Jerry Fuller, a hit-making songwriter whose works were recorded by Ricky Nelson, Gary Puckett, Reba McEntire, Sam Cooke, Lawrence Welk, the Kingston Trio, Billy Eckstine, Engelbert Humperdinck and more, died July 18 at his home in Los Angeles at 85. The cause was complications of lung cancer, his wife, Annette Fuller, said to the New York Times.
Fuller specialized in pop love songs. His first major hit was “Travelin’ Man,” which Ricky Nelson took to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961.
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Fuller and friend Glen Campbell were major players in the Los Angeles recording-studio scene of the 1960s. In 1968, his output included O.C. Smith’s recording of “Little Green Apples,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard chart.
Working as an A&R producer for Columbia Records, Fuller discovered Puckett performing in a San Diego bowling alley. Together, they produced four singles that sold 1 million or more copies for the band: “Woman, Woman” and three songs Fuller wrote — “Young Girl,” “Lady Willpower,” and “Over You.”
Born in 1938 in Fort Worth, Texas, Fuller began his recording career there but soon dropped out of college to move to Los Angeles. He was drafted into the Army in 1962 and spent his two-year hitch stationed in New York State.
Fuller left Columbia Records in 1971 and became an independent producer. He began writing country songs for singers including Ray Price and McEntire.
Survivors include his wife; their children, Adam and Anna Fuller; his brother, Bill; and a sister, Claudine West.
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