b'first bi-lingual record to hit the top spot on any music chart. As an artist, Freddy Above: Freddy Fender appearing and performing a duet with Dolly Parton on July 25, 1976, onFender was the pioneer and master of crossover success for a Latin singer, intro-Dolly, her short-lived, syndicated variety show; Above/Right: Fender at his peak, his mid-70sducing Conjunto to white audiences and creating a cultural bridge between races. purple phase; Below: Photographed for Billboard at the 1975 CMA Awards, where Fender beat outOver the decades since artists like Freddy emerged into mainstream popularity, superstars Glenn Campbell, John Denver, and B. J. Thomas and the biggest hits of their careers. communities in places like South Texas have grown increasingly mixed-raceand harmonic and mutually-rewarding as a result, just like the music of Freddy Fender.Ifbysomebizarrechanceyouhave neverheardFreddyFenderssingingBaldemar knew voiceor if you just havent heard it in a whiletake a minute to listen. Iexactly how to touch was reminded of the striking effect it had on me the second Wasted Dayshis listeners through reached my ears, as if all attention inthe magical voice the room deflated to a singular point of importance. His tone dwelled in thewith which God higherreachesofthemusicalscale,had blessed him.not unlike U2s Bono or even George Michael, all three of whom arrest the consciousness in a way that makes them impossible to ignore or relegate to the background of your mind. The closer and longer you listen to Freddy Fender sing, the more you hear the emotion conveyed by the songwriter and the intention-al beauty and perfection with which he delivers the sincerity that went into the composition. You have to imagine, that even as a 10-year-old boy singing on the radio and in the streets of the Valley, little Baldemar knew exactly how to touch his listeners through the magical voice with which God had blessed him.TheCoastalBend.com THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE93'