I Gotta Know, Who Killed Bobby Fuller?

Thank you Frank for mentioning, in a recent conversation, Melba Moore’s version of “The Magic Touch.” With those opening piano chords, organ swirl, and thick horns, the song in her hands sounds like it was written to be a northern soul stomper. (The track is hard to find, but buy some other Melba Moore here.)

I knew the song only in its Bobby Fuller Four version, and like many Bobby Fuller records, it’s so crackling-good that I’m baffled it wasn’t just as big a hit as the iconic “I Fought the Law.”

• Melba Moore, “The Magic Touch”
• The Bobby Fuller Four, “The Magic Touch”

There are lots of Fuller compilations out there, but the one-stop shop I swear by is an 18-track Rhino one that’s now out of print. (I have it, ah, virtually, but I’m always on the lookout for it in the used stores.) You can buy a used copy online here or buy other Fuller stuff here. There’s also a box set that I sometimes eye in my crazier moments.

• The Bobby Fuller Four, “Never to Be Forgotten”

Fuller, of course, is also remembered for his mysterious death (the 40th anniversary of which is coming up in a week). Check it out if you don’t know about it, it’s creepy stuff.

The never-solved Fuller murder (sorry, “suicide”) provided a hook for a mystery novel that came out a few years ago called The Dead Circus, which I did read but cannot recommend. And it provides a hook for this lively Black 47 track, which seems to have some of everything (northern soul again, early Springsteen, a tiny hint of mariachi, etc.) melted into a very sleek & enjoyable rock & roll short story. (Buy the Black 47 album in question here.)

• Black 47, “Who Killed Bobby Fuller”

Oh, and Frank recommends this podcast, which is where he heard the Melba Moore track.