Freddy Fender is a country and Tejano artist born in Texas. Some of his other genres include rock n’ roll and honky-tonk music. The chosen artifacts depict how he is important to two distinct cultures and this interaction translates into his musical style. They also provide additional context about events that influenced his musical career.
The first artifact I found was an interview with Down Home Down Under Show hosted by The Legarde Twins. This is an interview that never aired and is part of their “special collection.”
This first-hand account depicts Freddy Fender as an open book and he provides background as to how he got his start in his career. He mentions how he was raised without a dad and that this deeply affected him. Without a provider, he and his family worked on a cotton field shortly after his father died and would earn $3 a day. When he was picking onions in New Mexico, he was invited to a bar and was given a guitar to play. His coworker passed around a hat and they made $20. Freddy Fender realized that what he would make in a week could easily be done in one day. The artifact reveals how his dad’s death and environment propelled him into the music business.
When one of the hosts mentions that Freddy has had two successful careers, one as a pop artist and a second as a country superstar, Freddy Fender corrects him by saying that he actually had a third successful career as a Hispanic artist. By acknowledging this career and not allowing the hosts to categorize him into their generalizations, he prompts himself as an artist representative of two cultures. He discusses his decision to change his name in 1958 from Baldemar Huerta to Freddy Fender. His manager had told him that it would be easier for Americans to pronounce his name especially when they were choosing his songs in a jukebox. He chose his name when he looked at a Fender guitar and amplifier and thought it paired well with Freddy. He also originally had not wanted to record country music and was more interested in rock n’ roll and rhythm and blues but was encouraged to do so by his manager. Overall, this artifact provides great background on his emergence as a country artist and reveals that he considers his Hispanic and American careers equally successful.
This intersection is notable in his works especially with his 1975 recording of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.” Freddy Fender goes back and forth singing in English and Spanish. He would continuously embed his conjunto and Tex-Mex sounds into his works.
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
If he brings you happiness
Then I wish you all the best
It’s your happiness that matters most of all
But if he ever breaks your heart
If the teardrops ever start
I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
[Verse 2] (same translation as verse 1)
Si te quiere de verdad
Y te da felicidad
Te deseo lo mas bueno pa’los dos
Pero si te hace llorar
A mi me puedes hablar
Y estare contigo cuando triste estas
[Verse 3]
I’ll be there anytime
You need me by your side
To drive away every teardrop that you cried
And if he ever leaves you blue
Just remember, I love you
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
And I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls
The second artifact I found was a water tower dedicated to him in his hometown of San Benito, Texas. The video underneath the photo shows various accounts of people explaining how beloved Freddy Fender is to San Benito, Texas. It was a $1.4 million dollar water tower and goes to show how much his community valued him. In my opinion, I find that when artists stray away from their traditional background there is often discourse about them being “sellouts.” This is seen with Bob Dylan as he steered away from folk music and began incorporating the electric guitar. However, his community continued to support him even as he ventured into the English-speaking market and even his transition from rock n’roll and R&B into the country genre. I think he was able to keep this audience because throughout his career he kept falling back to these roots, he would sing in Spanish and incorporate the Tex-Mex style into his song’s aesthetics and overall timbre.
The third artifact I found was the Freddy Fender Museum in San Benito, Texas.
The Freddy Fender Museum is one of many features in the Music and History Building
“I was always different. I wasn’t doing the conjunto stuff. I was doing rock ‘n’ roll ballads, just like I’m doing now, and rhythm and blues. Now I’m beginning to feel the kind of music that I heard when I was a young person and enjoy performing the nitty-gritty conjunto songs that I sing with Flaco Jimenez and the Tornados.”
Freddy Fender Museum
The Freddy Fender Museum is one of many in San Benito. It depicts his rise to fame and artifacts that symbolize who he was. The museum displays his wardrobe, Harley, and a guitar he would use. There are also quotes on the wall and he discusses what genres he would categorize himself in such as Tex-Mex rockabilly and Chicano music. This is important because we directly understand how he sees himself as an artist versus what others categorize him as.
A fourth artifact I found was a poster advertising his performance at the Yellow Rose. I think this is important to include because it adds to the story of his cross-over into country music. The Yellow Rose would mostly host Honky-Tonk music and Freddy Fender was also a musician in this genre.
Overall, these artifacts tell a story of a musician who would work hard to combine two musical styles representative of his identity. They showcase how his contributions have affected the community around him and changed how divided the genres were. Due to the fact that he was familiar with various genres, his music takes from all those styles and his songs will have characteristics from each one. Freddy Fender was not shy about combining styles and saluting his traditional roots. His bilingual works were some of the first to reach the top of notable charts. For Texas and country music, this meant that the doors were open for synergizing different categories and styles.
For my last artifact, I found that Tammy Fender, Freddy Fender’s daughter, wrote a book about her dad and split it into two parts. The first part describes his struggles and the second half discusses darker content detailing the “addictions that ravaged his and his family’s lives” (Tejano Nation). I think this is an important artifact because Freddy Fender did want a book written about himself and wanted it to be realistic. Since his daughter wrote it, I think it is as realistic as it gets and could be considered a first-hand account. Here is a link to the book: https://amzn.to/3pRrj1t
Extra Content to further understand the music styles of Freddy Fender:
I have inserted below music from his different genres to display how versatile Freddy Fender was.
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights (recorded in 1960, rereleased in 1975 when he reached international stardom.)
A Man Can Cry (sung by Texas Tornados, a group that he was also part of later on.)
Freddy Fender use to record under his real name Baldemar Huerta. This is his cover of Elvis Presley’s Don’t Be Cruel. Before becoming a country star, he would record rock n’ roll music.
lyrics:
[Verse 1]
You know I can be found
Sitting home all alone
If you can’t come around
At least phone telephone
[Hook]
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
[Verse 2]
Baby, if I made you mad
For something I might have said
Please, let’s forget my past
The future looks bright ahead
[Hook]
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
[Bridge]
I don’t want no other love
Baby, it’s just you I’m thinkin’ of
[Verse 3]
Don’t stop thinking of me
Don’t make me feel this way
C’mon over here and love me
You know what I want you to say
[Hook]
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
[Bridge]
Why should we be apart?
I really love you, baby, cross my heart
[Verse 4]
Let’s walk up to the preacher
And let us say “I do”
Then you’ll know you’ll have me
And I’ll know that I’ll have you
[Hook]
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
[Bridge]
I don’t want no other love
Baby, it’s just you I’m thinkin’ of
[Hook]
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
[Bridge]
I don’t want no other love
Baby, it’s just you I’m thinkin’ of
I have inserted some songs that I really enjoyed and a playlist that Spotify put together as well.
Works Cited:
A Man Can Cry. (2010). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://youtu.be/XFGoE1_B5MA.
Ehrlich, A. (2021, October 7). #TBT: Freddy Fender was International Star with deep south texas roots. Caller. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.caller.com/story/news/special-reports/building-our-future/throwback/2021/10/07/freddy-fender-international-star-south-texas-roots/5995202001/.
“Elvis Presley – Don’t Be Cruel.” Genius, https://genius.com/Elvis-presley-dont-be-cruel-lyrics.
Freddy Fender exhibit. Freddy Fender Exhibit | San Benito, TX – Official Website. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.cityofsanbenito.com/250/Freddy-Fender-Museum.
Freddy Fender Interview! (Down Home Down Under Show #4). (2018). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://youtu.be/FnYu7kqsMyo.
No Seas Cruel. (2018). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://youtu.be/n1P1gDjgkl0.
Tejano Nation. “Freddy Fender Autobiography ‘Wasted Days and Wasted Nights’ Available Now Online.” Tejano Nation, 24 Aug. 2021, tejanonation.net/2018/04/23/freddy-fender-autobiography-wasted-days-and-wasted-nights-a-meteoric-rise-to-stardom-available-now-online/.
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights. (2012). YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://youtu.be/COD6F_Fh5Rk.
