Freddy Fender passed away yesterday. Here's a thoughtful remembrance by Andrew Dansby of this unique Texas talent. Heaven must be gently swinging now. Rest in peace.
Baldemar Huerta made a career of reinvention. As Freddy Fender, he became a pioneering Hispanic pop and country star. Fender died of lung cancer on Saturday at his home in Corpus Christi at age 69.Posted by Alan at October 15, 2006 09:38 AMThirty years have passed since the San Benito-born Fender last had a charting pop hit, but a pair of 1970s singles — Before the Next Teardrop Falls and Wasted Days and Wasted Nights — cemented his legacy. They were sad-eyed countrypolitan classics, delivered in a beautiful, almost androgynous voice that Fender maintained long after pop and country radio quit caring about his music.
"He was a giant of Texas music," said ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, who first crossed paths with Fender in the Rio Grande Valley in the '60s, years before either of their careers would take off. "That strange blend of rock 'n' roll, R&B, blues and barrio sounds unlike any other," he said....
He was a rarity: A Hispanic star in mainstream country music. Even more unlikely was Fender's crossover into pop success. But his music was undeniably melodic and part of a gentler honky-tonk trend.
After the reverb-heavy '60s era of honky-tonk, Nashville in the early '70s warmed to more somber songcraft. Charlie Rich had crossed over two years before Fender with Behind Closed Doors and Most Beautiful Girl in the World, string-laden countrypolitan classics.
Fender's crystalline voice was a perfect match for this style of music, as was his diction, which was crisp and emphasized soft consonants in a hypnotizing way.
"It was a unique voice," said accordion legend and friend Flaco Jimenez. "Nobody's going to sound like Freddy Fender again. Ever."
This style of country music would later be bullied out of vogue by rougish outlaws such as Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (and the boys), but the delicate, vulnerable work of Fender and Rich retains a lush, timeless allure.