Freddy Fender

El Bebop Kid Freddy Fender

Long before he became a Country Crossover superstar in the 1970s, FREDDY FENDER was a teenage rock & roll star in his native Mexico, under his real name, Baldemar Huerta.

The very first Hispanic rock & roller, nicknamed "El Bebop Kid", he initially sang Spanish language cover versions of contemporaneous American rock & roll hits, before starting to write his own songs.

He changed his stage name to "Freddy Fender" in 1959 in order to appeal to the US market - as he famously said, "To sell better with Gringos!" - at which point he began to record in English.

After being busted in 1960 for a marijuana offence, he was incarcerated in Angola State Prison, Louisiana; whilst inside, he recorded an LP and several 45s as "Eddie Con Los Shades", and further Spanish language sides as Freddy Fender.

This unique compilation presents the very best of his Spanish language recordings between 1957-1961, the first time that this body of work has been thus compiled.