KRLA King of the Wheels

KRLA King of the Wheels
Studio album by The Bobby Fuller Four
Released November 1965[1]
Genre Rock and roll
Label Mustang
Mustang M-900 (mono)
MS-900 (stereo)
Producer Robert Keane
The Bobby Fuller Four chronology

KRLA King of the Wheels
(1965)		 I Fought the Law
(1966)

KRLA King of the Wheels was the first album by The Bobby Fuller Four. It was released by Mustang Records in November 1965 in stereo and mono. It was released in promotion of the local Los Angeles radio station, KRLA.

The album was put out soon after "Let Her Dance" made the top 40 charts locally. Bob Keane wanted a drag racing album, featuring surf instrumentals, covers, and some singles, however, his original vision changed along the way.[2] In the end, four new drag racer songs were recorded for the album. The title track, "King of the Wheels", is a reworking of an earlier Bobby Fuller song, "King of the Beach". "KRLA Top Eliminator" was based on the real-life customized dragster made by KRLA (seen on the cover), and a reworking of a live cover of "El Paso Rock" by Long John Hunter; Fuller's band used to perform in El Paso. In addition, six songs were also taken from his three latest singles (including "Let Her Dance"), and three new songs were recorded ("Fool of Love" and "Saturday Night" were re-recordings of older Bobby Fuller tracks, and "Little Annie Lou" would go on to become a B-side for their next single, "I Fought the Law"). "The Lonely Dragster" is a reworking of the song "Wolfman", a B-side from a previous single, "Thunder Reef".

In 1990, this album was re-released on CD by Ace Records, bundled with I Fought the Law, along with seven bonus tracks[3] (later put out by Del-Fi Records in 1994).[4] In 1992, Repertoire Records reissued this album on CD with fifteen bonus tracks.[5]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bobby Fuller, except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Never to be Forgotten"  B. Fuller, R. Fuller 2:54
2. "Another Sad and Lonely Night"    2:17
3. "She's My Girl"  B. Fuller, R. Fuller 2:27
4. "Take My Word"    2:05
5. "Fool of Love"    2:35
6. "Let Her Dance"    2:25
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "King of the Wheels"    2:03
2. "The Lonely Dragster"    3:10
3. "Little Annie Lou"  B. Fuller, R. Fuller 2:01
4. "The Phantom Dragster"    1:23
5. "Saturday Night"    1:37
6. "KRLA Top Eliminator"  B. Fuller, R. Fuller, J. Reese, D. Quirico 2:48

Bonus tracks

Personnel

The Bobby Fuller Four

References

  1. ↑ "Original US Albums". Bobby Fuller – Never to Be Forgotten. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ Poehler, Aaron J. "The Strange Case of Bobby Fuller". AaronPoehler.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Bobby Fuller Four, The - The Bobby Fuller Four [I Fought The Law / KRLA King Of The Wheels] (CD) - Buy at Discogs Marketplace". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  4. ↑ Dan Pavlides. "I Fought the Law/KRLA King of the Wheels - The Bobby Fuller Four | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  5. ↑ "Bobby Fuller Four, The - KRLA King Of The Wheels Plus 15 Bonus Tracks (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-05-29.