Lowell Fulson

Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921  March 7, 1999)[1] was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most important figure in West Coast blues in the 1940s and 1950s.[2][3]

Lowell Fulson
Performing in Paris in 1980
Performing in Paris in 1980
Background information
Born(1921-03-31)March 31, 1921
Atoka, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 1999(1999-03-07) (aged 77)
Long Beach, California
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1940s–1999
Labels

Early life

Fulson was born on a Choctaw reservation in Atoka, Oklahoma, to Mamie and Martin Fulson. He stated that he was of Cherokee ancestry through his father but also claimed Choctaw ancestry. His father was killed when Lowell was a child, and a few years later, he moved with his mother and brothers to live in Clarita and attended school at Coalgate.[4]

Career

At the age of eighteen, he moved to Ada, Oklahoma, and joined Alger "Texas" Alexander for a few months in 1940,[1] but later moved to California, where he formed a band which soon included a young Ray Charles and the tenor saxophone player Stanley Turrentine. Fulson was drafted in 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy until 1945.[1]

Lowell Fulson at the 1970 Ann Arbor (Mich.) Blues Festival. Photo by Jeff Titon.
Lowell Fulson at the 1970 Ann Arbor (Mich.) Blues Festival.

Fulson recorded for Swing Time Records in the 1940s, Chess Records (on the Checker label) in the 1950s, Kent Records in the 1960s, and Rounder Records (on Bullseye Blues) in the 1980s/1990s. He wrote "3 O'Clock Blues" (B.B. King's first hit), "Reconsider Baby" (a blues standard), and "Tramp" (co-written with Jimmy McCracklin and recorded by several artists). His 1965 song "Black Nights" was his first hit in a decade, and "Tramp" did even better, restoring him to R&B stardom.[1] In 1966 his brother Robert Fulson married former member of The Raelettes Margie Hendrix and they both started performing live with Lowell before they divorced in 1968.

A show entitled California Blues: Swingtime Tribute opened in 1993 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California, with Fulson, Johnny Otis, Charles Brown, Jay McShann, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy McCracklin and Earl Brown.[5] Fulson's last recording was a duet of "Every Day I Have the Blues" with Jimmy Rogers on the latter's 1999 Atlantic Records release, The Jimmy Rogers All-Stars: Blues, Blues, Blues.

Death

Fulson died in Long Beach, California, on March 7, 1999, at the age of 77. His companion, Tina Mayfield said that the causes of death were complications from kidney disease, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. He was the father of four and grandfather of thirteen. Fulson was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

Awards and recognition

Partial discography

Charting singles

[6]

Year Title Label R&B

Chart no.

1948 "Three O'Clock Blues" Down Town 6
1949 "Come Back Baby" Downbeat 13
1950 "Everyday I Have the Blues" Swing Time 3
"Blue Shadows" 1
"Lonesome Christmas (I & II)" 7
"Low Society Blues" 8
1951 "I'm a Night Owl (I & II)" 10
1954 "Reconsider Baby" Checker 3
1955 "Loving You" 14
1965 "Black Nights" Kent 11
1967 "Tramp" 5
"Make a Little Love" 20
"I'm a Drifter" 38
1976 "Do You Love Me" Granite 78

Selected albums

[7]

Year Title Label
1959 Back Home Blues Night Train Int'l
1962 Lowell Fulson Arhoolie
1965 Soul Kent
1967 Tramp
1969 Now
In a Heavy Bag Jewel
1970 Hung Down Head Chess
1971 Let's Go Get Stoned Kent
1973 I've Got the Blues Jewel
1975 Lowell Fulson (Early Recordings) Arhoolie
Ol' Blues Singer Granite
1976 Lowell Fulson (Chess Blues Masters) Chess
1984 Everyday I Have the Blues Night Train Int'l
One More Blues Black & Blue
1988 San Francisco Blues Black Lion
It's a Good Day Rounder
1992 Hold On Bullseye Blues/Rounder
1995 Sinner's Prayer Night Train Int'l
Them Update Blues Bullseye Blues/Rounder
1996 Mean Old Lonesome Blues Night Train Int'l
1997 The Complete Chess Masters (50th Anniversary Collection) Chess/MCA
2001 I've Got the Blues (... and Then Some) (complete Jewel recordings) Westside [UK]
2002 The Complete Kent Recordings 19641968 P-Vine
2004 19461953, Vols. 14 (complete Big Town, Downbeat/Swing Time recordings) JSP

With John Lee Hooker

  • I Feel Good! (Carson, 1970; Jewel, 1971)
  • I Wanna Dance All Night (America, 1970)

References

  1. "Lowell Fulson | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  2. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 112–13. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  3. "Lowell Fulson obituary". The Guardian. 12 March 1999. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  4. Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 60. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  5. Elwood, Philip (October 27, 1995). "Witherspoon still serving up the blues". Sfgate.com.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Lowell Fulson". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 141. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  7. "Lowell Fulson  Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
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