'Bebop kid' Freddy Fender has died at the age of 69. The musician, who was diagnosed with lung cancer early this year, passed away at his home in Corpus Christi, Texas, over the weekend. Born Baldemar Huerta, the singer and guitarist came to prominence in 1977 when his song 'Before the Next Teardrop Falls' got to number 1 in the US pop and country charts, and was followed by a similarly successful string of hits.
Fender won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album in 2002 for 'La Musica de Baldemar Huerta' and in 1999 was awarded a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In a 2004 interview he said that the one thing would make his musical career complete would be induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, saying: "Hopefully I'll be the first Mexican-American going into Hillbilly Heaven."