Celebrity Grave: Blues Musician Lowell Fulson 1999

Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921 – March 7, 1999)[1] was a big-voiced blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. Fulson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also recorded for business reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, Fulson was the most important figure in West Coast blues in the 1940s and 1950s.[2]

Career

According to some sources, Fulson was born on a Choctaw reservation in Oklahoma. Fulson stated that he was of Cherokee ancestry through his father, but he also claimed Choctaw ancestry. 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, forming a band which soon included a young Ray Charles and tenor saxophone player, Stanley Turrentine. He recorded for Swing Time in the 1940s, Chess Records (on the Checker label) in the 1950s, Kent Records in the 1960s, and Rounder Records (Bullseye) in the 1970s.

Fulson was drafted in 1943, but left the United States Navy in 1945.[1] His most memorable and influential recordings included: "Three O'Clock Blues" (now a blues standard); the Memphis Slim-penned "Everyday I Have the Blues"; "Lonesome Christmas"; "Reconsider Baby" recorded in 1960 by Elvis Presley and in 1994 by Eric Clapton for his From the Cradle album as well as by Joe Bonamassa); and "Tramp" (co-written with Jimmy McCracklin and later covered by Otis Redding with Carla Thomas, ZZ Top (on 2003's Mescalero), Alex Chilton, and Tav Falco.

"Reconsider Baby" came from a long term contract agreed with Chess Records in 1954. It was recorded in Dallas under Stan Lewis' supervision with a saxophone section that included David "Fathead" Newman on tenor and Leroy Cooper on baritone.[1]

Jackie Brenston played in Fulson's band between 1952 and 1954.

Fulson stayed with the Checker label into 1962, when he moved to the Los Angeles-based Kent Records. 1965's "Black Nights" became his first hit in a decade, and "Tramp," did even better, restoring the guitarist to RandB stardom.[1]

In 1993 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California a show entitled "California Blues - Swingtime Tribute" opened with Fulson plus Johnny Otis, Charles Brown, Jay McShann, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy McCracklin and Earl Brown.[3]

A resident of Los Angeles, Fulson died in Long Beach, California, on March 7, 1999, at the age of 77. His companion Tina Mayfield stated 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.[4]

Fulson was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

Contemporary influences

In the 2004 film Ray, a biopic of Ray Charles, Fulson was portrayed by the blues musician Chris Thomas King. ZZ Top's 2003 release Mescalero included their version of "Tramp", citing Fulson's guitar prowess as an inspiration to recreate the song. Redman's 1993 single "Time 4 Sum Aksion" contains a sample from Fulson's song, "Tramp," as does "How I Could Just Kill A Man" from Cypress Hill. "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" as performed by Fulson, appeared on the soundtrack to the 2007 crime film, American Gangster. Fulson originally covered The Beatles' song on his 1970 album, In A Heavy Bag.[5] Salt-n-Pepa recorded a contemporary version of "Tramp" in 1987, on their Hot, Cool & Vicious album. A cover of Fulson's song "Sinner's Prayer" appeared on Ray Charles' final album, Genius Loves Company (2004).

References

1.^ Allmusic biography - accessed January 2008
2.^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 112–13. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
3.^ Witherspoon still serving up the blues
4.^ Lowell Fulson biography details @ Elvispelvis.com
5.^ "Lowell Fulson Albums". MP3.com.