As a singer, Jerry Fuller had hits early in his career with "Betty, My Angel" and "Tennessee Waltz," but he made it big as a songwriter and producer. He wrote over 400 songs in eight years and discovered several talents, including Glen Campbell, the Knickerbockers, and Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. He produced the top 10 hits "Young Girl," "Lady Willpower" and "Over You'" and wrote two number one songs: "Show and Tell" by Al Wilson and "Travelin' Man" by Ricky Nelson.

The image in this episode's chapters and thumbnail is of Fuller's "Teenage Love" album. Also in the chapters, you'll find an image of "Four Decades: A Songwriter Sings His Hits." Both of these CDs are on Amazon.

You can listen to him singing "Betty, My Angel" in this video, which also features several vintage photos from the '50s.

To watch Ricky Nelson perform "Travelin' Man" in 1985, go here.

This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email [email protected] with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.