The Lone Cat
“It is on a day like this one, a little later, a little earlier, that you discover, without surprise, that something is wrong, that, without mincing words, you don't know how to live" ― Georges Perec
I think it is safe to say that outside the blues community, the name Jesse Fuller is not one that causes heads to nod around a dinner table. There are those names that can plug almost anyone into at least a peripheral conversation about the blues. BB King. For sure. Muddy Waters? Howlin’ Wolf? Most probably! Leadbelly? Robert Johnson (you know, the guy who made a deal with the devil?)? Probably them too. After last year’s break out film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, it is safe to say that Rainey too is ripe for a chaw. But the blues, like every genre of music, is filled with heroes that have contributed so much….so much to music in general…that remain known only by certain circles of enthusiasts….record collectors…deep divers…scholars…musicologists…and the occasional Trivial Pursuit know-it-all who also can tell you the name of the commander who fought by Napoleon at Waterloo (Marshal Ney). It is within these circles that Jesse Fuller is larger than life.
Fuller was not part of that classic group of blues musicians who were releasing records in the 1920s. Even though he was born (TODAY) in 1896, he did not start playing somewhat professionally until the early 50s, recording in 1954 at 58 and getting his records out there in the early 60s. But as legend has it, he was playing the guitar down in Georgia (where he was born) at an early age, before he was even in double digits. By then he was an orphan—never knowing his father, his mother dying when he was eight. Treated badly by the foster parents tasked to his care, Fuller hopped a train and came to Southern California taking odd jobs, and as legend would have it, befriending silver screen star Douglas Fairbanks while managing a hot dog stand. The actor gave Fuller a bit role in his epic tale The Thief Of Bagdad and suddenly the world gets a glimpse the future legendary bluesman.
Fuller eventually rambles up north to the East Bay, planting roots in Oakland. While that might sound like a random destination, there was both a lot of work in Oakland…a port of call with an active shipping and rail business…and a blossoming music scene (arguably connected to the port business). Fuller worked the rails and the shipyard and sometime in the late ‘40s decided to focus on his music. Playing the guitar for Fuller was second nature by then…he had been doing it all his life, even teaching himself different styles…and his repertoire of songs was life-long-large. He busked for a living in and around the Bay Area (side note: my Uncle Mike, a music fan, was in San Francisco by then…I cannot imagine that he did not stop to watch Fuller play at some point), putting together a one-man band show complete with self-penned songs. It was sometime then that he wrote what would become his most beloved composition, The San Francisco Bay Blues.
Fuller the busker was also Fuller the innovator. He constructed a wire frame to fit around his neck, holding a harmonica that he could blow on while strumming his guitar. Yes, when a young Bob Dylan saw him playing that he adopted it for his performances. In order to give his crowd a bigger show, he created a box of various instruments—featuring a group of piano strings he could play via pedals. His wife called the instrument a Foot Diller (a hybrid of the expression of the day, Killer Diller) which later morphed into Fotdella.
By the time Fuller put out his first EP (above) in the early 60s (it truly is a KILLER DILLER) he was swept up by new interest in the blues and was touring throughout the US and in Europe. The blues revival was to Fuller not a reintroduction but a grand entrance; he really could not have planned a career start better. His live show was a sight to behold, this great guitar player who could sing and dance and play that crazy looking box of instruments simultaneously. His songs wove their way into the popular zeitgeist of the day, being covered by Dylan, The Grateful Dead (Ulf!), Eric Clapton, Peter Paul & Mary, Janis Joplin...eventually Paul McCartney…and so many others. Have you heard of Jesse Fuller? Maybe? Have you heard his songs? Most probably.
By the time Jesse Fuller died in 1976, he had forged a 20 year career that most any musician would dream of, completely on his own terms with a sound of yesterday played by a mad inventor who decided midlife to become a full-on entertainer and songwriter, vaudeville style. In 1971 KRON TV in San Francisco did a “portrait” of the local artist….it is a great watch.
Today is Jesse Fuller’s 127th birthday. A good day to feel the San Francisco Bay Blues and to dig into the musical legacy he has left us with…
Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist and founding member, dies aged 71
It is crazy to think that all the original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd are gone (even with the tragic deaths from the plane crash). Rossington kept the torch going the longest, having co-written some of their greatest songs (Simple Man, Sweet Home Alabama, What’s Your Name) and of course slinging his guitar while Free Bird was soaring coast to coast decade after decade. RIP.
HMV dog breed 'on brink of extinction'
Nipper, the dog behind the “His Master’s Voice” campaign created to bolster the world of the phonograph/graphaphone business was so famous in his time, that he even became the subject of one of the first sky-born advertising events (read about it here). His breed, the Smooth Fox Terrier, has not been doing well as of late, as this article talks about. Just looking at that classic photo above after having not seen it in a while: what a cute dog!
26-Foot Marilyn Monroe Statue Still Causing a Stir Among the Palm Springs Elite
…at least it is not a water fountain.
SF Bay Area bridge 'Bay Lights' go dark
I know the folks who got this going in the first place (not the artist…more the people behind the scene) and I watched this piece of art become a fixture in a city that needs inspiration as it deteriorates into post-pandemic post-silicon gloom. The lights of the bay lights will be missed…
Scientists unveil corridor discovered in Great Pyramid of Giza using cosmic rays
“A once-hidden corridor has been identified inside the Great Pyramid of Giza after a yearslong project using modern technology to reveal the secrets inside the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is still standing.”
Excerpts from “How to be Perfect”
By: Ron Padgett
Get some sleep.
Eat an orange every morning.
Be friendly. It will help make you happy.
Hope for everything. Expect nothing.
Take care of things close to home first. Straighten up your room
before you save the world. Then save the world.
Be nice to people before they have a chance to behave badly.
Don’t stay angry about anything for more than a week, but don’t
forget what made you angry. Hold your anger out at arm’s length
and look at it, as if it were a glass ball. Then add it to your glass
ball collection.
Wear comfortable shoes.
Do not spend too much time with large groups of people.
Plan your day so you never have to rush.
Show your appreciation to people who do things for you, even if
you have paid them, even if they do favors you don’t want.
After dinner, wash the dishes.
Calm down.
Don’t expect your children to love you, so they can, if they want
to.
Don’t be too self-critical or too self-congratulatory.
Don’t think that progress exists. It doesn’t.
Imagine what you would like to see happen, and then don’t do
anything to make it impossible.
Forgive your country every once in a while. If that is not
possible, go to another one.
If you feel tired, rest.
Don’t be depressed about growing older. It will make you feel
even older. Which is depressing.
Do one thing at a time.
If you burn your finger, put ice on it immediately. If you bang
your finger with a hammer, hold your hand in the air for 20
minutes. you will be surprised by the curative powers of ice and
gravity.
Do not inhale smoke.
Take a deep breath.
Do not smart off to a policeman.
Be good.
Be honest with yourself, diplomatic with others.
Do not go crazy a lot. It’s a waste of time.
Drink plenty of water. When asked what you would like to
drink, say, “Water, please.”
Take out the trash.
Love life.
Use exact change.
When there’s shooting in the street, don’t go near the window.
“What we need to question is bricks, concrete, glass, our table manners, our utensils, our tools, the way we spend our time, our rhythms. To question that which seems to have ceased forever to astonish us. We live, true, we breathe, true; we walk, we go downstairs, we sit at a table in order to eat, we lie down on a bed on order to sleep. How? Where? When? Why?
Describe your street. Describe another. Compare.”
― Georges Perec
“Discovered” Jesse Fuller via my kid falling in love with “The Monkey & the Engineer.” Unless he never actually recorded his own version, it was surprising to find streaming services didn’t have an original recording by him. The celestial jukebox remains incomplete.
Fuller's awesome. Love his 1955 version of "John Henry" among other things. Gonna check out "SF Bay Blues" and the doc now. Also love Padgett's recs...though I do purposely inhale smoke occasionally and remain decidedly not perfect in so many ways.