Breaking Rocks In the Hot Sun..


I Fought the Law And the Law Won!

Sonny Curtis wrote that song back in 1959.  He died earlier this month.  He was never a star, but he did amazing work over several decades and certainly deserves his spot in the Rock Hall of Fame.  I didn't know it until I read his obits, but he wrote "Love Is All Around", yes, the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  My mind has exploded.

onhwy61

 

No, it was a hit single in 1966. Bobby was murdered that same year, his body found in the front seat of his mother’s car, which was parked in the carport of his Hollywood apartment. He had been beaten up (there was asphalt gravel ground into his face), and his lungs filled with gasoline. Gas had been poured down his throat until he drowned. Bobby had been warned to stop seeing a local mobster’s girlfriend, but he foolishly chose to ignore the warning. The Los Angeles Chief Of Police at that time was notoriously corrupt, and had the coroner rule Bobby’s death a suicide!

His mother and brother (Randy, who played bass in the BF4) hired a detective to investigate, but he disappeared and his body never found (the Southern California desert holds many secrets).

When I moved to L.A. in 1979 the first place I visited was Forest Lawn Cemetery, to pay my respects at his gravesite. If you go there, ask for the location of Robert Fuller’s grave.

 

The Clash's version of I Fought The Law captures the spirit of the song perfectly.