The Bobby Fuller Four

The Bobby Fuller Four
The Bobby Fuller Four in 1965 L-R Randy Fuller, Bobby Fuller, DeWayne Quirico and Jim Reese
Background information
Also known as	The Spiders, Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics, The Shindigs
Origin	Texas, United States
Genres	Rock and roll
Years active	1962-1966
Labels	Donna, Eastwood, Exeter, Liberty, Mustang, Todd, Yucca
Past members	Principle Bobby Fuller Randy Fuller Jim Reese Dalton Powell DeWayne Quirico Other Googie Dirmeyer Mike Ciccarelli Sonny Fletcher Gaylord Grimes Jerry Miller Freddie Paz Tex Reed Larry Thompson Jimmy Wagnon Billy Webb

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."

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.

They disengaged from Yucca, and released their records through Fuller’s own various independent labels; the recordings were done in Fuller’s home recording studio. The group never had a definite name; recordings were either credited to simply Bobby Fuller, or Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics. Various other members (now including a second guitarist in addition to Fuller) played in the band at this time; however, the most significant were Jim Reese (formerly of the Embers) on guitar, and Dalton Powell (who had previously played piano for the Embers) on drums, while Bobby Fuller and Randy Fuller stayed constant on guitar and bass, respectively.

By 1963, the band pursued a record deal with a major label in Hollywood, California. While they were neglected by most labels, Bob Keane of Del-Fi Records showed particular interest in the group. While he saw potential, he didn’t think the band had hit material yet. Fuller and his band returned to El Paso and continued to release regional hits, the most popular being "I Fought the Law," originally by the Crickets. By the end of 1964, Fuller saw branching out to a major label as their only option, thus Bobby Fuller, Randy Fuller, and Jim Reese prepared to move to California to revisit Del-Fi Records. Current drummer Dalton Powell could not make the move due to family commitments, and was replaced by another drummer, DeWayne Quirico, instructed by Fuller himself.