I Fought the Law#The Clash version
{{short description|1960 single by the Crickets}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = I Fought the Law
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = the Crickets
| album = In Style With the Crickets
| A-side = A Sweet Love
| released = {{Start date|1960|12|5}}
| recorded = May 18, 1959{{cite web |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/3932/originals#nav-entity|title=Original versions of I Fought the Law written by Sonny Curtis | SecondHandSongs |website=SecondHandSongs }}
| studio =
| genre = Rock and roll
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=12}}
| label = Coral
| writer = Sonny Curtis
| producer = Norman Petty
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
"I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of the Crickets and popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, becoming a top-ten hit for the band in 1966. Their version of the song was ranked No. 175 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, and the same year was named one of the 500 "Songs that Shaped Rock" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
There are several notable covers of the song. A version by Sam Neely charted in 1975. The song was also recorded by the Clash in 1979. A version with different lyrics was recorded by the Dead Kennedys in 1978.
Original song
The song was written in 1958 by Sonny Curtis, and recorded in 1959 when he joined the Crickets, taking the place of Buddy Holly on guitar. Joe B. Mauldin and Jerry Allison continued their positions on the stand-up bass and drums, respectively, while Earl Sinks filled the role for vocals. The song was included on their 1960 album, In Style with the Crickets, and the following year appeared as the B-side of their single, "A Sweet Love". The song received very little airplay.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
Milwaukee's Paul Stefen and the Royal Lancers covered the song in 1962; it provided them with a local hit, but it did not make the national charts.Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles: 1955-2010. Record Research, 2011. In 1964, Sammy Masters recorded his cover of the song. That same year, the song was recorded by Bobby Fuller and his band on his own Exeter label in El Paso, which solidified the band's popularity in the West Texas area with one of his biggest local hits.
Bobby Fuller Four version
{{Infobox song
| name = I Fought the Law
| cover = IFoughtTheLawBF4single.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Mid-1960s US edition of Bobby Fuller Four recording
| type = single
| artist = the Bobby Fuller Four
| album = I Fought the Law
| B-side = Little Annie Lou
| released = {{Start date|1965|10}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre =
- Garage rock{{cite magazine |first= Bonnie |last= Stiernberg |title= The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time |magazine= Paste |url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 |access-date= 15 May 2016 |archive-date= August 1, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170801001515/https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 |url-status= dead }}
- rock and roll
- rockabilly{{cite web|last= Pitchfork Staff |title= The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s |website= Pitchfork |date= August 18, 2006 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/|quote= As cool a killer as any in rockabilly, he makes the sing-along confession of the title iconic in a song that's fast, hostile and, doomed...|accessdate= October 12, 2022}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=14}}
| label = Mustang
| writer = Sonny Curtis
| producer = Bob Keane
| prev_title = Let Her Dance
| prev_year = 1965
| next_title = Love's Made a Fool of You
| next_year = 1966
| misc =
}}
After enjoying regional success in Texas, Bobby Fuller and his band decided to switch to a major label—Del-Fi Records under Mustang Records—and they became known as The Bobby Fuller Four. While producing minor hits, the band broke the national top ten when they re-recorded "I Fought the Law" in 1965 with Bobby Fuller (vocals, guitar), Randy Fuller (backing vocals, bass guitar), Jim Reese (backing vocals, guitar), and DeWayne Quirico (drums).
Just six months after the song made its first appearance on the Billboard Top 100 chart, Fuller was found dead from asphyxiation in his mother's car in a parking lot near his Los Angeles apartment. The police declared the death an apparent suicide, but others believe that he was murdered.{{cite web |url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=the-bobby-fuller-four-mn0000061534|pure_url=yes}} |title=Bobby Fuller Four – Biography |access-date=January 3, 2009 |website=AllMusic |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger}}
The mono and stereo mixes differ in both Fuller's vocals and the guitar riffs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/i-fought-the-law-mt0006084649 |title=The Bobby Fuller Four: I Fought the Law{{snd}}Song Info |website=AllMusic |access-date=July 31, 2019}}
In 2015, the Bobby Fuller Four version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}
=Chart positions=
{{Clear}}
==The Clash version{{anchor|The Clash cover version}}==
{{Infobox song
| name = I Fought the Law
| cover = I fought the law.jpg
| alt =
| caption = CD edition of 1988 single release
| type = single
| artist = the Clash
| EP = The Cost of Living
| B-side = (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
| released = {{Start date|1979|07|26}} (US)
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Punk rock{{cite web|website=Paste|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-songs/the-30-best-punk-cover-songs/|title=The 30 Best Punk Cover Songs|last=Hodge|first=Will|date=July 10, 2017|access-date=November 13, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Battoclette|first=Augusta| title=11 re-imagined cover songs that became popular: Check out these songs that are actually covers!|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/famous-cover-songs-from-other-artists/|website=Alternative Press|date=July 5, 2021|access-date=November 13, 2021}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=38}}
| label = CBS
| writer = Sonny Curtis
| producer =
| prev_title = English Civil War
| prev_year = 1979
| next_title = Groovy Times
| next_year = 1979
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = The Clash reissued
| type = single
| prev_title = London Calling
| prev_year = 1988
| title = I Fought the Law
| year = 1988
| next_title = Return to Brixton
| next_year = 1990
}}{{Extra track listing
| album = The Cost of Living
| type = single
| tracks = {{Hidden
| title = 4 tracks
| text =
;Side one
- "I Fought the Law"
- "Groovy Times"
;Side two
}}
}}
}}
In mid-1978, the Clash were working on their second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope. Singer Joe Strummer and guitarist Mick Jones flew to San Francisco to record overdubs in September–October at the Automatt studio. The owner of the Automatt kept his collection of classic jukeboxes distributed around the various rooms of the studio complex. Strummer and Jones heard the Bobby Fuller version of "I Fought the Law" for the first time on one of the jukeboxes.{{cite book |pages= [https://archive.org/details/redemptionsongba00sale/page/222 222–223] |last= Salewicz |first= Chris |title= Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer |publisher= Macmillan |year= 2006 |isbn= 0-571-21178-X }} Their version first appeared on the EP The Cost of Living in May 1979 in the UK, and later that year was made part of the American edition of the Clash's eponymous album. This cover version helped gain the Clash their first taste of airplay in the States, and is one of the best-known cover versions of the song. A live recording of the song, performed at the Lyceum Theatre, West End, London, on December 28, 1978, features as the last piece of the 1980 film Rude Boy directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay. The Clash were dressed all in black for that gig, and the song, at that stage, was considered the film's title song.{{cite video|people= Hazan, Jack; David Mingay, Ray Gange, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Nicky Headon, Buzzy Enterprises, Epic Music Video |date= 2006 |title= Rude Boy |medium= Documentary, Rockumentary |publisher= Epic Music Video |location= New York, NY, United States |isbn= 0-7389-0082-6 |oclc= 70850190 |quote= 2nd edition digitally restored and remastered sound.
}}{{cite book|last= Green |first= Johnny |author2=Barker, Garry |title= A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash |orig-year= 1997 |edition= 3rd |year= 2003 |publisher= Orion |location= London |isbn= 0-7528-5843-2 |oclc= 52990890 |pages= 149–150}}{{cite book |last= Salewicz |first= Chris |title= Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer |orig-year= 2006 |edition= 1st American |date= May 15, 2007 |publisher= Faber and Faber |location= New York City |isbn= 978-0-571-21178-4 |oclc= 76794852 |page= [https://archive.org/details/redemptionsongba00sale/page/246 246] |url= https://archive.org/details/redemptionsongba00sale/page/246 }}{{cite web |url= http://www.theclash.org.uk/RudeBoy.htm |title= Rude Boy |last= Whistance |first= Don J |website= theclash.org.uk |access-date= January 22, 2008 |quote= 10 I Fought the Law: The Lyceum, West End, London on the 28 December 1978 was where the last piece of filming took place which included Sonny Curtis's song: 'I Fought the Law'.
The Clash dressed all in black for the gig and played 'I Fought The Law ', which at that stage was being considered as the film's title song. |archive-date= April 5, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150405031002/http://www.theclash.org.uk/RudeBoy.htm |url-status= dead }} On July 26, 1979, "I Fought the Law" was the first single by the band to be released in the United States.
In 1988, CBS Records re-issued the single (catalog number) in CD, 12-inch and 7-inch vinyl formats, with "City of the Dead" (2:24) and "1977" (1:40) as its 7-inch B-side. The song is featured as a downloadable track in the music video game series Rock Band.{{cite web |url= https://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/12/11/new-punk-songs-come-to-rock-band |title= New punk songs come to Rock Band |access-date= January 3, 2008 |last= Kuchera |first= Ben |date= December 11, 2007 |website= Ars Technica |quote= 'I Fought the Law' - The Clash}}
In 1989, during Operation Just Cause, the U.S. military surrounded the Apostolic Nunciature in Panama while trying to capture Manuel Noriega, the strongman of Panama. U.S. forces blasted loud rock music—including "I Fought the Law" by the Clash—to put pressure on Noriega to give himself up.{{cite news|url =https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/27/manuel-noriega-us-friend-foe |location= London |work= The Guardian |first= Mark |last= Tran |title= Manuel Noriega{{snd}}from US Friend to Foe |date= April 27, 2010}}
In 2012, the Clash's version of the song was featured in the video game Sleeping Dogs, as part of a karaoke mini-game.
The song appears during the end credits of the 2014 film RoboCop, the 2016 film War on Everyone and the 2018 video game Lego DC Super-Villains.
=Recording=
Some of the percussive noises on the record were made by hitting the pipes on a urinal. Jones told Uncut magazine in 2015, "Yeah, we went into the toilets and banged on the pipes with hammers to make it sound like a chain gang. Y'know, that 'clang! clang!' at the end? And then at the very end you can hear a 'sssszzhhh!' That's it flushing!"{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2015-03-13 |title=The Clash's 30 best songs |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/the-clashs-30-best-songs-67075/ |work=Uncut |location= London |access-date=2023-06-01 }}
=Personnel=
- Joe Strummer – lead vocals and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
- Mick Jones – lead guitar and backing vocals
- Paul Simonon – bass and backing vocals
- Topper Headon – drums
=Charts=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! {{Tooltip|Rel.|Release}} ! Year ! Chart ! Peak |
| style="text-align:center" | 1st
| style="text-align:center" | {{Hs|1979-06-10}}1979 | Irish Singles Chart{{cite web|url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |title=The Irish Chartd |publisher=IRMA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |archive-date=June 2, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} Enter "I FOUGHT THE LAW" in Search by Song Title and click search. | style="text-align:center" | 24 |
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 2nd
| style="text-align:center" | {{Hs|1988-06-12}}1988 | {{Singlechart|New Zealand|17|artist=The Clash|song=I Fought The Law}} |
| style="text-align:center" | {{Hs|1988-03-26}}1988
| {{Singlechart|UK|29|date=March 26, 1988|artist=CLASH|song=I FOUGHT THE LAW}} |
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=The Clash|title=I Fought the Law|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=December 18, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Clash|title=I Fought the Law|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2020|id=16575-1068-1|access-date=July 31, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
{{Clear}}
Other versions
- Hank Williams Jr. recorded a version of the song in 1978, which was released on Family Tradition (1979). Released as the album's first single, it was a moderate hit and peaked at number 15 on Billboard{{'}}s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart,{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=389}} giving Williams his first Top 15 single in four years.
- Dead Kennedys adapted "I Fought the Law" shortly after San Francisco politician Dan White murdered city Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1978. Most of the lyrics were re-written so the song was from White's point of view; the chorus was changed to "I fought the law, and I won", with the final line in the final chorus changed to "I am the law, so I won." The song portrays White as someone who got away with first-degree premeditated murder and is unrepentant about it and specifically cites his use of the diminished responsibility defense. It also makes use of the reference "Twinkie defense", where lead singer Jello Biafra sings "Twinkies are the best friend I ever had".{{cite web |url=http://www.deadkennedys.com/albums_give.html#9 |title=Welcome To The Official Website For Dead Kennedys |website=Deadkennedys.com |access-date=July 19, 2016 |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119045851/http://www.deadkennedys.com/albums_give.html#9 |url-status=dead }} During Biafra's campaign for the office of Mayor of San Francisco, he proposed erecting statues of Dan White around the city and allowing the parks department to sell eggs and tomatoes with which people could pelt the statues.
- Sam Neely's version of the song went to No. 54 on the Billboard pop charts and no. 61 on the country charts in 1975.{{cn|date=April 2022}} Another country version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band went to No. 66 in 1992.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/418723/nitty-gritty-dirt-band/chart?f=357 |title=The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Chart history |magazine=Billboard |access-date=July 19, 2016}}
- Green Day's version of the song was used in 2004 for a Pepsi/iTunes commercial that premiered during Super Bowl XXXVIII.{{Cite web|url=http://aaplinvestors.net/marketing/pepsi/|title=Pepsi iTunes – "I Fought The Law"|website=aaplinvestors.net|access-date=August 2, 2017}}
- "I Fought the Lloyds" was a comedy version released in 2008 by British band Oystar in support of the campaign by Lloyds TSB customers mounting legal challenges to get their charges refunded. In this version lyrics were changed; the key line became "I fought the Lloyds and Lloyds lost".{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2008/jan/12/thereporter.money|title=The Reporter|first=Rupert|last=Jones|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 12, 2008|access-date=February 10, 2019}} It reached No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart.{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/i-fought-the-lloyds/|title=I Fought the Lloyds {{!}} Full Official Chart History|website=Official Charts|access-date=February 10, 2019}}
- Colin Farrell recorded a version in 2003 for the Irish black comedy crime film Intermission directed by John Crowley and written by Mark O'Rowe.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{The Crickets}}
{{Bobby Fuller Four}}
{{Hank Williams Jr.}}
{{The Clash}}
{{Dead Kennedys}}
{{Green Day}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Hank Williams Jr. songs
Category:Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs
Category:Songs written by Sonny Curtis
Category:Reprise Records singles
Category:Coral Records singles
Category:Columbia Records singles