Lowell Fulson

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Lowell Fulson于1921年3月31日出生于美國(guó)Oklahoma州的Tulsa.他的一生可以算是歌唱的一生.從小他就在弦樂(lè)團(tuán)里演唱和演奏吉他.1940年他跟隨著歌手Texas Alexander學(xué)習(xí)唱歌和到處游歷,并和一群經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的Bluesman一起到處表演。1943年到1945年期間,他被召入美國(guó)海軍.在退役之后的幾個(gè)月里,Lowell來(lái)到了California的Oakland,在那里他結(jié)識(shí)了音樂(lè)制作人Bob Geddins.1948年,他擁有了自己的第一張專輯,單曲"Three O'Clock Blues"也讓他一舉成名.這首歌曲后來(lái)被B.B.King翻唱依然熱度不減.1948年后期,Swing Time records的經(jīng)理Jack Lauderdale和Lowell簽約, 正式成為旗下歌手.在這段期間里,在他的若干作品中,例如改編自Memphis Slim單曲"Nobody Loves Me"的"Every Day I Have the Blues";雙碟版的"Lonesome Christmas";以及中板的作品"Low Society Blues",他和鋼琴家Lloyd Glenn,低音Saxophone樂(lè)手Earl Brown的合作精彩絕倫.他們的加入讓Fulson的作品更加完美.后來(lái)Lowell組建了自己的樂(lè)隊(duì),有段時(shí)間,他和當(dāng)時(shí)還是鋼琴手的Ray Charles,以及Saxophone樂(lè)手Stanley Turrentine合作,作品雖然不多,但首首經(jīng)典.在唱片市場(chǎng)經(jīng)歷過(guò)一段不景氣的時(shí)光之后,他在1953年簽約了Chess Label.這算是一張賣(mài)身契,時(shí)間相當(dāng)長(zhǎng).這首"Reconsider Baby"就是他簽約Chess之后的首張單曲,單曲里匯集了當(dāng)下最出色的樂(lè)手,除了Fulson自己演奏鋼琴之外,Sax部分邀請(qǐng)了David Fathead Newman,和Leroy Cooper兩位重量級(jí)人物分別吹奏高音和中音兩聲部.1965年,在唱片公司的催促下, 他完成了"Black Nights"這張專輯,單曲"Tramp"讓Fulson再次體驗(yàn)到成功.1992的"Hold On"和1995的"Them Update Blues"則是他最后的作品.1999年3月6號(hào)Lowell在Long Beach因?yàn)樘悄虿∪ナ馈?br />Lowell Fulson recorded every shade of blues imaginable. Polished urban blues, rustic two-guitar duets with his younger brother Martin, funk-tinged grooves that pierced the mid-60s charts, even an unwise cover of the Beatles Why Dont We Do It in the Road! Clearly, the veteran guitarist, who was active for more than half a century, wasnt afraid to experiment. Perhaps thats why his last couple of discs for Rounder were so vital and satisfying — and why he remained an innovator for so long.
Exposed to the western swing of Bob Wills as well as indigenous blues while growing up in Oklahoma, Fulson joined up with singer Texas Alexander for a few months in 1940, touring the Lone Star state with the veteran bluesman. Fulson was drafted in 1943. The Navy let him go in 1945; after a few months back in Oklahoma, he was off to Oakland, CA, where he made his first 78s for fledgling producer Bob Geddins. Soon enough, Fulson was fronting his own band and cutting a stack of platters for Big Town, Gilt Edge, Trilon, and Down Town (where he hit big in 1948 with Three OClock Blues, later covered by B.B. King).
Swing Time records prexy Jack Lauderdale snapped up Fulson in 1948, and the hits really began to flow: the immortal Every Day I Have the Blues (an adaptation of Memphis Slims Nobody Loves Me), Blue Shadows, the two-sided holiday perennial Lonesome Christmas, and a groovy mid-tempo instrumental Low Society Blues that really hammers home how tremendously important pianist Lloyd Glenn and alto saxist Earl Brown were to Fulsons maturing sound (all charted in 1950!).
Fulson toured extensively from then on, his band stocked for a time with dazzling pianist Ray Charles (who later covered Lowells Sinners Prayer for Atlantic) and saxist Stanley Turrentine. After a one-off session in New Orleans in 1953 for Aladdin, Fulson inked a longterm pact with Chess in 1954. His first single for the firm was the classic Reconsider Baby, cut in Dallas under Stan Lewiss supervision with a sax section that included David Fathead Newman on tenor and Leroy Cooper on baritone.
The relentless mid-tempo blues proved a massive hit and perennial cover item — even Elvis Presley cut it in 1960, right after he got out of the Army. But apart from Loving You, the guitarists subsequent Checker output failed to find widespread favor with the public. Baffling, since Fulsons crisp, concise guitar work and sturdy vocals were as effective as ever. Most of his Checker sessions were held in Chicago and L.A. (the latter his home from the turn of the 50s).
Fulson stayed with Checker into 1962, but a change of labels worked wonders when he jumped over to Los Angeles-based Kent Records. 1965s driving Black Nights became his first smash in a decade, and Tramp, a loping funk-injected workout co-written by Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin, did even better, restoring the guitarist to R&B stardom, gaining plenty of pop spins, and inspiring a playful Stax cover by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas only a few months later that outsold Fulsons original.
A couple of lesser follow-up hits for Kent ensued before the guitarist was reunited with Stan Lewis at Jewel Records. Thats where he took a crack at that Beatles number, though most of his outings for the firm were considerably closer to the blues bone. Fulson was never been absent for long on disc; 1992s Hold On and its 1995 follow-up Them Update Blues, both for Ron Levys Bullseye Blues logo, were among his later efforts, both quite solid. Fulson continued to perform until 1997, when health problems forced the career bluesman into a reluctant retirement. His health continued to deteriorate and on March 6, 1999 - just a few weeks shy of his 78th birthday - Lowell Fulson passed away.
Few bluesmen managed to remain contemporary the way Lowell Fulson did for more than five decades. And fewer still will make such a massive contribution to the idiom.