Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 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" (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. 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" 1993: Blues Foundation Blues Music Award, Traditional Album of the Year, for Hold On 1993: Rhythm and Blues Foundation, Pioneer Award 1995: Grammy Awards, nomination as Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, for Them Update Blues 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

Partial discography Charting singles

Year Title Label R&B Chart no. 1948 "Three O'Clock Blues" (re-released as "Three O'Clock In The Morning" on Down Beat) Down Town 6 1949 "Come Back Baby" Down Beat 13 1950 "Every Day I Have the Blues" Swing Time 3 "Blue Shadows" / 1 "Low Society Blues" 8 "Lonesome Christmas (Parts I & II)" 7 1951 "I'm a Night Owl (Parts I & II)" 10 1954 "Reconsider Baby" Checker 3 1955 "Loving You (Is All I Crave)" 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

Year Title Label 1962 Lowell Fulson Arhoolie 1965 Soul Kent 1967 Tramp 1968 Now! 1970 Hung Down Head Chess 1971 In a Heavy Bag Jewel 1973 I've Got the Blues Jewel 1975 Lowell Fulson (Early Recordings) Arhoolie 1976 The Ol' Blues Singer Granite Lowell Fulson (Chess Blues Masters) Chess 1978 Lovemaker Big Town 1981 Blue Shadows (with Powder Blues) Stony Plain 1984 One More Blues Black & Blue Think Twice Before You Speak JSP 1988 San Francisco Blues Black Lion It's a Good Day Rounder 1991 Back Home Blues Night Train International 1992 Hold On Bullseye Blues/Rounder 1994 Every Day I Have the Blues Night Train International 1995 Sinner's Prayer Night Train International Them Update Blues Bullseye Blues/Rounder 1996 Mean Old Lonesome Blues Night Train International 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 1964–1968 P-Vine 2004 Classic Cuts 1946–1953, (Vols. 1–4) (Fulson's complete Big Town, Trilon, Down Beat/Swing Beat/Swing Time recordings) JSP 2004 A Proper Introduction To Lowell Fulson: Juke Box Shuffle Proper

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

References

External links Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Fulson, Lowell