Lone Cat Jesse Fuller - San Francisco Bay Blues (1968) Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 - January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues". His nickname was "Lone Cat."
Brought back wonderful memories,had great pleasure of speaking to Jesse when he performed at Aston polytecnic in the sixties, great times, thanks for posting
Absolutely wonderful film, and I hope there are a thousand fotdellas being built ... In 1963 something purporting to be Ramblin Jack Elliott's guitar arrangement was in the $2.95 "Young Folk Song Book" ... Cover pictures of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Jack Elliott, the Greenbrier Boys, the New Lost City Ramblers and Peggy Seeger on the cover. Introduction by Pete Seeger, arrangements by Earl Robinson, and articles about each performer by Robert Shelton, Nat hentoff, Alan Lomax and Irwin Silber. The Ramblin Jack intro didn't mention Jesse Fuller, but it did put his name on the song page... the others were either traditional or Woody Guthrie songs... I didn't have Ramblin Jack's record or one by Jesse, but I did have Tom Rush's version of this song and between the book and the record managed to learn the song in time for my high school hootenanny in '64 or '65. The emcee saw me with a guitar and a harmonica in a rack and told the audience I sounded like Dylan before he had ever heard me sing. Oh well. I finally got to see this film clip many years later, and appreciate your sharing it with, as the book title said, young folk.
I've been playing the guitar for over 50 years, and this is my favorite song to play. Today is the first time I "saw" Jesse Fuller himself playing and singing. Truly amazing!
I sang & played this wonderful song on my Vega Tenor Banjo, with The Bucket 3 (Guitar, Gut Bucket Bass & Banjo), in 1966 on The Ted Mack Show in Hollywood @ CBS Television City Studios… we lost to a circus bicycle riding act called The Whirling Wheels!
Incredible to think in the 60's some "folkies" turned their noses up at Jesse because he used an electric guitar! I think it was Big Bill Broonzy who was asked if his music was folk music..he answered "I thought all music was folk music..leastwise I never heard no hosses singing any of it" Amen to that!
And Michael Cooney said, "If it takes more than two trips to get your gear from the van to the stage, it ain't folk music." And Catfish Willie said, "It's a 4 letter word that starts with F and ends with K and if you use it, they won't play your songs on the radio." But many feel that it's not folk if you know who wrote it.
I don't know I haven't got a clue ..this guy was well coordinated .everything going at once. ha ha ..I dunno what folk music is ..music of the folk ..if it's wrong to play an electric guitar to sing folk than it must be wrong to listen to it on the radio and television ..and drive a van to a concert as they're all electric..and they should use candle light ..and heavens forbid if they use a microphone ..I mean it's not folk unless they walk or ride a horse to the venue ...they're not real soldiers unless they use hand held weapons..and fight hand to hand .guns should be banned in warfare ..they're cowardly ...
I have a vague memory that when he played the Club 47 in Cambridge, Mass. he had a problem plugging in. I don't remember if it was the fixtures or what.
Yes, I remember when I arranged for Jesse Fuller to come to Seattle, probably in the early 1960s. He stayed with us in our apartment near University of Washington. Someone complained about the "noise". So after Jesse left we rented a small house.
HOW DID YOU NOT FREAK OUT? MAYBE THE TIMES? BUT NOTHING IVE EVER SEEN IS AS IMPRESSIVE. THE FACT THAT HE PLAYED HIS OWN BAND BUT WAS VERY GOOD. HE COULD PLAY GUITAR EXTREMELY WELL. HE HAS RECORDINGS OF JUST GUITAR. IVE NEVER ENJOYED A KAZOO
Jesse Fuller played at the first gig I ever went to. At the Il Rondo ballroom in Leicester (England) in about 1963 or thereabouts. Was with my classmate Pete Metcalfe, who later became magic guitar player and teacher. This gig changed our lives.
I'm a bit embarrassed; I arrived in Berkeley (UC) in 1958, and some friends took me to see Jesse playing on the sidewalk in Oakland on, I think, College Avenue, not far from an Armenian restaurant. He was everything the commenters say and more, but believe it or not, I had no idea of his larger significance in the music world. On the CBS news tonight there was a short piece on a bluesman who may be up for a Grammy and a small voice said something like "He reminds me of Jesse Fuller," not quite certain whether I remembered something real or not. To the poster: Thanks for a snippet of the real, amazing then and amazing still.
"Man, that's a killer-diller fid-iller..." is what he would say if you were to ask him what he played with....Great clip, never thought I'd see this...
I find it hard to believe nowadays that I actually saw Jesse Fuller live many years ago. I suppose it must have been in the 60's, he was at the Marquee Club in Soho, London. I seem to remember seeing quite a few of these famous blues men back then: Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Champion Jack Dupree, Bukka White, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc. Most of the latter when they toured with the Folk Blues Festival. But they occasionally played the more intimate clubs like Ken Colyer's and Les Cousin's.....Happy days!
I just wanted to finally learn the lyrics for this song after 17 years of listening to it, but now it turned out to be learning of the song's history :)
Очень давно советское телевидение показывало мельком таких музыкантов, человек-оркетров, Джесси Фулер интересный блюзмен. С другими Джесси не надо путать, Джесси всяких на всю американскую страну много наберётся, а этот Фуллер один и жил он нормально, так долго пожить хотелось бы многим, но жить хочется всегда ещё больше.
What did he say in the beginning of this clip: "that's the song that got me so much money"? Poor man. Others like Clapton, McCartney earned much more from this song.
Saw the mural of Jesse today in Jonesboro GA where he hailed from. Been singing and playing this one many years. A pleasure to visit his hometown after all this time. SFBB always feels kind of ragtimey to me. Same wellspring as Bobby D visited for the original melody that morphed into Don't Think Twice.
I was a guest on Studs Terkel's radio show out of Chicago in 1961. The other guest was Jesse Fuller. In those days, he still have his acoustic 12 string guitar - bigger than he was. This video shows his "Footdella" bass and the headset he wore when busking.l It included a harmonica, a kazoo, and a very cheap microphone (unfortunately). The whole thing had a loose ground connection somewhere, so the thing buzzed when it was turned on. I was afraid he would electrocute himself when he bit into it! Great for street performance, bad for concert appearances. :-)
I met Jesse in 1962. He was in Portland, OR. playing at the 13th Avenue Gallery and staying at a friends (Jeffrey Lane) apartment on Osage Street for about 3 or 4 days. I was Jeffrey Lane's neighbor. Jessie was a very quiet man. And had a dry sense of humor. He lived in Oakland, CA.
This brings back so many memories. I was lucky to see Jesse, purely by accident, in the Cavern (Yes! that one) in 1959/1960. He was unknown to most of us at the time, but he just captivated the whole audience. Not only did he sing and do his "one man band", he actually got up and did a dance while playing. We loved him. In 1967 I caught him again at the "Basset" near Southampton , he was just as good. Thank you.
This is one of the first songs I learned to play on guitar back in the early 60's. I worked at Sam Goody's on the East Side of Manhattan (the flagship store). It was one of their only stores with a real music department. We sold Guild and Epiphone guitars. We also carried a couple of nylon string "folk" guitars.
nah he was Lone Cat as far as I know. You should read more on Wikipedia. Poor Jesse had a very hard childhood. Not exactly your typical story. He was beaten and mistreated by his father ( step father?) so badly he just left home very very young. He made it tho. In a small but HUGE way...if that makes sense. I have always loved his work. Im proud to say this is one of the first songs I learned on guitar. By ear. ANd I was afraid I was playin it wrong. Nope. C-F-D7-G7-C Thats all ya need. hehe!
Does anyone know what happened to the fotdella? (For those who don't know, it's the foot-powered bass instrument he's playing, which he invented himself!)
In probably 1964 I saw him play someplace like Gerde's Folk City. I was in NYC. During the set some cowboy hatted guy walked right in , down the aisle and went right up on stage and sat by Jesse... It was Jack Elliott! Jack had his guitar with him and Jesse asked him to play a song or two. (We were happy with that, we got a twofer!). So for his first tune he told us he was gonna sing on of his (JACK'S) tunes... "San Francisco Bay Blues". Both of these guys and enough of the audience were "hip to the joke" there were great smiles all around! We were al almost laughing through the whole tune. Jack really elevated the mood. Great night. And Jesse was playing an acoustic 12 wired up , and with eleven strings, as usual. He always thought a single high E string was clearer. Mark Spoelstra also got a bunch of lessons from Jesse (I was jealous!!) and Mark is a great part of my love of 12 strings and the reason my FIRST guitar was a 12.
Now mind you- he may have had some tricks n whatnot but I have seen others play this and I was so young and impressionable and so happy to learn it on my own in some way. Even if its basic stuff. Bless ya Jesse ♥
Ciao ho visto che ti piace la musica , anche io sono un cantante , se ti va passa ad ascoltare il mio album recentemente pubblicato. Hi , i saw that you like music , i'm a singer , if you want you should take a tour on my channel and listen my new album , Lithos.
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Richie Havens did a somewhat sophisticated version of this song on his “Mixed Bag” album. I like how Jesse Fuller switches off from harmonica to kazoo. And his low e string sounds like a tuba. Great stuff.
@stellerquest -On his 1963 LP "San Francisco Bay Blues" Lester Koenig says "he called himself Lone Cat Fuller". His 1961 LP "Jesse Fuller 'The Lone Cat' Sings & Plays Jazz, Folk Songs, Spirituals & Blues" on Good Time Jazz label gives his address! It also says, "His business card reads "LONE CAT FULLER, ONE MAN BAND available for cocerts, house parties, schools & clubs". The writer was C H Garrigues 31 Jan 1961. At Cecil Sharp House '65 he allowed himself to be introduced as Lone Cat.
Andy Fairweather-Low (a famous session musician who also worked with The Who) played both guitar and harmonica on that rendition you mention, and simultaneously.
Yes indeed. Industry performer myself for the last twenty years or so practically a full-time, this song that I learned from my brother Raymond, allowed me to make a good living. My brother had just got back from San Francisco where he knew many of the up-and-coming rockstars. He had an incredible memory. And he could hear the song once and if he liked it, he could sing it in no time and not miss a single word. He introduced me to the music of so many of the great ones, like Fred McDowell, Woody Guthrie, all the blind bluesmen and women. When he was barely seventeen he was selling drugs to Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix and so many others from the California scene. He loved Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams, doc Watson. We would be driving down the road and he would say ''-oh turn that up" and start singing along with the song. And then he would tell me the history that went with the song. On the other hand I did not have his ability to remember songs. So when I began learning songs, I would write them out in longhand and then struggle to memorize them.He was never much of a Dylan fan although he recognized Dylan's greatness,but he revered Ramblin Jack Elliott. I think he must have been well aware and probably even know him on a personal level as he knew the Bay area like the back of his hand! When it came to music, he would tell me:"Johnny, if it ain't got the swing it ain't got a thing!"Again, we were almost total opposite. The first time I heard Gordon Lightfoot, I fell in love with his music. he could never understand my fevotion to Dylan,Phil Ochs and that I feveloped a songwriting style more akin to the great crooners. He would flinch whenever he heard a Frank Sinatra song. I tried to get him to listen to me doing"I Did it it my Way and he practically threw me out of his house and said that if I ever sang that song within his ear shot,he would disown me as a brother. He had a vinyl collection of the best rock and rollers of our era. He loved Little Richard and he would snap his fingers like the best jazzman ever. Oh, he loved jazz! He had a terribly nasal voice, but that never stopped him. He always told me that if I wanted to succeed there's a street performer then I would have to keep it up. Damned if he wasn't right.!Jesse Fuller is a keystone to many blues musicians success,I would wager.. I never knew my brother was gay until I was nearing 50 years. Of course, I must have ignored the obvious.. he wants told me I was homophobic and I had to go and look it up in the dictionary!. Anyhow, I just wanted to weigh in on Jesse Fuller.😊
I met Jessie in Portland in the 60's. He was playing at the 13th Avenue Gallery. Very nice man. He lived in the Bay area. He was a long longshoreman and traveled the music circuit. Every time I go to San Francisco I ask street musicians to play "San Francisco Bay Blues". None of them seem to know it?
@Gypsy I learned it a long, long time ago from watching Jessie do it. Someone asked him what he called his act, and he said something like, "I'm the last of the red hot, west coast, one man blues bands." Fantastic showman!!!
This has always been one of my favorite folk/country blues songs! Also one of the artists whose own version of the song, stands tall among the God knows how many recordings of this great song! THANKS for posting it!!!
😍😍 one of the 1st songs I learned -- from a friend -- and a fond memory. 50+ years later, hearing the man who wrote it perform for the 1st time. Thank you, Internet!
I was lucky enough to see him too .... at The Fairfield Halls in Croydon, Surrey. (UK) I was just in awe of the man, it was one of those concerts that I just didn't want to end. He was fascinating and so was his music. Am so glad that I had the opportunity to see him live.
Because of this Lonecat I keep two kazoos in the car at all times. You’d be surprised how often you can break into a set by someone you never knew and do a couple kazoo versus and I’m telling you now everyone loves it and gets a laugh. Just don’t be shy act like you were doing this all along.
2021 TheQuicksilverdog, really, how about Rory? Sorry, I think Clapton gets too much credit for too many things or to hopefully make my tone not sound harsh, it's just that Clapton name comes up while others at the same time, The English musicians, most of them gave credit to the music & musicians that got them started into music; all genres and mainly crediting the black American artists. Thanks, for this video 💓 ~ (this in response to a reply from you some years ago and it's still happening, Clapton this & Clapton that, man, people give due to the many others) ☮💖
A completely wonderful song - makes you wonder what happened - why there is almost no one left that can write an "actual" melody. Lots of great "voices" and lots of dynamics, but almost no melodies that open a door to the world where notes are having fun with each other.
I got the blues when my baby left me down by the Frisco Bay; An ocean liner came and took her away I didn't mean to treat her bad, she was the best gal I ever had; She said good-bye, made me cry Made me wanna lay down my head and die Well I ain't got a nickel, and I ain't got a lousy dime? She don't come back, I think I'm gonna lose my mind She ever comes back to stay, it's gonna be another brand new day Walkin' with my baby by the San Francisco Bay Well, I'm sittin' here on the back porch, don't know which way to go; The gal that I'm so crazy about, she don't love me anymore Think I'm gonna take a freight train, cause I'm feelin' blue Gonna ride it to the end of the line, thinkin' only of you Well I ain't got a nickel, and I ain't got a lousy dime? She don't come back, I think I'm gonna lose my mind She ever comes back to stay, it's gonna be another brand new day Walkin' with my baby by the San Francisco Bay Walkin' with my baby by the San Francisco Bay Walkin' with my baby by the San Francisco Bay
The second chorus is different. Stay a while livin’ in the city Just about to go insane Sounds like I heard my baby When she used to call my name If she ever come back to stay It’ll be a brand new day Walkin’ with my baby by the San Francisco bay ,.
I saw him perform this (and other songs) at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco about that time. I seem to remember him wearing a hat and coat, though.
Quote ;"If it takes more than two trips to get your gear from the van to the stage, it ain't folk music." How true ! Bravo. In this latest trend to bring fuzz box /rhythm electric amped -up drum machines into tiny bars with microphones! One at a time tuning Those tuners waste valuable warm up time as all others have to sit and wait their turn to tune???!!! Go to a symphony concert and watch the listening going on -and also down in the band room -Its intensive listening -Trained .
@69frolic That's a great story, I was blessed with seeing him at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 1967. After he finished his gig, he did a tap dance, the man was truly amazing. He was the original 1 man band.
@stellerquest I saw him 1967 at the Fillmore in SF & the light show had his name up & he was announced as 'Lone Cat Jesse Fuller". Maybe Bill Graham was wrong, don’t think so.
Jesse Fuller wrote "San Francisco Bay Blues" & the song was covered by more musicians then I have room to list. I was blessed with seeing him in a small venue in the 60's, the original Fillmore Auditorium. Many did his song, but he did it by himself with a rig he made himself playing 5 different instruments!
