The group was christened The Fireballs after their standing ovation performance of "Great Balls of Fire" at the Raton High School PTA talent contest in New Mexico, USA...January 1958. By the year's end they had auditioned for the late Norman Petty at his already internationally famous recording studio at 1313 W. 7th Street, Clovis, New Mexico, where it stands today – a monumental contribution to the birth of early Southwestern style rock 'n' roll.
Buddy Holly and the Crickets were scheduled for night time recording sessions Monday and Tuesday, so Petty logged the first Fireballs session for Wednesday night. January 1959 found their first record released on Kapp records, "Fireball," a guitar instrumental; and "I Don't Know," a vocal by Chuck Tharp. "Fireball" was the Billboard 'pick' which resulted in the first airplay and sales.
Warwick Records released additional singles, which included "Quite A Party," and an album. Little did The Fireballs know that their guitar instrumental music was one of the foundational influences of the surf music culture that was starting to make big waves. Coupled with a new vocalist, Jimmy Gilmer, The Fireballs savored success in a new dimension. "Sugar Shack" on Dot Records was a #1 hit and the largest selling single of the year. More vocal singles and albums followed. It was a very unique transition in the music business for an 'instrumental guitar band' to become 'vocal' and retain prestige in both fields.
The late 60's found The Fireballs on ATCO Records with more chart singles and albums. Gilmer's gutsy lead vocal along with the backup vocals from The Fireballs sang their way to another top 10 tune with "Bottle of Wine" followed closely by "Come On React," of which albums were released under each of the titles. Their current recordings of traditional 50's/60's style guitar instrumentals, vocals and their own brand of country music reflect trace influences of Mexican and 'western' music dominant in the Southwest prior to the start of their recording career. The Fireballs recordings and songs have been heard in many films including: "Forrest Gump," "Mermaids," "Congo," "Dogfight," "From Dusk Til Dawn," "Box of Moonlight" and "The Real Blonde" with others being negotiated for upcoming films. With their well-established track record, The Fireballs are a class act of the 50's/60's music era into the 90's (and beyond) of entertainment. The Fireballs are ---
Notable songs include ---
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Richard De La Font Agency,
Inc.
Hailing
from Raton, New Mexico in the late 50's The Fireballs set a high standard
for guitar driven instrumentals.
Arriving on a
Sunday afternoon for their audition, Petty acknowledged his interest in their basic style,
simplicity, and feel in which the group performed their original guitar instrumentals and
vocals penned by members George Tomsco and Chuck Tharp.
Petty soon negotiated a contract for the group with a new aggressive
British-based label in the U.S. Top Rank records. As a result more chart instrumental
singles and albums followed: "
Besides their own recordings, Petty recruited The Fireballs
as studio musicians for other recording artist projects. Among many, folk singer Carolyn
Hester and Arthur Alexander. It was during this time that Petty orchestrated the group
through the task of musically enhancing the Buddy Holly 'apartment tapes' which surfaced
after Holly's death.
