![]() After Fender’s first Meaux-produced single, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” failed to acquire the backing of a major label, Crazy Cajun would release it themselves. Meaux would convince Fender to head for a more “country & western” image while also staying true to his Hispanic roots. He agreed to sign a recording deal with the label. Meaux, the owner of the Houston-based Crazy Cajun label. Upon his return to Texas, Freddy would spend many years working as an auto mechanic. Fender would try his hand at music once again but lightning did not strike the second time, and he ultimately went back to San Benito. After serving three years, he was paroled by Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis. If the name of that prison sounds familiar it should. He was convicted of marijuana possession, and sentenced to five years in Louisiana’s notorious Angola State Prison. In May of 1960 Freddy’s career was cut short for a very long time. In 1959, he released the single “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”. ![]() He also adapted his style and went into the direction of more “rockabilly feel”. ![]() “Fender” because of the guitar amplifier and “Freddy” because he thought that it would appeal to the “sell better with the gringos”. In 1959 he would adopt the stage name “Freddy Fender”. His initial work would gain some attention in Texas and Mexico. At the age of 16 after dropping out of school to join the Marine Corps, he would release his first Spanish-language recordings under his given name in 1958. He began playing the guitar at a very early age. His life and career consisted of an interesting story involving early success to a prison sentence leading to a lengthy pause in his career to working as a mechanic to becoming the first Tejano country music star.īaldemar Huerta was born to a family of migrant workers in San Benito, Texas, on June 4, 1937. But his legacy is that of tenacity, self-effacement, and innovation. ![]() This past week was the 15th anniversary of Freddy Fender’s passing on October 14, 2006. By Tom Bomb for Country Music News International ![]()
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