Blind Boy Fuller
Some say that Blind Boy Fuller (also known as Fulton Allen) was to the Piedmont blues what Robert Johnson was to the Delta blues. The Piedmont is the area of the Southeast United States bordered by the coast and the mountain foothills. He was one of the best selling blues artists of the 1930s, and his songs were learned and covered by many of the East Coast bluesmen who followed. Perhaps he is not as well known as Johnson because Piedmont blues, with its emphasis on ragtime, had less of an influence on the Chicago blues (and rock’n’roll) than the Delta musicians. The hard-driving sounds of the Delta blues lent them a sophistication and flair that the more rural-sounding Piedmont blues lacked.
Fuller was born in 1907 or thereabouts in Wadesboro, North Carolina, southeast of Charlotte. He was one of the few members of his family who took an interest in music, and even he didn’t begin to take it seriously until his early twenties. He married a woman named Cora, who became his wife at the tender age of 14. Shortly after their marriage, Fuller began having trouble with his eyesight and became increasing dependent on Cora for help. It was also about this time that he became more interested in music – blindness and being black severely limiting his employment options. Under the tutelage of The Reverend Gary Davis, Fuller gained first competence and then mastery of his chosen instrument, the guitar.
He was earning a decent living busking on the streets of Durham, NC, when he was noticed by J.B. Long, a white man who managed the United Dollar Store. Long had been drumming up country and gospel talent for the American Record Company, and in 1935 he convinced them to record Fuller. The sessions took place in New York with Gary Davis and Richard Trice brought on board. The recordings went so well that Fuller was asked back as a solo artist in April of 1936. Later collaborations included a stint with harmonica legend Sonny Terry.
In 1938 Fuller was diagnosed with arrested syphilis. His health continued to falter and he died on February 13th, 1941.
Guitar: National 12- and 14-fret Duolians
Song: ‘Homesick And Lonesome Blues’
Some say that Blind Boy Fuller (also known as Fulton Allen) was to the Piedmont blues what Robert Johnson was to the Delta blues. The Piedmont is the area of the Southeast United States bordered by the coast and the mountain foothills. He was one of the best selling blues artists of the 1930s, and his songs were learned and covered by many of the East Coast bluesmen who followed. Perhaps he is not as well known as Johnson because Piedmont blues, with its emphasis on ragtime, had less of an influence on the Chicago blues (and rock’n’roll) than the Delta musicians. The hard-driving sounds of the Delta blues lent them a sophistication and flair that the more rural-sounding Piedmont blues lacked.
Fuller was born in 1907 or thereabouts in Wadesboro, North Carolina, southeast of Charlotte. He was one of the few members of his family who took an interest in music, and even he didn’t begin to take it seriously until his early twenties. He married a woman named Cora, who became his wife at the tender age of 14. Shortly after their marriage, Fuller began having trouble with his eyesight and became increasing dependent on Cora for help. It was also about this time that he became more interested in music – blindness and being black severely limiting his employment options. Under the tutelage of The Reverend Gary Davis, Fuller gained first competence and then mastery of his chosen instrument, the guitar.
He was earning a decent living busking on the streets of Durham, NC, when he was noticed by J.B. Long, a white man who managed the United Dollar Store. Long had been drumming up country and gospel talent for the American Record Company, and in 1935 he convinced them to record Fuller. The sessions took place in New York with Gary Davis and Richard Trice brought on board. The recordings went so well that Fuller was asked back as a solo artist in April of 1936. Later collaborations included a stint with harmonica legend Sonny Terry.
In 1938 Fuller was diagnosed with arrested syphilis. His health continued to falter and he died on February 13th, 1941.
Guitar: National 12- and 14-fret Duolians
Song: ‘Homesick And Lonesome Blues’