In 1959, Fender recorded the blues ballad "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights." The song became popular in 1959, but he was beset by legal troubles after he and a band member were arrested for possession of marijuana. After a two years in Louisiana's Angola prison farm, he was released through the intercession of Gov. Jimmie Davis, also a songwriter and musician. Davis requested that Fender stay away from music while on probation as a condition of his release. By the end of the 1960s, Fender was back in Texas working as a mechanic, and attending a local junior college, while only playing music on the weekends.
Number One Pop and Country
In 1974, Fender recorded "Before The Next Teardrop Falls." The single was selected for national distribution, and became a number one hit on the Billboard Country and Pop charts. His next four singles, including a remake of "Wasted Days", all hit the number one spot on the Billboard Country charts. During the next few years, Fender had several major country hits, including the No. 1 hits "Secret Love" (1975) and "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1976).
Texas Tornados
In the 1990s, Fender teamed up with fellow Tex-Mex musicians Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez and Augie Myers to form the Tex-Mex supergroup the Texas Tornados, whose work was widely acclaimed. Following the death of Sahm, the production of the Tornadoes slowed.
Los Super Seven
Freddy Fender continued to still be on top with a groundbreaking collaboration with several musical legends to produce another supergroup, Los Super Seven which consisted of David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, drums, bass, percussion, requinto, hidalguera); Rick Trevino, Joe Ely (vocals, guitar); Flaco Jimenez (vocals, accordion); Cesar Rosas (vocals, six-string bass, guitar, guitarron, jarana); Freddy Fender (vocals, acoustic bass); Ruben Ramos (vocals). This Super Seven effort won a Grammy in 1999.
On February 4, 1999, Freddy's star was installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2004, the Texas Folklife Resources produced a widely acclaimed sell-out show at the Paramount in Austin, Texas " Fifty Years of Freddy Fender", where Freddy was honored and then performed to a packed house. Also in 2004, Freddy's hometown of San Benito Texas honored Freddy with his likeness emblazoned on their new watertower with "Hometown of Freddy Fender". Freddy would later say that this honor meant more to him than any other accolade he had ever won.
Freddy Fender's Masterpiece...
La Musica De Baldemar Huerta
Freddy delves deeply into the music of his forefathers: the boleros and rancheras that would have played in the ghettos of his native San Benito, Texas, and that he sang as a youth in border-town cantinas. Especially gorgeous are "Adios Muchachos," a melancholy meditation on final farewells, and the delicate opener, "Rayito de Luna." El Be Bop Kid isn't just back; he sounds reborn. Freddy won his last Grammy for this album.
Freddy Fender underwent a kidney transplant in 2002 donated by his daughter and a transplant of the liver in 2004. Nonetheless, his condition continued to worsen. He was suffering from an "incurable cancer" in which he had tumors on his lungs. On December 31, 2005, Fender performed his last concert and resumed chemotherapy.
Fender has Passed on...
Rest in Peace, Vaya Con Dios
Freddy Fender passed away on Saturday, October 14, 2006, after a long battle with lung cancer. He is buried in his Hometown of San Benito, Texas.
Plans are underway for a Freddy Fender Museum to be located in his beloved hometown, San Benito, Texas. Check back at: www.freddyfendermuseum.org or
www.freddyfender.com
Baby I Want to Love You
FREDDY FENDER Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you won't let me do the thing I want of you
For you,
Oh, baby, won't you understand me?
Give me your other chance
To make you realize
That I need you more and more
I can't live without you
I want to hold you
Can't you see I'll always love you?
Tell me please, don't ask me why!
Can't you see how much I cry?
Baby, I want to love you
But you won't let me do the thing I
Want of you
For you,
Oh, baby, won't you understand me?
Give me your other chance
To make you realize
That I need you more and more
I can't live without you
Oh, baby, take me in your arms...
The lyrics of Freddy Fender's song "Baby I Want to Love You" express the singer's desire to love someone who does not reciprocate the feeling. The first line starts with a confession of love for someone, followed by an acknowledgment that this person is preventing the singer from doing what they want most. The second stanza begins with a pleasurable appeal to the person, imploring them to understand the singer's feelings for them. The singer pleads for another chance, while also expressing their inability to live without the person. The song also presents an emotional appeal to the person to hold the singer. Finally, it ends with a repetition of the first verse - the pleading to be allowed to love someone.
The song's chorus is explicitly emotional and quite relatable. The singer is pleading with someone to allow him to love them, and the person is unwilling to allow him to do so. The repetition of the chorus leaves no room for interpretation: the singer is deeply infatuated and wants the person to accept his feelings. However, these feelings would go unrealized if the person doesn't reciprocate them. The singer argues that if given the chance, the person will realize how they need each other and that he cannot do without her.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, I want to love you
I desire to give you my love
But you won't let me do the thing I want of you
However, you are not allowing me to express my love in the way I want
For you, oh baby, won't you understand me?
For your sake, please try to comprehend my feelings
Give me your other chance to make you realize
Please grant me another opportunity to prove my love to you
That I need you more and more, I can't live without you
I cannot live without you, I crave your presence in my life
Oh, baby, take me in your arms...
Please embrace me tightly and show me your affection
I want to hold you, can't you see I'll always love you?
I long to hold you, can't you see that my love for you is eternal?
Tell me please, don't ask me why!
Please do not question me, just hear me out
Can't you see how much I cry?
Do you not notice how much I am hurting?
Contributed by Nicholas G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.