Freddy Fender, the Grammy-winning vocalist and guitarist whose star rose on hits such as “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and the self-penned “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” died Saturday, October 14, 2006 of lung cancer at the age of 69.

Born Baldemar Huerta in the Texas-Mexico border town of San Benito, Texas, he changed his name in 1959 taking Fender from the headstock of his guitar and choosing Freddy because it sound...