Freddy Fender, 1981, El Paso, TX

Having whet my appetite for live music with Molly Hatchet, I was eager to see and hear more.  So, when I noticed that Freddy Fender was going to perform in El Paso, I jumped at the chance by talking my parents into going.  Not that they needed much convincing.  The tickets were cheap, the show took place in the early afternoon at a softball field, and best of all, it was Freddy Fender! 

In the mid-seventies, my Dad had Freddy's hit album "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" on eight-track, and we listened to it constantly.   I came to know and appreciate all of the songs, and many became standards in my essential music collection.  Later in my life, whenever I'd  spend time in Mexico and was approached by a troupe of singing guitarists in a bar, I'd always fork over dough for them to play "Rancho Grande," a song I knew from hours spent riding in the back of my parent's car listening to that Freddy Fender eight-track.

The exact date and location of the show are details that I've lost over the years.  I can at least say that the show took place on a weekend in the spring, soon after I'd seen Molly Hatchet at the El Paso Coliseum.  As for the location,  I can remember that the stage was set up along the first base line of a softball field and that I and my Dad, Mom, and sister, Misti, stood in the infield to watch the show.  The best I can muster to pinpoint the location is a vague memory that the softball field was in a park in the area of Dudley Field, the baseball stadium for the El Paso Diablos.

Freddy, as one would expect, put on a great show.  Backed by a tight and professional band, he was a lively performer with a friendly manner and a classic voice that was a pleasure to hear.  He sang the hits, of course, "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" and "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," and surprised me with a fun version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."

I enjoyed the show.  I caught Freddy in concert again when he was riding high with the Texas Tornados in the mid-nineties, and he was as great then as he was in 1981.  Still, I feel especially lucky to have heard him sing in such an intimate show on a cool and sunny spring El Paso afternoon.