The Fireballs
This New Mexican group was the primary exponent of the Tex-Mex sound in the instrumental rock & roll of the late '50s and early '60s, landing three Top 40 hits, "Torquay," "Bulldog," and "Quite a Party." Paced by the clean, economic guitar lines of George Tomsco, their moody, laconic arrangements and dextrous picking was similar in essential respects to the Ventures. The Fireballs, who used the same Norman Petty-run studio in Clovis, NM, as Buddy Holly, had a much more prominent "border" music feel to their melodies than the Ventures. The Ventures, on the other hand, had a much more full-bodied and versatile attack, accounting to a large degree for the Fireballs' comparatively slight place in history.
The Fireballs, who occasionally sang on their recordings, are actually much more famous for their controversial contributions to the Buddy Holly legacy. In the early '60s, in association with Petty (Holly's former producer and manager), they overdubbed some of Holly's demo tapes for posthumous release. Some Holly fans claim that these performances should have been left to stand as they were; Petty, and others, have claimed (dubiously) that they were only salvageable for commercial release via such overdubs.
In 1963, the Fireballs hooked up with singer Jimmy Gilmer. As Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs, they had one of the biggest hits of 1963 with a number-one smash lightweight-pop ditty, "Sugar Shack." A similar follow-up, "Daisy Petal Pickin'," made the Top 20, but the British Invasion wiped them out immediately. The Fireballs, sans Gilmer, made one last unexpected comeback in 1968, when their "Bottle of Wine" (featuring vocals by the group themselves) made the Top Ten.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
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Best of the Fireballs
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 28 Aug 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete U.S. Instrumental Singles
Rock - Released by Nor-Va-Jak Music on 20 Nov 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Sugar Shack / Buddy's Buddy
Pop - Released by ACE RECORDS on 29 Sep 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bottle of Wine / Come on, React!
Pop - Released by ACE RECORDS on 25 Mar 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clovis Classics: The Definitive Collection
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 28 Aug 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of the Fireballs' Vocals
Pop - Released by ACE RECORDS on 28 Apr 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Exotic Guitars from the Clovis Vaults
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 25 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Torquay / Campusology
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 25 Oct 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' in the 50's
Rock - Released by Skooldaze #789 on 15 Mar 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Fire / Rarities
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 23 Feb 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lucky 'Leven / Folkbeat
Pop - Released by ACE RECORDS on 24 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Bulldog (Mono Version)
Rock - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ho-Dad Machine
The Fireballs, The Beach Boys, Bruce Johnston, The Lively Ones, Dick Dale and His Del-Tones
Pop - Released by Plates of History on 1 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Fireballs / Vaquero
Rock - Released by ACE RECORDS on 26 Apr 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Torquay (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks)
Pop - Released by Surfin' Bird on 1 Jan 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Are the Fireballs (2023 Remastered)
Rock - Released by Warwick Records on 13 Feb 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo