Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921 – March 7, 1999) was a big-voiced blues guita… Read Full Bio ↴Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921 – March 7, 1999) was a big-voiced blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. Fulson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He also recorded for business reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, Fulson was the most important figure in West Coast blues in the 1940s and 1950s.

According to some sources, Fulson was born on a Choctaw reservation in Oklahoma. Fulson has stated that he is of Cherokee ancestry through his father, but he has also claimed Choctaw ancestry. At the age of eighteen, Fulson moved to Ada, Oklahoma, and joined Alger "Texas" Alexander for a few months in 1940, but later moved to California, forming a band which soon included a young Ray Charles and tenor saxophone player, Stanley Turrentine. He recorded for Swing Time in the 1940s, Chess Records (Checker Records) in the 1950s, Kent Records in the 1960s, and Rounder Records (Bullseye) in the 1970s.

"Reconsider Baby" came from a long term pact inked with Chess Records in 1954. It was cut in Dallas under Stan Lewis' supervision with a saxophone section that included David "Fathead" Newman on tenor and Leroy Cooper on baritone.

Jackie Brenston played in Fulson's band between 1952 and 1954.

Fulson stayed with Checker into 1962, but a change of record labels worked wonders when he jumped over to the Los Angeles based, Kent Records. 1965's driving "Black Nights" became his first hit in a decade, and "Tramp," did even better, restoring the guitarist to R&B stardom.

Fulson was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1993 and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. His "Reconsider Baby" was chosen by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

In 1993 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California a show entitled "California Blues - Swingtime Tribute" opened with Fulson plus Johnny Otis, Charles Brown, Jay McShann, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jimmy McCracklin and Earl Brown.

A resident of Los Angeles, Fulson died in Long Beach, California in March 1999, at the age of 77. His companion Tina Mayfield stated that the causes of death were complications from kidney disease, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. He was the father of four and grandfather of thirteen.

Fulson was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, in Inglewood, California.

Lowell Fulson recorded every shade of blues imaginable. Polished urban blues, rustic two-guitar duets with his younger brother Martin, funk-tinged grooves that pierced the mid-'60s charts, even an unwise cover of the Beatles' "Why Don't We Do It in the Road!" Clearly, the veteran guitarist, who was active for more than half a century, wasn't afraid to experiment. Perhaps that's why his last couple of discs for Rounder were so vital and satisfying — and why he remained an innovator for so long.

Exposed to the western swing of Bob Wills as well as indigenous blues while growing up in Oklahoma, Fulson joined up with singer Texas Alexander for a few months in 1940, touring the Lone Star state with the veteran bluesman. Fulson was drafted in 1943. The Navy let him go in 1945; after a few months back in Oklahoma, he was off to Oakland, CA, where he made his first 78s for fledgling producer Bob Geddins. Soon enough, Fulson was fronting his own band and cutting a stack of platters for Big Town, Gilt Edge, Trilon, and Down Town (where he hit big in 1948 with "Three O'Clock Blues," later covered by B.B. King).

Swing Time records prexy Jack Lauderdale snapped up Fulson in 1948, and the hits really began to flow: the immortal "Every Day I Have the Blues" (an adaptation of Memphis Slim's "Nobody Loves Me"), "Blue Shadows," the two-sided holiday perennial "Lonesome Christmas," and a groovy mid-tempo instrumental "Low Society Blues" that really hammers home how tremendously important pianist Lloyd Glenn and alto saxist Earl Brown were to Fulson's maturing sound (all charted in 1950!).

Fulson toured extensively from then on, his band stocked for a time with dazzling pianist Ray Charles (who later covered Lowell's "Sinner's Prayer" for Atlantic) and saxist Stanley Turrentine. After a one-off session in New Orleans in 1953 for Aladdin, Fulson inked a longterm pact with Chess in 1954. His first single for the firm was the classic "Reconsider Baby," cut in Dallas under Stan Lewis's supervision with a sax section that included David "Fathead" Newman on tenor and Leroy Cooper on baritone.

The relentless mid-tempo blues proved a massive hit and perennial cover item — even Elvis Presley cut it in 1960, right after he got out of the Army. But apart from "Loving You," the guitarist's subsequent Checker output failed to find widespread favor with the public. Baffling, since Fulson's crisp, concise guitar work and sturdy vocals were as effective as ever. Most of his Checker sessions were held in Chicago and L.A. (the latter his home from the turn of the '50s).

Fulson stayed with Checker into 1962, but a change of labels worked wonders when he jumped over to Los Angeles-based Kent Records. 1965's driving "Black Nights" became his first smash in a decade, and "Tramp," a loping funk-injected workout co-written by Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin, did even better, restoring the guitarist to R&B stardom, gaining plenty of pop spins, and inspiring a playful Stax cover by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas only a few months later that outsold Fulson's original.

A couple of lesser follow-up hits for Kent ensued before the guitarist was reunited with Stan Lewis at Jewel Records. That's where he took a crack at that Beatles number, though most of his outings for the firm were considerably closer to the blues bone. Fulson was never been absent for long on disc; 1992's Hold On and its 1995 follow-up Them Update Blues, both for Ron Levy's Bullseye Blues logo, were among his later efforts, both quite solid. Fulson continued to perform until 1997, when health problems forced the career bluesman into a reluctant retirement. His health continued to deteriorate and on March 6, 1999 - just a few weeks shy of his 78th birthday - Lowell Fulson passed away.

Few bluesmen managed to remain contemporary the way Lowell Fulson did for more than five decades. And fewer still will make such a massive contribution to the idiom.

Crying Won't Help
Lowell Fulson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

No matter what you say, baby
No matter what you do
The way you treat me, baby
Is coming back home to you

And crying won't help
Crying won't help a bit
If you're thinking like that

We just might as well forget

You must remember, baby
No matter where you go
Watch those seeds just scatter
'Cause you're gonna reap just what you sow

And crying won't help
Crying won't help a bit
If you're thinking like that
We just might as well forget

The way you treat me, baby
I cannot understand
I'm gonna leave you, baby
Let you do the best you can

Girl, crying won't help
Crying won't help a bit
If you're thinking like that
We just might as well forget

Before you leave me darling
I just wanna shake your hand
I'm going back to my woman
Let you go back to your man

And crying won't help
Crying won't help a bit

If you're gonna think it like that
You just might as well forget

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Crying Won't Help" by Lowell Fulson speaks about the consequences of one's actions and the inevitability of karma catching up with them. The first two verses express how the mistreatment of others will eventually come back to the perpetrator. The lines "No matter what you say, baby, no matter what you do, the way you treat me, baby, is coming back home to you" and "You must remember, baby, no matter where you go, watch those seeds just scatter, 'cause you're gonna reap just what you sow" convey that message clearly.

The chorus, "crying won't help, crying won't help a bit," illustrates that tears don't change the fact that one must face the consequences of their actions. Instead of wallowing in remorse, one should accept that there will be repercussions for their behavior. The last two verses serve as a final statement on the issue, with the singer saying he can't understand how he is being treated and will leave the situation altogether. However, the ultimate message of the song is a reminder of the cyclical nature of human conduct.

Line by Line Meaning

No matter what you say, baby
It's irrelevant what you say or how much you explain yourself

No matter what you do
It's irrelevant what you do, regardless of your actions

The way you treat me, baby
Your behavior towards me

Is coming back home to you
Will return to you as karma or consequences

And crying won't help
Crying is not effective at changing the situation

Crying won't help a bit
Crying is completely ineffective at changing the situation

If you're thinking like that
If you believe that crying will solve the problem

We just might as well forget
It's better to forget and move on

You must remember, baby
Don't forget

No matter where you go
Regardless of your location

Watch those seeds just scatter
Be aware that your actions have consequences