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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Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Remastered)
Rock - Editado por Master Tape Records el 18/06/2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Firebeat! The Great Lost Vocal Album
Pop - Editado por Ace Records el 24/04/2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sugar Shack & Torquay (Remastered)
Rockabilly - Editado por Old Europe el 15/02/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of the Rest of the Fireballs' Vocals
R&B - Editado por Ace Records el 31/10/1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Instrumental Rock and Roll, Vol. 5
The Fireballs, The Rock A-Teens
Rock - Editado por Documents 2 el 13/01/2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cry Baby
Jazz - Editado por Black & Partner Licenses LLC el 25/08/2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Surfer´s Paradise, Vol.3
World music - Editado por Hawaian Sounds el 13/09/2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Rock'n'Roll Instrumentals · The Fireballs
Rock - Editado por G.O.P. el 23/08/2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sternstunden Der Unterhaltung!
Susi's Schlager Sextett, Franny, The Fireballs
Pop - Editado por Blue Art Records el 29/04/2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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