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 - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 28/08/1992
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Complete U.S. Instrumental Singles
Rock - Lançado por Nor-Va-Jak Music em 20/11/2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Sugar Shack / Buddy's Buddy
Pop - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 29/09/1997
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bottle of Wine / Come on, React!
Pop - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 25/03/2002
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clovis Classics: The Definitive Collection
Rock - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 28/08/1992
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of the Fireballs' Vocals
Pop - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 28/04/1997
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Exotic Guitars from the Clovis Vaults
Rock - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 25/09/2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Torquay / Campusology
Rock - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 25/10/1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' in the 50's
Rock - Lançado por Skooldaze #789 em 15/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Fire / Rarities
Rock - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 23/02/1998
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lucky 'Leven / Folkbeat
Pop - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 24/09/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Bulldog (Mono Version)
Rock - Lançado por BNF Collection em 01/01/1960
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 - Lançado por Plates of History em 01/11/2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Salon
Rock - Lançado por More Wings in Hell em 09/12/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Fireballs / Vaquero
Rock - Lançado por ACE RECORDS em 26/04/1993
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sugar Shack
Pop - Lançado por JB Production CH em 10/03/2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Torquay (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks)
Pop - Lançado por Surfin' Bird em 01/01/1963
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Are the Fireballs (2023 Remastered)
Rock - Lançado por Warwick Records em 13/02/1961
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo