Teardrop/Wasted Days - Freddie Fender (1975) 9/12/22

1975 was an incredible year for Freddie Fender...and he needed one.

Up 'til then, his life had been a mess.

In 1937, he was born Valdemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas and began performing around the age of 10. He dropped out of school age age 16, and joined the Marine Corps at 17.

It did not go well. He spent a considerable amount of time in the brig for drunkenness, and ended up being dishonorably discharged. This was later changed to a medical discharge due to alcoholism.

Once again a civilian, he began performing rockabilly and Spanish language covers of US hits for mostly Latino audiences and started to gain some major success in Mexico and South America.

In 1958, he changed his name to Freddie Fender (he liked the alliteration, and he played a Fender guitar), and recorded a song called "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" that started to gain some traction.

Things were looking up...but then, he was arrested for possession of marijuana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and spent 3 years in prison, effectively bringing his career to a dead stop.

Even after Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis, himself a singer and songwriter. commuted his sentence, it was under the condition that he stay away from bars and NOT perform while under probation.

By the end of the '60s, however, probation was over, and Freddie was performing again, slowly rebuilding his career.

And then, in 1975, he recorded a bilingual song called "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," and the most amazing thing happened:

Out of nowhere, the song EXPLODED, reaching #1 on Billboard's Country AND Hot 100 Charts! In Canada: #1 Country and #6 Top 40. It sold more than a million copies...and from there, the floodgates opened!

Freddie re-recorded "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights," which ALSO became a million seller in 1975, as well as a Triple Top 10 in the US: #1 Country, #8 on the Hot 100, and #9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. It was also a Top 10 hit in Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

After that, Freddie had several more hits on the country charts, and a very successful touring career, both as a solo artist and in groups like The Texas Tornados.

1975, however, was hard to beat!

Freddie passed away in 2006, a victim of lung cancer.

Today, I'm highlighting BOTH of his million-selling "Great Songs." They started an incredible run of success for someone who could never seem to catch a break--until 1975!

"Before the Next Teardrop Falls:"

"Wasted Days & Wasted Nights:"