The Bobby Fuller Four

The Bobby Fuller Four (sometimes stylized as Bobby Fuller 4) was a popular mid-60s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. With its first incarnation formed in 1962 in El Paso, Texas, the group went on to produce some of its most memorable hits under Mustang Records in Hollywood, California. The band's most successful songs include "Let Her Dance", "I Fought the Law", and "Love's Made a Fool of You."

History

Even before Fuller had established a band in his hometown of El Paso, he recorded his first single, "You’re in Love", under Yucca Records in 1961 with assistance of the Embers, a local band that Fuller played in previously. At this point, he started his own band, backed by his brother Randy on bass and Gaylord Grimes on drums in 1962. After "You’re in Love" was a regional hit, Fuller had his next single, "Gently My Love" professionally recorded at Norman Petty Recording Studios. While producing another regional hit, Fuller was displeased with the results.

Bobby Fuller

Robert Gaston "Bobby" Fuller (October 22, 1942 – July 18, 1966) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for "Love's Made a Fool of You and his cover of "I Fought the Law", recorded with his mid-1960s group, the Bobby Fuller Four.

Early life

Born the second of three boys (he had a maternal older half brother, Jack and full youngest brother, Randy) in Baytown, Texas, Fuller moved as a small child to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he remained until 1956, when he and his family moved to El Paso, Texas. His father got a job at El Paso Natural Gas at that time. It was the same year that Elvis Presley became popular, and Bobby Fuller became mesmerized by the new rock and roll star. Fuller soon adopted the style of fellow Texan Buddy Holly, fronting a four-man combo and often using original material.

Career

During the early 1960s, he played in clubs and bars in El Paso, and he recorded on independent record labels in Texas with a constantly changing line-up. The only constant band members were Fuller and his younger brother, Randy Fuller (born on January 29, 1944, in Hobbs, New Mexico) on bass. Most of these independent releases (except two songs recorded at the studio of Norman Petty in Clovis), and an excursion to Yucca Records, also in New Mexico, were recorded in the Fullers' own home studio, with Fuller acting as the producer. He even built a primitive echo chamber in the back yard. The quality of the recordings, using a couple of microphones and a mixing board purchased from a local radio station, was so impressive that he offered the use of his "studio" to local acts for free so he could hone his production skills.