A couple of evenings ago I was listening to a compilation of west coast blues artists.  I’ve long had a great appreciation for the wealth of post-war blues that originated on the west coast, cuts by artists including singer and guitar phenom Pee Wee Crayton, guitar giant and vocalist T-Bone Walker, vocalist and guitar player (and tremendously under-recognized) Saunders King, the Pee Wee Kingsley Band, vocalist James Reed, the ever-exciting Johnny “Guitar” Watson, big band-style blues vocalist Jimmy McCracklin, singer Alice Jean & The Mondellos, smooth crooner Percy Mayfield, R&B and jump blues vocalist Roy Milton, the legendary Greek-American vocalist, vibraphonist, songwriter, talent seeker, record producer, and band leader Johnny Otis, and the superb blues vocalist and guitarist Johnny Fuller, among others. 

Fuller’s “First Stage Of The Blues” appears in the collection I was listening to, a tune that originally saw the light of day in 1957 on the Irma Records label, and Fuller’s dynamic approach to electric guitar and his solid, swaggering singing makes the cut one to deeply enjoy.

Since Johnny Fuller has not been profiled in this blog to-date, now seems the right time to do so, as every time I hear his music, I am astounded that he is not more fully appreciated by blues fans everywhere.   

Johnny Fuller came into the world in late April, 1929 in Edwards, Mississippi, a town in Hinds County, an area in the lower southwest portion of the state.   This is going to sound akin to a cop-out, but precious little, and I mean little, is known about Fuller’s early developmental years, and even how he came to be interested in the blues.  Of course, given his birth year and the place in which he was born, it is utterly reasonable to assume that the blues was all around him in his local Mississippi environs, and also rational to presume that he would be impacted by church music, as well, as shades of gospel were reflected in his west coast output years later when his career was in full swing.

Nailing down precisely when Fuller took up the guitar and started singing is likewise hazy, at best, as are who were his primary inspirations that drove him into a life in music, though there are the usual hypotheses about early mentors.  Was he more influenced by a specific blues artist?  Did he apprentice in any of the traveling shows?  Did he perform at the usual country picnics, frolics, and fish fries in his home state?  Next to nothing is known about Fuller’s youngest, developmental years.

Equally as unknown about Fuller are exactly why and when he arrived on the west coast.  Research does postulate that he made his way west in 1945 with his family in a move that found them living in Vallejo, California, a city in the state’s Bay Area, though that fact, too, is difficult to validate.

But, whenever Fuller arrived on the west coast, however much his blues skills had developed, and who his overall skill set initially impressed to allow him the opportunity to step into a professional recording studio, there is evidence to suggest that Fuller made his first record for the Oakland, California-based Jaxyson label, with those songs being in the gospel vein.  But again, so much vaguery.

Though initially indoctrinated into the blues as a youth in Mississippi where, at his young age in the 1930s and early 1940s, the music was more roughly rural, Fuller did not rely on one particular category and style of music to fill his creative juices or recording efforts, as he cut sides for numerous west coast independent imprints, many of which were controlled or heavily influenced by the Bay Area R&B and blues hit maker Bob Geddins.  In fact, over the course of Fuller’s recording career, he made records solely for west coast-based companies except for one of his singles.

Fuller’s most fertile recording years were between 1954-1962 when he cut singles for Money Records, Flair Records, Aladdin, Imperial, Hollywood Records, Irma Records, Specialty, Veltone Records, Checker, Art-Tone Records, and Wax.  Again, many of these labels were owned by Bob Geddins.

If this blogger were to suggest which of Fuller’s songs have stood the test of time and best represent Fuller’s crowning achievements, I’d have to put forth “All Night Long,” and “The Haunted House.”  The former was released in 1957 on the Checker label, and the latter saw the light of day in 1959 on the Specialty label.

Fuller was so exceedingly popular at one time in the 1950 that for Bob Geddins and his labels alone he produced a couple of dozen records.  He was certainly a major performing presence and bread winner for the nickelodeon (jukebox) operators at the time, notwithstanding the fact that Fuller never had what could be considered an actual smash record; his notoriety came from the volume of consistently solid records he put forth.       

Due to his output, Fuller was included on the rock-n-roll package tours that crisscrossed the country during the era, with one tour seeing him on the same bills as none other than young crooners Frankie Avalon and Paul Anka; can you imagine?  This touring, however, took a toll on Fuller’s career as his loyal Black audience saw him as something of a sell-out for working with primarily White artists, and he lost a great many of them.  As such, his name and reputation became diminished.  So much so that when the blues renaissance of the 1960s began, he was not able to take advantage of it due to his devalued position in the genre.  A rebirth via the revival escaped him, unlike other blues notables.

So, into the 1960s, Fuller found himself mostly working outside of music in the Bay Area, plying his skills as a vehicle mechanic, though his interest in the blues, and music in general, never ceased.  He occasionally performed, mostly in Oakland, California joints.

Then, in the early 1970s, Fullers [sic] Blues was released.  Fuller utilized the Phillip Walker Band as his support on this excellent LP, with the 12 selections being some of the strongest of his lifetime of recording.  The album had a more than a number of high points, and Fuller’s capabilities to offer deep blues guitar stylings most likely learned as a youth in Mississippi, along with his rich tenor vocalizations, made the record an absolute delight for his many fans.

The LP had the great benefit of being a fully-realized undertaking, with Walker’s west coast guitar support lending much to the endeavor, with saxophone and harmonica backing creating a vast canvass for Fuller’s blues style.

Unfortunately, the LP did not have the commercial success it should have, yet it opened the door for Fuller to be featured at the San Francisco Blues Festival in both 1973 and 1977.  In some measure, this new visibility reinforced what a major Bay Area talent Fuller continued to be, and surely had to bring him a modicum of self-appreciation and assurance that his music meant something to others.  And by the way, the album continues to command repeated listening by anyone that still includes it in their listening rotation.

Into the 1980s, Fuller was still doing shows in the Oakland area.

By 1985, Fuller was suffering with lung cancer, and he succumbed to the disease in May, 1985.  He was 56 years-old at the time of his passing.

Much of Fuller’s work is readily available; Jasmine Records’ Johnny Fuller’s California Blues – Mercy, Mercy! – 1954-1962 is still available on CD.  It is a two-CD 51-song compilation that is not to be missed.  It is a strong introduction to Fuller’s blues style and bearing.

Fuller is demanding of more recognition in the blues for his vast contributions.  Pick up the Jasmine Records CD mentioned directly above to start your journey into Fuller’s blues influence.