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
Wasted Days Wasted Nights
FREDDY FENDER Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I have left for you behind
For you don't belong to me
Your heart belongs to someone else
Why should I keep loving you
When I know that you're not true?
And why should I call your name
For making me blue?
Don't you remember the day
That you went away and left me?
I was so lonely
Prayed for you only
My love
Why should I keep loving you
When I know that you're not true?
And why should I call your name
When you're to blame
For making me blue?
Don't you remember the day
That you went away and left me?
I was so lonely
Prayed for you only
My love
Why should I keep loving you
When I know that you're not true?
And why should I call your name
When you're to blame
For making me blue?
In "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights," Freddy Fender sings about heartbreak and the decision to move on from a relationship that was not meant to be. He admits to wasting his time and energy on someone who did not truly belong to him and who broke his heart. Fender questions why he should continue loving and calling out to someone who has already caused so much pain.
The repetition of the chorus highlights the idea that Fender is struggling to come to terms with the end of the relationship and is searching for answers as to why things had to end the way they did. The lyrics reflect themes of heartbreak, betrayal, and the struggle to let go of someone you love, even when you know they are not good for you.
Overall, the song is a powerful reflection of the pain and confusion that can come with the end of a relationship, and it stands as a testament to Freddy Fender's ability to capture deep, complex emotions in his music.
Line by Line Meaning
Wasted days and wasted nights
I spent many days and nights on you, but they were all worthless and futile in the end.
I have left for you behind
I have moved on from our relationship and left it all behind for you.
For you don't belong to me
I realize that you never truly belonged to me, you were always someone else's.
Your heart belongs to someone else
Even though we were together, your heart was always with someone else.
Why should I keep loving you
Why should I continue to love you when I know that you are unfaithful?
When I know that you're not true?
When I know that you are not honest and trustworthy in our relationship?
And why should I call your name
Why should I even bother calling out your name when you are the one to blame for all the hurt I feel?
When you're to blame for making me blue?
When you are responsible for causing me sadness and depression.
Don't you remember the day
Do you not recall the day when you left me heartbroken and alone?
That you went away and left me?
That you walked out on our relationship and abandoned me?
I was so lonely
I felt incredibly isolated and desolate without you.
Prayed for you only
All I could do was pray for your return, nothing else mattered to me.
My love
Despite all the pain you have caused me, my love for you still lingers.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HUEY P. MEAUX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind