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November, 2006
 
Freddy Fender Remembered
The Next Teardrop Falls in Country Music by Rex Rutkoski Country music has lost one of the good guys. Grammy-winning singer Freddy Fender’s death to lung cancer Oct. 14 ended a career that impacted people in many ways. It was one filled with challenges overcome until, at the end, there were just too many to defeat. Kirt Webster, his former longtime publicist, hailed him as one of the most significant voices in Mexican American musical history. "Freddy was an icon for country music and the American dream," said Clay Walker, friend and fellow musician who recorded with him earlier this year. "He was a champion and a warrior and now he has become my hero." Fender was born Baldemar Huerta 69 years ago into a poor Hispanic neighborhood in San Benito, Texas. He joined the Marines at 16. After his discharge three years later, he began playing honky-tonks and clubs. When he was signed to Imperial Records in 1959, he changed his name to Fender, after the headstock of his electric guitar, and to Freddy because it was alliterative. His "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" hit in 1960, but Fender could not enjoy the moment for very long. He and his bass player were arrested and sent to prison for three years for possession of two marijuana cigarettes. He resumed his music career in 1974, taking "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" to No. 1 in the nation. It’s said to be the first time an artist’s debut single reached No. 1 on both the pop and country charts. He remade "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights," also sending that to No. 1. He followed that with hits with "Secret Love" and "You’ll Lose A Good Thing." Fender was selected Most Promising Male Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music in 1975. The Country Music Association named "Before The Next Teardrop Falls" as single of the year that same year. Fender explored another medium when Robert Redford cast him for his film The Milagro Beanfield War. The musician later found new energy as vocalist/guitarist in the Tex-Mex super group the Texas Tornados, which included Flaco Jimenez, Augie Meyer and the late Doug Sahm. They blended rock, country and many Mexican styles. Fender felt he had more to offer, but a series of health struggles—diabetes and hepatitis C, among them—sidetracked him. In 2002 he received a kidney from his daughter and then in 2004 underwent a liver transplant. In January he was diagnosed with lung cancer and began chemotherapy treatments. Severe side effects led him to stop the treatments. In June, doctors found several more lung tumors. After learning that the disease had spread, Fender said, "I feel comfortable in my life. I’m one year away from 70 and I’ve had a good run. I cannot complain that I haven’t lived long enough, but I’d like to live longer." Artists who sometimes forget about the potential that music has to touch people need only log on to his website, www.freddyfender.com, to read some of the heartfelt messages from Fender’s fans. Rex Rutkoski is a veteran national and international music, entertainment and features writer who also has a bio-writing service for unsigned, new and established musicians in all genres. He can be reached at rrjr@peoplepc.com. |