Courtesy of the Fuller family
Jerry Fuller, a songwriter and producer whose No. 1 hits included Ricky Nelson’s “Travelin’ Man,” Gary Puckett & the Union Gap’s “Young Girl,” Al Wilson’s “Show and Tell” and the Knickerbockers’ U.K. smash “Lies,” has died at the age of 85. He died Thursday night at his home in Sherman Oaks, where he was reportedly surrounded by family and loved ones; the cause was complications from lung cancer.
Born in Texas, Fuller also had a short-lived career as a recording artist, releasing a solitary solo album and several modestly charting singles in a pop-rockabilly vein in 1959-61, before finding much greater success writing and producing for his contemporaries in multiple genres.
Among the hundreds of artists who have recorded his more than 1,000 compositions are Reba McEntire, Gene Vincent, Cher, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, Don McLean, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Barbara Mandrell, Percy Sledge, Eddy Arnold, Marty Robbins, Vanessa Williams, Lee Greenwood, Steve Wariner, Lynn Anderson, the Kingston Trio, Pat Boone, Hank Snow, Billy J. Kramer and Lou Rawls. Other production clients include Johnny Mathis, Roger Miller, Peabo Bryson and Collin Raye.
More comprehensive success as a producer of songs he did not write was particularly notable with the Knickerbockers’ Beatles-style classic “Lies”, which reached number one in the UK, although it only reached number 20 in the US, and Wilson’s “Show and Tell”, which reached the top of the soul and pop charts in 1973.
It was his work with Ricky Nelson (later known as “Rick”) that gave Fuller his first exposure in the music industry as a songwriter. Nelson recorded some twenty of Fuller’s songs in total, many of which were sung on the hit TV show “The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriet” and also made radio appearances. “Travelin’ Man”, which Fuller demoed with his good friend Glen Campbell, was written with Sam Cooke in mind but ended up in Nelson’s hands and went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and No. 2 in the UK. Other early 1960s hits for Nelson through Fuller included “Young World” (No. 5), “It’s Up to You” (No. 6) and “A Wonder Like You” (No. 11).
Fuller was born on November 19, 1938, in Fort Worth, Texas, to a musical family, with both his parents, Clarence and Lola, being singers. At age 11, Lola led Jerry and his brother in forming a duo, the Fuller Bros., singing a cappella at local concerts.
His professional career as a solo artist began when, shortly after graduating from high school, he recorded an original song, “I Found a New Love,” for Lin Records in 1958. His highest-charting single was a rockabilly cover of “Tennessee Waltz” that reached No. 63 on the Billboard charts in 1959; his only album, “Teenage Love,” failed to chart, but still has a following today.
In 1960, Fuller was touring with the Champs when his friend Glen Campbell encouraged him to come to Los Angeles, where he found work as a demo singer and put “Travelin’ Man” in the hands of teen idol Nelson.
Fuller was drafted into the Army and spent two years stationed in New York City at the Seneca Army Depot, where he continued to write songs and entertain the troops. After leaving the Army, he moved to New York City and worked for Four Star. He was hanging out at a nightclub in Albany when he discovered local band the Knickerbockers and was allowed to sign a contract with them. He soon returned to the West Coast and stepped into the producer’s shoes for the first time with the band’s ever-indelible hit, “Lies.”
On his first day back in Los Angeles, Glen Campbell introduced Fuller to his future wife, Annette Smerigan. Campbell was best man at the wedding. (Despite their long friendship, Fuller did not produce any of Campbell’s records until 1982.)
Gary Puckett & the Union Gap proved to be his most reliable production clients, starting with the group’s debut single, the Wrecking Crew-assisted “Woman, Woman,” which reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. Puckett and company went from “Woman” to “Girl” with their second single, “Young Girl,” which reached No. 1. The hit was written and produced by Fuller, and it was recorded by more than 20 other artists, from the Lettermen to Matthew Morrison, the latter on the “Glee 2” soundtrack. Their third single together, “Lady Willpower,” also written solely by Fuller, reached No. 1 on Cashbox and No. 2 on Billboard. The streak continued with a fourth consecutive top-10 hit—”Over You,” which reached No. 7 in 1968.
Fuller’s success as a producer continued with O.C. Smith’s “Little Green Apples,” a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 in 1968, reaching the same mark on the R&B chart.
Fuller also worked with Mark Lindsay, who had a solo career outside of Paul Revere and the Raiders, with “Arizona” reaching the top 10.
In the early 1970s, Fuller formed his own companies, Moonchild Productions Inc. and Fullness
Music Company, and worked for Columbia, signing a young Mac Davis. He eventually began to move more toward country. He had a long collaboration with Ray Price, notably on “That’s All She Wrote,” “To Make A Long Story Short,” and “Feet,” and had success with Reba McEntire’s early songs “I Still Long To Hold You Now and Then” and “That Makes Two Of Us” (a duet with Jacky Ward).
His biggest hit of the 1970s was Al Wilson’s “Show And Tell,” which was named Cashbox’s 1973 single of the year and reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100, also cracking the top 10 on the easy listening and soul charts.
Fuller returned to recording as a singer on a few occasions after his success as a songwriter and producer, including a 1979 album for MCA, “It’s My Turn Now.” Beginning in the late ’90s, he began recording some of the biggest hits he had enjoyed as a songwriter or producer in his own interpretations, culminating in four volumes of “From the Vault” released in 2016-18.
Fuller is survived by his wife, Annette, and their children, Adam Lee and Anna Nicole.
