexico and South America.
He renamed himself "Fender" after his favorite electric guitar, adding the "Freddy" because it sounded good. Fender signed with Imperial Records in 1959, but his career was sidetracked by a three-year sentence in Louisiana’s dreaded Angola Prison for possession of marijuana. After his release he took college classes, sang in dive bars and recorded sporadically while working as an auto mechanic.
Fender told the Associated Press in an interview that "I felt there's no great American dream for this ex-Chicano migrant farm worker. I'd picked too many crops and too many strings." After years of struggle, however, Fender broke through to the mainstream with his recording of "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" for producer Huey P. Meaux’s Crazy Cajun label in 1974. The song was later picked up by Nashville’s Dot Records and ended up topping both the country and pop music charts. Fender’s success won him the Academy Of Country Music’s "Best New Artist" award in 1975.
Fender followed up his initial success with chart-topping recordings of "Secret Love" and "Since I Met You Baby." He even re-recorded a song that he had originally done in 1960, "Wasted Days And Wasted Nights," the song topping the country charts and rising to number eight on the pop music chart. A string of hits was to follow but in the early-80s, as his star began to fall, Fender dabbled in acting – most notably in Robert Redford’s 1987 film, The Milagro Beanfield War. In 1990 Fender formed the Texas Tornados with Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers of the Sir Douglas Quintet and noted accordionist Flaco Jimenez.
The Texas Tornados recorded four albums of genre-busting music between 1990 and 1996, combining elements of roots rock, R&B, Mexican folk and Chicago blues, winning a 1990 Grammy™ Award in the process. Fender also participated in the Hispanic supergroup Los Super Seven with David Hildago and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, Rick Trevino, Joe Ely, Sahm and Jimenez, the ensemble sharing a 1998 Grammy™ for their self-titled debut album. Fender later won a solo Grammy™ in 2002 for his album of traditional Mexican songs, La Musica de Baldemar Huerta.
Fender was proud of his Mexican-American heritage and frequently sang verses of his songs in Spanish. Fender’s dream, stated in a 2004 AP interview, was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville. "Hopefully I'll be the first Mexican-American going into Hillbilly Heaven," he told the interviewer. Considering his status as the most successful Hispanic singer in country music history, along with his influential solo recordings and ground-breaking work with the Texas Tornados and Los Super Seven, let’s hope that the folks at the Country Music Hall of Fame recognize Fender’s accomplishments with a quick induction. Don’t wait for decades to honor Fender’s memory like was done with DeFord Bailey, the first Africa-American star in county music.
