Lowell Fulson

Biography

Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921 – March 7, 1999) 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.

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.

Career

At the age of eighteen, he moved to Ada, Oklahoma, and joined Alger "Texas" Alexander for a few months in 1940, 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.

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×Reconsider Baby1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Reconsider Baby3:122Lonely Hours2:513Loving You (Is All I Crave)3:034Trouble Trouble2:535It's A Long Time2:496Rollin' Blues2:527(It) Took A Long Time2:388Don't Drive Me Baby2:399I Want To Make Love To You3:1810Rock This Morning1:4911That's All Right2:4212Comin' Home (Someday)2:2413Have You Changed Your Mind3:0814I'm Glad You Reconsidered2:5015Blue Shadows2:2816I Want To Know Pt. 1&24:3017So Many Tears2:2918Why Don't You Write Me2:3519Hung Down Head2:5920Pay Day Blues2:55" (a blues standard), and "Tramp×Tramp1967 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Tramp3:07A2I'm Sinkin'4:05A3Get Your Game Up Tight2:39A4Back Door Key3:28A5Two Way Wishing2:46A6Lonely Day3:25B1Black Nights3:31B2Year of 293:44B3No Hard Feeling3:24B4Hustler's Game3:27B5Goin' Home3:07B6Pico3:06" (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. 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. 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, billed as 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

1993: Induction into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame
1993: Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, Classics of Blues Recording – Singles or Album Tracks, for "Reconsider Baby×Reconsider Baby1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Reconsider Baby3:122Lonely Hours2:513Loving You (Is All I Crave)3:034Trouble Trouble2:535It's A Long Time2:496Rollin' Blues2:527(It) Took A Long Time2:388Don't Drive Me Baby2:399I Want To Make Love To You3:1810Rock This Morning1:4911That's All Right2:4212Comin' Home (Someday)2:2413Have You Changed Your Mind3:0814I'm Glad You Reconsidered2:5015Blue Shadows2:2816I Want To Know Pt. 1&24:3017So Many Tears2:2918Why Don't You Write Me2:3519Hung Down Head2:5920Pay Day Blues2:55"
1993: Blues Foundation Blues Music Award, Traditional Album of the Year, for Hold On×Hold On1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Working Man5:142Shake, Rattle And Roll4:103Me And My Woman4:084Ain't That Sweet2:185Quicker The Better4:096It's No Need3:037Real Name Is Danger Zone4:128I'm Just A Fool About You3:489Cryin' Won't Help3:4710Hold On3:3011Love Is The Bottom Line6:11
1993: Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Pioneer Award
1995: Grammy Awards, nomination as Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, for Them Update Blues×Them Update Blues1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1What’s the Matter Baby3:582Think About It4:563Don’t Lie3:454My Secret Love3:165Sun Going Down5:186Get On Down (Them Update Blues)3:297Lonely Man2:588Forty‐Four4:009Too Soon to Tell3:5510Not a Dime3:1511L & L Special3:43
1995: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, "Reconsider Baby" included in the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll"
2010: Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, Classics of Blues Recording – Albums, for Hung Down Head×Hung Down Head1991 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1That's All Right2:412I Still Love You Baby2:333Reconsider Baby3:114I Want To Know2:265Low Society2:326Check Yourself3:037It's All Your Fault Baby2:378Do Me Right2:559Trouble Trouble2:5310Hung Down Head2:5811Tollin' Bells9:45

Selected albums

With John Lee Hooker

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