Dead Boys are awesome, but I don't think the Pagans got nearly enough credit. They just didn't go to New York. Shit St. is such an awesome album. Eyes of Satan is brutal.

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 9, 2010

Bobby Fuller, the greatest rocker ever to emerge from El Paso, is best known for two things: his huge 1966 hit “I Fought the Law” and his mysterious death, which the police ruled a suicide though many, including Fuller’s brother and former bandmate Randy Fuller, believe it was a murder.

For several years, Norton Records has been doing its best to prove that, while Fuller might technically be a “one-hit wonder,” there was a lot more to his music than his one hit, and Fuller deserves to be known more for his music than his bizarre and shadowy death. Norton’s latest contribution to this cause is El Paso Rock, Early Recordings Volume 3. This is the first installment in that series since the mid-1990s.

Crime scene: As an old cop reporter, there’s no way I’d be writing a column about Bobby Fuller without spending a little time on his death, so let’s get that out of the way. Fuller was found dead on July 18, 1966, inside his mother’s Oldsmobile parked in front of his apartment in Hollywood. He was 23. He died of gasoline inhalation, the police said.

A 1996 press release from his old record company, Del-Fi — which at the time was shopping the idea of a movie but only got an episode of Unsolved Mysteries out of it — described the crime scene:

“The car had mysteriously appeared after hours of searching the local area had not turned up any clues to his whereabouts. The doors were unlocked, the windows were closed tight, and no keys to the vehicle were found inside. When the first Hollywood-division police officers arrived and opened the driver’s side door, they noticed there was a book of matches on the seat beside Fuller on the front seat. An eyewitness to the gruesome discovery remembers that Fuller had traces of dried blood around his chin and mouth, and that his face and chest were bruised as if he had been beaten. Fuller’s hair and clothing were also soaked with gasoline, and his right hand still clenched a rubber siphoning-tube.

“An empty gas can, found in the back seat, was removed by a policeman (who apparently didn’t consider it vital to the investigation) and thrown into a nearby dumpster. The Olds was not dusted for fingerprints, nor was it ever impounded and searched for further clues. Members of the radio and television press at the scene were told that it looked to be a clear case of ‘suicide,’ despite much visual evidence to the contrary.”

Fuller’s family and friends have made a credible case that he was killed. I attended a panel discussion featuring Fuller’s brother Randy, singer Marshall Crenshaw, and Norton Records’ Miriam Linna at the 1998 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin.

Fuller reportedly was depressed before he died and was planning to break up his band. A new fan of psychedelic music, he’d started taking LSD. He was hanging out with a prostitute named “Melody” (or “Melanie,” by some accounts). Some of his music-biz associates might have had ties with organized crime.

All tantalizing details, but it’s not likely that the truth about his death will ever be told.

Back to the music: There’s no question that Bobby Fuller worshipped Buddy Holly. He arranged a recording session at Buddy’s old stamping grounds, Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, in 1962 — an experience that, according to Linna’s liner notes, inspired Fuller to build a home studio. (Most of this collection comes from the Clovis session, save a few cuts recorded live at Skylanes Bowling Alley’s Little Dipper Lounge.)

“I Fought the Law” — Fuller’s version, not The Clash’s — sounded like what Buddy Holly would have sounded like in the 1960s. It’s not surprising, considering that the tune was written by Holly pal and sometimes Cricket Sonny Curtis (whose second-best-known song is “Love Is All Around” — the Mary Tyler Moore show theme). It originally appeared on a post-Holly Crickets album in 1960.

A rare early Fuller recording of “I Fought the Law” kicks off this collection. It’s nine seconds longer than the “official” version and doesn’t quite have the punch. But it’s interesting to see how Fuller played with the tune. One notable difference between the two takes: Here, the singer robs people with a shotgun, not the “six gun” we later came to know and love.

The second song on this collection, “You Made Me Cry,” sounds even more like the sainted Holly.

While Fuller’s love for Holly cannot be denied, he was apparently also a fan of rockabilly giant Eddie Cochran. On Volume 3 we find an enthusiastic cover of “Nervous Breakdown” (there are two versions included) and a live-at-the-bowling-alley medley of Cochran’s best-known songs “Summertime Blues” and “Somethin’ Else” — which I can’t listen to without thinking of Sid Vicious and his take on the song. Fuller sounds even wilder here than Sid later would.

Another live medley teams up a couple of R & B hits, Gary U.S. Bonds’ “New Orleans” (which Fuller mistakenly introduces as “Mississippi Queen”) and “Little Bitty Pretty One,” which I first came to know through Clyde McPhatter.

Probably my favorite here is “Wine, Wine, Wine,” a favorite of garage bands everywhere at the time that probably evolved from Sticks McGhee’s “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee.” The wildest guitar work on the whole album is found here. Fuller sounds like he’s a school kid caught by a teacher while telling a dirty joke as he sings: “I know a girl, she drives a rod/She ain’t good lookin’ but she’s got a good bod.” The last word is muffled (which isn’t the case with the “Wine Wine Wine” on the previous volume of El Paso Rock).

The album ends with “California Sun,” which — considering what awaited Fuller in July 1966 — comes off as sad: “I’m going out West where I belong ...” The song fades before he can even finish the last chorus. It sounds like a premature ending ... oh, I won’t say it.

i dont care for hip hop at all really , but i do enjoy gangsta rap !

I like to cruise in the lowrider with the homeez, and list to some superfly punk-rock hip-hop lo-fi Cumbayero

I know most you folks on Twitter, and I'll meet some new ones, too! http://twitter.com/Recordgrooves

http://twitter.com/BamalamaRadio I used it at SXSW and it's lame knockoff NXNE (though this year was pretty damn good). Got me to some pretty good parties and some private shows. Mostly, I use it for fanning my brain farts... I use Tweetdeck for iPhone and pretty much love it. I was reluctant to do the Twitter thing at first but have found it to be a lot of fun.

@tbkband

I bought the first one when it came out - i was a fan of BOMP from the first time i found a copy I tripped across the Brian Wilson issue in 1976. Greg Shaw inspired me to start my company, Not Lame Recordings back in 1994, which birthed over 100 CDs into the world during its time. Had the esteemed pleasure of spending a great afternoon with him and Paul Collins(as in Paul Collins Beat) in 1999 - it was one of my favorite memories in my time in the music business.

Need to get this one in my Amazon WishList now.....

That's fantastic. The 'tators are decades behind being getting the acknowledgement they are due.

Actually, I didn't know that. I was always more of a Howlin' Wolf fan than a Muddy Waters fan. I guess that preference caused me to miss out! I'll have to check out "Juke." George said:

You probably know this but the most famous recording of that microphone (on blues harp) is 'Juke' by Little Walter with Muddy Waters' band.

Maybe that will hint at how they distort?

You probably know this but the most famous recording of that microphone (on blues harp) is 'Juke' by Little Walter with Muddy Waters' band.

Maybe that will hint at how they distort?

Ichiban is great. Just found a cool song about cockfighting for my next Santa Fe Opry radio show. http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/06/tennessee-rooster-fight-mp3.html They also posted audio for Greg Cartwright's recent stint as a guest DJ. Bitchen set of Las Vegas grind style tunes. http://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2010/07/on-air-with-greg-cartwright.html

That Free Music Archive is awesome. Thanks for the heads-up on those two! Also, if you dig that, you'll probably also dig the WFMU Rock & Soul Ichiban blog, which also has links to free downloads of stuff.

thanks man!

Not sure if I posted this before, but there's also a recent A-Bones show from Cherry Blossom Clinic there on Live Music Archive. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_A-Bones/Live_at_WFMU_on_Terre_Ts_Show_61910/

Check out the Reigning Sound's latest WFMU (Cherry Blossom Clinic) performance (6/26/10) on  Free Music Archive. Download or listen on the web.

I always liked my Epi Vjr in to a double-cab, 12" carvin and a 10" eminence. That 5 watts always kept up with the drummer just fine. If I needed more OOMPH, I ran an A/B/Y to a Peavey Transtube 40 watt 1x10. Always sounded great to me, and easy as cake on the back..

Yeah, right, Neil Young was also great. He looked pretty scary, bent over this organ like a wolf.

That's what I always found amusing about "unplugged" gigs: You have to plug in much more stuff than with regular gigs. And I guess that's why I don't see the "unplugged" gigs I played as "unplugged" but rather as trying to be more limited, more stripped, and to rearrange full band songs to something closer to the bone of the song. The more limitations you have, the more you have to be creative to make a song as cool, as hard, as big, as good as in the full electric band version. I guess that's what I like about the idea: Just the song, not the sound. Just the guitar, and no tricks with effects. And that, again, has absolutely nothing to to with that MTV stuff...

It's about the limitation that forces the musician to be more creative with less stuff, to get raw and draw blood, as Darnielle says.

In our case, I guess, it's mostly about the fun fucking with the punkrock audience and making fun of ourselves. I'm definitely looking forward to playing the worst version of "Reggae" or "Bluesrock" ever!

Ain't that the thing about "unplugged" or "acoustic" gigs, they always plug into the PA and have vocal mic's. It's about as unplugged as two dogs fucking. In fact I'd much rather watch that than an acoustic gig any day of the week!

I thought the only one of those MTV unplugged things worth a shit was the Neil Young one and he play a mini pipe organ thing, seriously that thing had to be plugged in.

Excactly. Great movie, great scene. If you take this scene as "plugged" vs. "unplugged", the choice is clear...

Doc Sanchez said:

That's true - I obviously mean those bluesrock bands. Brrrrrrrrrrr!!!

The Remains doc? Would be great to see regardless. Stlii waiting for the forthcoming Los Saicos movie though... Gringo Starr said:

Most garage bands from the sixties could just barely make a record let alone film a live performance. There are some exceptions (Zachary Thaks for instance). Has anyone seen the new Remains Documentary? I heard it is mostly interviews and really no live footage because it doesn't exist - besides a couple of T.V. appearances and a very bad quality film fragment of them on the Beatles tour.

Real Boss Hoss

I love this site! It features ten channels of some of the most fucked-up shit you'll hear anywhere. Click here for Weirdsville Radio! There's also a podcast. Although sometimes I admit it's best taken in small doses... at least until you get used to it.

http://www.weirdsville.com/

Amazing shit! Don't say I didn't warn ya... ;)

Your shirt is on the way Dirtbag Surfer! I had to wait a couple of days until the little "freebie" was ready. As soon as you get it the chicks will be swooning in your presence. Man, that gig sounds awesome. I've already been to my one gig of the year. Nothing that cool happens where I live. I only wish I would have had my WPC t-shirt on then... or even my Dirtbag Surfers t-shirt as with all the chicks that were there... it would have been like pimp christmas!!! Dirtbag Surfer said:

I wish I was getting mine in time for Thursday's Reverend Beat Man, Thee Cormans, Haunted George and Vooduo show cuz i knows the ladies would be all over me if I was sporting this fine shirt. That would totally save me on the cost of roofies, duct tape and rope.

But alas, I will have to wait a bit longer on this lonely shore for the mighty Way Past Cool shirt to arrive from the British Empire. When it does, I am sure that the neighbor's will be saying, "Hey, great shirt!" instead of "Why aren't you wearing any pants?" That, my friends, would be a welcome change!