Jerry Fuller

One can say what one wants about the hits produced and sometimes also written by Jerry Fuller, or do what one wants to them, for that matter. Copies of the wormy "Little Green Apples," "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, and the Knickerbockers' "Lies" have been found up in trees and at the bottom of ditches, after all, while some car and house radio dials have been severely damaged attempting a too-rapid escape from these oft-played ditties. There was much less saturation concerning Fuller's own performing career as a singer/songwriter, although he did score a couple of hits and broke ground with an early rockabilly version of "Tenneesee Waltz." Fuller came out of a background of Texas music as solid as the Alamo itself. Both of his parents were singers. His father, Clarence Fuller, had sung for fiddler and bandleader Bob Wills back in the days when the Light Crust Doughboys band was baking. Mother Lola Fuller did more of the direct music teaching in the family, setting Jerry Fuller and Bob Fuller in motion as the singing Fuller Brothers. The former quickly decided to go on his own, including penning his own numbers. Other family members eventually showed up on Jerry Fuller's production schedule, including Jimmy Fuller and his band Angus and background singer Claudine Fuller. Jerry Fuller was 21 when he showed up in Los Angeles, having already cut ten sides of his own for a small Texas label, Lin. The Challenge label was the first West Coast outfit to give him a run after Fuller had earned dinner money singing on demo sessions. "Betty My Angel" was the first of several regional hits, but it was not until nearly 100 songs later that Fuller really struck gold by placing his song "Travelin' Man" with teen idol Ricky Nelson -- as in six million copies sold....