The Fullertons
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    • Keep on pluckin'! (folk guitar)
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    • Nothin' but the blues (blues)
    • Solidarity forever (songs of struggle)
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    • Love, lust, and heartbreak (saccharine and schmatz)
    • Speechless (instrumentals)
    • Higher callings (toasts for the toasted)
    • Mandomonium (six strings good, eight strings better)
    • Del does dobro
    • You gotta have harp!
    • Keyed up (ebonies and ivories)
  • Cocktail confidential (recipes)
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    • Americanarama
    • Blame It On Memphis
    • Cowgirl's Lullaby
    • Division Street
    • Doublewide!
    • Mercury
    • Tales of the Enchanted Mesa
    • Tunnel Vision
    • Ugly Roomer

Nothin' but the blues

Picture
Fullerton received his earliest tutoring in the blues from Oakland California's K.C. Douglas, who penned "Mercury Blues." The experience inspired Fullerton's lifelong love both for blues and Mercurys.

In his unfinished memoir, Fullerton wrote: "In America, blues is the universal musical language, the coin of the realm, the audio track for democracy. Walk into any bar, any studio, any jam. Sit in with folk artists, rockers, jazz players, whatever. They're all gonna get into the blues, they'll all have some tunes to share, they'll all play along."

In the Rolling Stone interview, he told Jann Wenner: "Do I have the blues? Hell, yeah. Every damn day. I got a tattoo says Idiots are happy all the time. But dig it, I play the blues to get happy. Musical homeopathy, you know? The only cure for it is playing it."

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The songs:


> See "Decorating My Mind" lyrics and notes at Mercury.

> See "Speakin'" lyrics and notes at Mercury.

> See "Swamp Dog" lyrics and notes at Doublewide!

> See "Midnight Snack" lyrics and notes at Mercury.

> See "Doublewide!" lyrics and notes at Doublewide!

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I make my living feeling rotten,
but I feel good when I play blues.
In this world of contradictions,

man, what can a poor boy do?

Johnny Winter