Freddy Fender dead at 69

No more wasted days and wasted nights. Freddy Fender, who had suffered from lung cancer since early this year, died at noon today at his Corpus Christi home with his family at his bedside, according to a family spokesman. Like so many others in the country music industry, he had grappled with drug and alcohol abuse over the years. He was also treated for diabetes and had undergone a kidney transplant.

After some limited regional success and years of struggles, including time in prison, Fender hit it big in 1975 when "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" climbed to No. 1 on the pop and country charts.

"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" rose to No. 1 on the country chart and top 10 on the pop chart that same year, while "Secret Love" and "You'll Lose a Good Thing" also hit No. 1 in the country charts.

Fender was born Baldemar Huerta in 1937 in San Benito, the South Texas border town credited for spawning the Mexican-polka sound of conjunto. As a son of migrant workers who did his own share of picking crops, he was exposed to the blues sung by blacks alongside the Mexicans in the fields. Fender was proud of his Mexican-American heritage and frequently sung verses or whole songs in Spanish. "Teardrop" had a verse in Spanish.

After spending times in the Marines in the late '50s, he returned home and recorded Spanish-language versions of Elvis's "Don't Be Cruel" and Belafonte's "Jamaica Farewell." The recordings were hits in Mexico and South America. In 1959, he signed with Imperial Records as Freddy Fender. Fender after his electric guitar, and Freddy because it went well with Fender.

Fender initially recorded "Wasted Days" in 1960. But an indiscretion involving marijuana possession placed Fender and his bass player in an Angola, LA prison for closde to three years. After his release came years spent in New Orleans working as a mechanic, taking some college classes and playing the occasional gig. He once said he sang in bars so dingy he performed with his eyes shut "dreaming I was on `The Ed Sullivan Show.'" Picking too many crops and guitar strings had left him with no sense of ever being able to reach the American dream.

But Fender got another chance when persuaded to record "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" on an indy label in 1974. The tune was picked up by a major label and went straight to the top,earning him the Academy of Country Music's best new artist award in 1975. He then re-released "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" and it climbed to the top of the charts as well.

Fender's later years were marred by health problems resulting in a kidney transplant from his daughter, Marla Huerta Garcia, in January 2002 and a liver transplant in 2004. Fender was to have lung surgery in early 2006 until surgeons found tumors.

"I feel very comfortable in my life," Fender told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in August. "I'm one year away from 70 and I've had a good run. I really believe I'm OK. In my mind and in my heart, I feel OK. I cannot complain that I haven't lived long enough, but I'd like to live longer."