Jesse Fuller
Musician · 1896–1976 · Jonesboro, Georgia
Best known for
Songwriter
Jesse Fuller was a Georgia-born one-man-band singer, guitarist, and inventor whose 1954 song “San Francisco Bay Blues” entered the folk-revival canon through covers by Peter, Paul and Mary, Eric Clapton, and Janis Joplin. He played twelve-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, and a homemade foot bass called the “fotdella” simultaneously.
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- Born March 12, 1896, in Jonesboro, Georgia.
- Worked as a stevedore, shoeshine boy, and stonemason while developing his one-man-band setup.
- Built and patented his foot-operated “fotdella” bass.
- Wrote “San Francisco Bay Blues” in 1954; Peter, Paul and Mary, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan have all recorded it.
- Died January 29, 1976.
