San Benito boasts several famous past residents, such as Olympic champion Bobby Morrow and Narciso Martinez, who is credited with creating the conjunto musical genre. One image smiles down from the city’s I-69 water tower, however: Freddy Fender.
Born Baldemar Huerta, Fender had several popular hits during the early days of rock ’n’ roll before enjoying smash success as a country artist. It’s not an unusual path to fame; country icons Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty and Jerry Lee Lewis had their first success as rock stars.
Those three all have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Freddy Fender has not.
His name has been mentioned for many years, both in and out of the music industry, as a deserving candidate, but it’s been just talk.
A petition drive has been launched to push for his induction. People interested in adding their names to the list can go to https://www.change.org/p/induct-mexican-american-freddy-fender-into-the-country-music-hall-of-fame and follow the prompts.
It certainly can be argued that he deserves induction, with 21 chart hits. Four of them reached No. 1, including “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” which was the Country Music Association’s Single of the Year in 1975. Fender was named the CMA’s Most Promising Male Vocalist that year as well. Two of his albums also topped the charts and three others were in the top 5, and he won three Grammy awards out of six nominations. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is in both the Texas Music and Louisiana halls of fame, among other accolades.
Fender, who died in 2006, was asked about the slight during a 2004 interview with The Associated Press. He said he’d like to be the first Hispanic to make it into “Hillbilly Heaven.”
Nearly two decades after that wish, Hispanics still haven’t been enshrined. Not Johnny Rodriguez, a mainstay on country radio during the 1970s; not Flaco Jimenez, one of the most sought-after session artists. Even Linda Ronstadt, who is credited with creating the country-rock sound with her backing band that later found its own success as the Eagles, isn’t in the hall.
One problem is that in the absence of a rare tie, only one person is inducted annually in each of three categories: modern artists, who have enjoyed “national prominence” for 20 years; veterans, who have been known for more than 40 years; and touring or studio musicians, songwriters and other non-performers.
With that limitation, many major artists are passed over and add to a growing backlog of deserving artists. For example, superstars Ray Charles and the Judds were inducted just this year. John Denver, one of the biggest names in the ’70s, still hasn’t made it. Nor have the Eagles, Tanya Tucker and dozens of others whom many people likely assume already have been enshrined. Even 27-time Grammy winner Alison Krauss has yet to be inducted.
Will the growing list continue to push Freddy Fender out of contention? Perhaps this petition drive might help convince voters that he has earned his place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Either way, he already holds a solid place in the hearts of countless Rio Grande Valley residents and music lovers everywhere.
