Jesse Fuller Collection
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8vt1xnm Online items available Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller Collection Christopher Armstrong African American Museum & Library at Oakland 659 14th Street Oakland, California 94612 Phone: (510) 637-0198 Fax: (510) 637-0204 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland © 2013 African American Museum & Library at Oakland. All rights reserved. Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller MS193 1 Collection Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller Collection Collection number: MS193 African American Museum & Library at Oakland Oakland, California Processed by: Christopher Armstrong Date Completed: 2016-02-26 Encoded by: Christopher Armstrong © 2013 African American Museum & Library at Oakland. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Jesse Fuller collection Dates: 1971-1976 Collection number: MS193 Creator: Fuller, Jesse Creator: Dobrin, Michael Collection Size: .25 linear feet(1 box) Repository: African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.) Oakland, CA 94612 Abstract: Jesse Fuller (1896-1976) was born on Jonesboro, Georgia in March 12, 1896. In 1954 Fuller recorded his most notable song, "San Francisco Bay Blues", and by 1960 Fuller booked a European tour, and devoted himself full time to music. Jesse Fuller Records consists of newspaper clippings, photographs, and audio recordings. Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English Access No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public. Access Restrictions Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating. Publication Rights Permission to publish from the Jesse Fuller Collection must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland. Preferred Citation Jesse Fuller collection, MS193, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California. Acquisition Information Donated to African American Museum & Library on 11/27/2015 by Michael Dobrin. Processing Information Processed by Christopher Armstrong, 02/26/2016. Biography / Administrative History Jesse Fuller (1896-1976) was born in Jonesboro, Georgia on March 12, 1896. As a young man he found his way to Los Angeles, California, where he worked as an extra in films such as The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and East of Suez (1925). By 1929, Fuller moved to Oakland, California where he married Gertrude Fuller and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In the 1950s, Fuller started to focus on music, preforming as a one man band and calling himself "Lone Cat." On stage Fuller performed with his guitar, harmonic, kazoo, high hat and a six string bass of his own invention, which he played with his foot. Fuller called this instrument a "fotdella." In 1954 Fuller recorded his most notable song, "San Francisco Bay Blues", and by 1960 Fuller booked a European tour, and devoted himself full time to music. At this time, Fuller played shows alongside rock bands at The Fillmore Auditorium. The Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller MS193 2 Collection first track off of Bob Dylan's first self-titled release featured a song written by Fuller, "You're No Good." The Grateful Dead's first album, released in 1967, also featured a song written by Fuller, "Beat it on Down the Line". Fuller was honored with a performance and exhibit at the Oakland Museum in 1971 before his death in 1976. Scope and Content of Collection The Jesse Fuller Collection consists of newspaper clippings, photographs, negatives, and audio recordings. The newspaper clippings document a concert Fuller preformed at the Oakland Museum’s History’s Department in 1971. The three audio tapes are interviews recorded by Oakland Museum staff at the home of Jesse Fuller discussing his life and recollections, as well contact sheets and negatives taken during the preparation for Fuller's performance at the Oakland Museum. Arrangement Series I: Oral history interviews. Series II: Photographs. Series III: Newspaper Clippings. Indexing Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog. Blues musicians--Interviews. Blues musicians--California--Oakland--Interviews. Blues musicians--United States—Biography. Blues (Music)--California--San Francisco Bay Area. Fuller, Jesse. Bibliography Selvin, Joel, “Jesse Fuller: Arts Heroes of Black History,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 27, 2008, Accessed on 02/26/2016. Related Material https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/191357 Oral history interviews Physical Description: 2 reel-to-reel tapes and 1 cassette tape Series Scope and Content Summary Three oral history interviews conducted with musician Jesse Fuller. Arrangement Arranged by format. Box 1:1 Interview with blues musician Jesse Fuller, Part I, Side A 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C8e792353-23c3-4201-9238-36391423cbad/ Physical Description: Cassette tape Physical Description: Run Time: 30 (min): 13 (s) Description Side A: Silence [00:00]; Inaudible [00:06]; Meeting fan in Piccadilly Circus [01:50]; Working with Douglas Fairbanks [03:10]; Girlfriend [04:25]; Copies of his photographs for museum, Hank movie dog [07:46]; Hank the movie dog [09:45]; Jack and Mary Pickford [10:20]; Movie set concession stand and shoeshining [11:03]; Buck Jones [11:17]; William Farnum and Dustin Farnum [11:39]; Working with Douglas Fairbanks [13:04]; William Farnum, trainhopping to California[14:08]; Fodella and his basement workshop [16:05]; William Farnum [16:44]; William S. Hart in Tumbleweeds (1925) [18:37]; Performing for Douglas Fairbanks[21:19]; Living in Los Angeles [22:53]; Cleaning restaurant in exchange for room and board [23:45]; Selling whittled wooden snakes for money [24:02]; Fight with roomer from Nova Scotia calling him "nigger"[26:23]; Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey [27:41]; Dancing the chicken wheel dance for Douglas Fairbanks [28:18] Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller MS193 3 Collection Oral history interviews Interview with blues musician Jesse Fuller, Part II 1971 Box 1:1 Interview with blues musician Jesse Fuller, Part I, Side B 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C0850d3fb-0083-40ca-b07c-91305e6637d2/ Physical Description: Cassette tape Physical Description: Run Time: 31 (min): 32 (s) Description Side B: Silence [00:00]; Mental abilities since his stroke [00:12]; William Farnum and Dustin Farnum [01:39]; Poster for Jesse Fuller event at the Oakland Museum [04:00]; Charlie Chaplin [05:30]; Mary Wilma [?] photograph [07:09]; Copyright to song [08:11]; Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry [09:57];Leadbelly and Billie Holiday [10:26]; Reverand Gary Davis and Merle Travis [11:47]; Health issues and stroke [13:55]; Railroad watch [14:25]; Magazine articles about Jesse [18:01]; Playing vinyl record, "Drop out song," musicians Jesse likes and dislikes [19:36]; Paid $50 to go to jail for another man [29:40] Box 1:2 Interview with blues musician Jesse Fuller, Part II 1971 Box 1:3 Interview with blues musician Jesse Fuller, Part III 1971 Photographs 1971 Physical Description: 69 images Series Scope and Content Summary 69 images (photographs, negatives, and contact sheets) of Jesse Fuller leading up to and after the time of Jesse Fuller's Oakland Museum concert in May 1971. Arrangement Arranged by photo identification number. Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller in his basement preparing to play the fodella [001] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7Cac8edc97-3142-43b9-984e-b3c5b33e3d2a/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller in front of his home in West Oakland [002] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C2971d464-114c-4287-9a2c-3f2e4caecbd4/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller speaking with man and woman in front of his home in West Oakland [003] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C45642cee-e23f-4103-9556-766540f95604/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller opening door to his house at 1679 11th St, Oakland, California [004] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C10f52e02-c797-467f-bf05-0b08ed726028/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller entering his house at 1679 11th St, Oakland, California [005] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C4520d23c-720e-4bfa-85cd-a55e1bb813cd/ Box 1:6 Parts on work table in Jesse Fuller's workshop [blurred][006] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C6da6503b-6c5f-460e-81d5-e9a26f3a651f/ Box 1:6 Blues musician Jesse Fuller preparing to play the fodella in his basement [007] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C7b715e64-48f2-4231-ad16-489df5c16db1/ Box 1:6 Blues musician Jesse Fuller playing guitar in his basement [008] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7Ca6e91a11-d53c-43f0-811d-7edfb8ee94a8/ Finding aid for the Jesse Fuller MS193 4 Collection Photographs 1971 Box 1:6 Blues musician Jesse Fuller playing guitar in his basement [009] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7Cd91ed84a-fca2-4a9d-a747-b21866ac8627/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller playing a vinyl record in his living room [010] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7Cdf5c9910-37d9-402c-9ba5-9147f6b931aa/ Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller playing a vinyl record in his living room [blurred][011] 1971 https://oakland.access.preservica.com/file/sdb%3AdigitalFile%7C0b68195b-04dc-4052-b422-51ec6d6db98e/ Box 1:6 [blurred][012] 1971 Box 1:6 Jesse Fuller looking through papers on the floor in his living room [013]