Hear Joe Strummer’s isolated vocals for The Clash song ‘I Fought The Law’
While ‘I Fought The Law’ isn’t an original song by The Clash, as soon as they released their version, it became synonymous with the group forever. Every other cover of the track since The Clash recorded their take has been a replica. Even though Joe Strummer didn’t write ‘I Fought The Law’, he was born to sing it.
Originally, ‘I Fought The Law’ was written by Sonny Curtis and released by The Crickets following the death of Buddy Holly. Despite being picked as a single, the track received almost zero airplay, and it never became a hit for the group. Paul Stefen and the Royal Lancers later covered it, but their version only became a hit in the local Milwaukee region.
Many more covers were released of ‘I Fought The Law’, but it wasn’t until the Bobby Fuller Four version in 1966 the track received widespread recognition. Tragically, shortly after the song became a national hit, Fuller was found dead in his mother’s car. His death was classified as suicide.
His roadie, Rick Stone, later told SongFacts: “Bobby had I Fought The Law’ released on his own label in El Paso two years earlier where it was a Top 10 Hit regionally. The original lyric was ‘Robbin’ people with a six gun,’ but he would sing it as ‘Zip Gun,’ ‘Shotgun’ or ‘Six Gun,’ and joked about other guns when he sang it live.”
The Clash took on ‘I Fought The Law’ in 1979 and included it on their The Cost Of Living EP, which is particularly relevant now. Despite being released over 40 years ago and written in 1960, The Clash’s creation sadly feels like it could have been made in 2022.
The song was the band’s first single released in the United States and acted as a robust introduction. Although they didn’t write ‘I Fought The Law’, within one song, it told the listener everything they needed to know about The Clash and their punk spirit.
On the band’s philosophy, Paul Simonon told 3am Magazine: “To inspire people, even just for one second, is worth something. To be honest, we were blokes with guitars, and it’s unlikely we could change the world, but at eighteen you at least think it’s possible — and it is, but maybe not in the way you first think. The amount of people who come up and say we changed their lives and gave them a whole different concept of how to look at things, is fantastic. I’m not saying we were holier than thou, we were pretty regular blokes.”
If the isolated vocal version of ‘I Fought The Law’ doesn’t make you feel inspired, and prepared to go to battle, then there’s something medically wrong with you. The Clash, the only band that matters.
