I Fought The Law and The Law Won BOBBY FULLER FOUR Video Steven Bogarat

With the group's new hit records, Keane signed them to Del-Fi this time around. The band's first Del-Fi release, "Those Memories of You" was under the sister label, Donna Records (credited to Bobby Fuller and the Fanatics). With the band's increasing local popularity, Keane created a sister label just for Fuller's band, Mustang Records. The first release on Mustang was "Thunder Reef" in 1965. This time, the band was credited as the Shindigs to capitalize on the new ABC show, Shindig! Seeking a more permanent name, Keane decided upon the Bobby Fuller Four (as he favored Fuller), which was first used on the band's next single, "Take My Word". The new name received mixed reactions with the rest of the group, claiming that it put too much emphasis on Fuller, as opposed to the rest of the band, but the name stuck. While their next release, "Never to be Forgotten" brought a regional hit, the band's next single, "Let Her Dance" brought the band's first national hit, barely missing the Billboard Hot 100 at 133, though bringing in a Top 40 hit. At the suggestion of Randy Fuller, the El Paso hit, "I Fought the Law" was re-recorded. It quickly gained national popularity, and by 1966, it rose to its peak position at No. 9 on the national charts. Meanwhile, the band was starting to experience internal troubles after touring, and drummer DeWayne Quirico abruptly left the group. John Barbata was asked to take his place, while negotiations were underway to get Dalton Powell back in the band. While performing at L.A. venue "P.J." the band produced a memorable performance of "I fought the law" featuring the go-go dancer Lada St. Edmund into the NBC television show Hullaballoo, and also participated in another TV show, Shivaree. With Powell reinstated, the group went on to release "Love's Made a Fool of You", another Crickets cover (written by Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery and recorded by Holly as a demo, reportedly intended for the Everly Brothers, though never recorded by that duo). This went on to become another national hit for the band. The next single was taken from the sessions where Barbata sat in, "The Magic Touch". While being popular locally, it did not match the success of the previous singles. In addition to the already existing internal problems, the band began to fall apart in July after Reese had received a draft notice in the mail (and arranged to sell his Jaguar XKE to Fuller), Powell also planned to announce his plans to leave the band to support his family back home. Aftermath Bobby Fuller died under mysterious circumstances on July 18, 1966. His body was found beaten inside his car parked just outside of his Hollywood home. Evidence suggests that he had ingested gasoline. Initially, these details were not released to the public. Although many of his friends suspected he might have been murdered by mobsters, Fuller's death was officially ruled a suicide by police.[1] At the death of Fuller, the group disbanded. Their final single, "It's Love, Come What May" was only released in limited quantities as a promotional recording. Months later, Keane arranged the formation of the Randy Fuller Four in an attempt to capitalize on the previous success of the Bobby Fuller Four, complete with Randy Fuller on bass and rhythm guitar, DeWayne Quirico returning on drums, and Mike Ciccarelli and Howard Steele (other former El Paso musicians) on lead guitar and bass, respectively. The group released a few singles (including overdubbing the Bobby Fuller Four's "It's Love, Come What May"), but disbanded less than a year later in 1967 without any chart success.[1][4] Most former members of the Bobby Fuller Four remained active in the music industry after the group disbanded. Jim Reese died in 1991 after suffering a fatal heart attack whilst playing a round of golf. Bobby Fuller has been the subject of two books: I Fought The Law: The Life and Strange Death of Bobby Fuller by Miriam Linna & Randell Fuller (2015); and Rock & Roll Mustangs by Stephen J. McParland (2009 and with an updated edition released in 2021