I Fought the Law: The Death of Bobby Fuller
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What happened to Bobby Fuller?
Due to the nature of today's story, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of drug use, abortion, violence and suicide. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. To get help on mental health and suicide, visit Spotify.com slash resources. The Bobby Fuller Four first launched onto the charts in March of 1966 with their hit song, I Fought the Law.
Who was Bobby Fuller and what was his music career like?
Written by Sonny Curtis and filled with up-tempo melodic harmonies, their rendition became an instant rock and roll classic. Bobby Fuller looked like a Kennedy and performed like Elvis. He began calling himself the rock and roll king of the Southwest. According to El Paso Times reporter Edna Gunderson, when the Bobby Fuller Four appeared at Dick Clark's World Teenage Fair at the Palladium in Hollywood, mobs of screaming girls lunged at Bobby and Randy, ripping their clothes and hair. Admirers were so hysterical that Gunderson wrote, "...one persistent fan escaped with Bobby's watch and cufflinks." The day Bobby was found dead marked just nine months since the band released their first 12-track studio album, KRLA, King of the Wheels. And just five months since their follow-up record, I Fought the Law. In other words, just as 23-year-old Bobby Fuller stood on the precipice of superstardom, he vanished, only to reappear dead. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy.
New episodes come out every Wednesday. You can listen to the audio everywhere and watch the video only on Spotify. And be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. Stay with us. In 1966, Bobby Fuller's mother, Lorraine, was staying with her sons at their apartment in Hollywood, 1776 Sycamore Avenue, number 317.
What were the events leading up to Bobby Fuller's death?
Bobby and his younger brother, Randy, were both members of the up-and-coming band, the Bobby Fuller Four. Bobby was two years Randy's senior. In the band, Randy played bass and sang backup to Bobby's guitar and lead vocals. The evening of July 17th was relatively uneventful. Randy had left to visit a friend. The brother's road manager and close friend Rick Stone was hanging out and drinking beers at the Fuller home with Lorraine and Bobby. At some point, Bobby called his girlfriend, Nancy Norton, a flight attendant who lived in New York City. Over the course of the night, a handful of old friends from Texas stopped by the apartment to hang out. In conversation, Bobby mentioned how excited he was about the Corvette he planned to buy the next day. To those around him, he seemed in good spirits. Around 1 a.m., Lorraine decided to turn in for the night. The place had cleared out. Rick was falling asleep on the couch with the television still on. Bobby was the only other person in the apartment.
Lorraine found him in a corner, picking at his guitar and listening to records. His favorite artists included Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. The plane crash killed Holly seven years earlier on February 3rd, 1959. In his song, American Pie, Don McLean famously referred to the accident as the day the music died. There was a time that Bobby only ever dreamed of having a career like his idol, Buddy Holly. He was a Texas boy, just like Holly. The Bobby Fuller Force hit, I Fought the Law, was actually a cover. The original was performed by Holly's four-man band, The Crickets. Lorraine wished Bobby goodnight, knowing that his dreams were coming true. He really was just like Buddy Holly. After his mother fell asleep, Bobby allegedly took another phone call with a different girl, Melody. Rick claims that he and Bobby had tried to buy LSD from Melody a few days earlier, but no transaction happened. Bobby was spooked when they arrived at her place and saw another car in addition to her blue 1964 Cadillac Eldorado in the driveway. Bobby said they'd try again another time.
So around 1 a.m. on the morning Bobby disappeared, he told Rick that he was leaving to finally pick up the acid from Melody. Around 2.30 a.m., Rick woke up to what he assumed was the sound of Bobby either leaving or entering the apartment. He didn't see Bobby himself, but he did see the front door open. Rick didn't think much of the coming and going.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What happened to Bobby Fuller?
0:01–0:30
2
Who was Bobby Fuller and what was his music career like?
0:30–2:13
3
What were the events leading up to Bobby Fuller's death?
2:13–19:20
4
What did the autopsy reveal about Bobby's death?
19:20–28:17
5
What were the conspiracy theories surrounding Bobby's death?
28:17
6
How did Bobby's death affect his family and friends?
22:02–32:49
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Conspiracy Theories
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