DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how that official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, some names carry weight the moment you hear them — and some carry two or three names' worth, which ought to tell you something right there. The man we're talkin' about answered to Baldemar Garza Huerta, to El Bebop Kid, to the Mexican Elvis Presley, and to Freddy Fender.
One man, all of that. Born right here in San Benito, Cameron County, on June 4, 1937, on the very site where that marker now stands. That's not nothin'.
That's the kind of beginning a story earns. He first stepped onto a stage at a talent show in Harlingen — radio station KGBT — and he won first prize. First time.
Now, you can call that luck if you want, but the pattern that followed suggests otherwise. For years, he kept entering local talent shows. And he kept winning.
At the age of sixteen, with his mother's consent, he joined the Marine Corps. He was discharged in 1956, came back home, and started playing Tejano music at bars, nightclubs, and honky-tonks across Texas and Mexico. The stages got a little rougher, the crowds a little louder, and the music kept pouring out of him.
In 1957, under the name El Bebop Kid, he recorded several Spanish-language versions of popular country and rock songs — the kind of rockabilly that could make your boot heel forget it ever had any sense. One year later, he changed his name. Freddy Fender.
And it was in Harlingen where he wrote and recorded what would become his 1959 blues hit, 'Wasted Days and Wasted Nights.' You remember that title, because the road ahead was about to get considerably harder before it got better. After serving nearly three years at Angola State Prison, Fender left music. Set it down.
Picked up a wrench instead and began work as a mechanic. Now, a lesser story ends right there — great talent, gone quiet. But this one doesn't.
He came back. In 1974, 'Before the Next Teardrop Falls' hit number one. A number one single.
The music industry had apparently been waiting. Between 1975 and 1983, Fender charted twenty-one country hits. Twenty-one.
His songs were emotional, experience-driven — the kind that don't just entertain people but reach down and find something in them they didn't know needed finding. His fame opened doors beyond music too. He contributed to many charitable causes.
He played for U.S. presidents. He had a star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over fifty years of performing across Tejano, rock, and country.
And through all of it — the first prizes, the hit records, the prison, the comeback, the presidents and the Hollywood star — Freddy Fender never forgot where he came from. San Benito. After a series of medical issues, he died on October 14, 2006, in Corpus Christi, at the age of sixty-nine.
One of San Benito's favorite sons, he is buried in the San Benito City Cemetery. Not far, when you think about it, from the very site where it all began.
What the marker says
Known as Freddy Fender or El Bebop Kid (the Mexican Elvis Presley), Baldemar Garza Huerta achieved great success as a Tejano, rock and country singer for over fifty years. Born on this site in San Benito on June 4, 1937, he first performed in a Harlingen talent show at radio station KGBT where he won first prize. For years, he performed and won local talent shows. At the age of sixteen, with his mother's consent, he joined the Marine Corps. He was discharged in 1956, returned home and began playing to Tejano audiences at bars, nightclubs and honky-tonks in Texas and Mexico. In 1957, under the name El Bebop Kid, he recorded several Spanish-language versions of popular country and rock songs, popularly known as rockabilly. One year later, he changed his name to Freddy Fender. It was in Harlingen where he wrote and recorded his 1959 blues hit "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." After serving nearly three years at Angola State Prison, Fender left music and began work as a mechanic. He returned to the music industry with his 1974 hit, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," a number one single. Between 1975 and 1983, Fender charted 21 country hits. Fender's music appealed to a wide audience with his emotional and experience-driven songs. His fame also allowed him to contribute to many charitable causes. After a series of medical issues, he died on October 14, 2006 in Corpus Christi at the age of 69. Freddy Fender played for U.S. presidents and had a star placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Even with his fame, Fender never forgot his humble roots and hometown. One of San Benito's favorite sons, he is buried in the San Benito City Cemetery. (2013)