"I Fought the Law" is a much-covered song originally recorded by Sonny Curtis and The Crickets (post Buddy Holly) in 1959. The song was famously covered by Bobby Fuller Four, who recorded a more successful version of the song in 1965, and The Clash, who recorded a punk rock version in 1978.
Just as the song became a top ten hit, Bobby Fuller was found dead in a parked automobile near his Los Angeles home. The police considered the death an apparent suicide; however, many people still believe Fuller was murdered.
The Dead Kennedys, in particular, wrote and recorded a different version as a comment on Dan White's 1978 murder of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk, and White's subsequent use of the "Twinkie defense" to influence the court to convict him of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The song, sung from the perspective of White and replacing the line "I fought the law and the law won" with "I fought the law and I won,". In 1989, when the U.S. Marines had Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega confined to a church and were attempting to flush him out, one psychological tactic they used was to play "I Fought the Law" loudly and repeatedly from loudspeakers. When presidential press secretary Marlin Fitzwater was asked about the appropriateness of this at a press conference, he replied to the effect that it was a refreshing illustration of Americans' sense of humor.
The Bobby Fuller Four version of this song is ranked #175 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
