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 - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 28 août 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete U.S. Instrumental Singles
Rock - Paru chez Nor-Va-Jak Music le 20 nov. 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Sugar Shack / Buddy's Buddy
Pop - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 29 sept. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bottle of Wine / Come on, React!
Pop - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 25 mars 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clovis Classics: The Definitive Collection
Rock - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 28 août 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of the Fireballs' Vocals
Pop - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 28 avr. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Exotic Guitars from the Clovis Vaults
Rock - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 25 sept. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Torquay / Campusology
Rock - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 25 oct. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' in the 50's
Rock - Paru chez Skooldaze #789 le 15 mars 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Fire / Rarities
Rock - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 23 févr. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lucky 'Leven / Folkbeat
Pop - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 24 sept. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Bulldog (Mono Version)
Rock - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 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 - Paru chez Plates of History le 1 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Fireballs / Vaquero
Rock - Paru chez ACE RECORDS le 26 avr. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Torquay (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks)
Pop - Paru chez Surfin' Bird le 1 janv. 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Are the Fireballs (2023 Remastered)
Rock - Paru chez Warwick Records le 13 févr. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo