"San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954 (released 1955) for a small label called World Song. The song was brought into wider popularity in the early 1960s by club performances by Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Bob Dylan, and Jim Kweskin. Recorded covers have been performed by many artists including The Blues Band, Paul Jones, The Weavers, The Brothers Four, Paul Clayton, Richie Havens, Eric Clapton, The Flatlanders, Paul McCartney, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Mungo Jerry, Glenn Yarborough, George Ellias, Phoebe Snow, The Wave Pictures, The Halifax III and Eva Cassidy. A "one-man band" rendition of the song featuring a kazoo solo was recorded by Fuller himself in a 1962 concert. This has been included in a Smithsonian Folkways compilation, Friends of Old Time Music.
Famous quotes containing the words san francisco, san, francisco, bay and/or blues:
“Mining today is an affair of mathematics, of finance, of the latest in engineering skill. Cautious men behind polished desks in San Francisco figure out in advance the amount of metal to a cubic yard, the number of yards washed a day, the cost of each operation. They have no need of grubstakes.”
—Merle Colby, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“It is an odd thing, but every one who disappears is said to be seen at San Francisco. It must be a delightful city, and possess all the attractions of the next world.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“Mr. Wiggam, I want you to change the policy of The Clarion. I want you to write a story I should have written myself long ago. I want you to tell the people of San Francisco that no city can exist without law and order. Write a story about that flag, write about what verifies and brings a promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There are some people in this town who don’t seem to know that. Let The Clarion tell them.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“The very dogs that sullenly bay the moon from farm-yards in these nights excite more heroism in our breasts than all the civil exhortations or war sermons of the age.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The blues women had a commanding presence and a refreshing robustness. They were nurturers, taking the yeast of experience, kneading it into dough, molding it and letting it grow in their minds to bring the listener bread for sustenance, shaped by their sensibilities.”
—Rosetta Reitz, U.S. author. As quoted in The Political Palate, ch. 10, by Betsey Beaven et al. (1980)