Train song #35 features the most fantastic Jesse “Lone Cat” Fuller, one-man band, performing Leavin’ Memphis Frisco Bound.

The Lone Cat played 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, high-hat, and an instrument of his own invention called the fotdella. Here’s a description of that instrument from Wikipedia…. “It was a foot-operated percussion bass, consisting of a large upright wood box, shaped like the top of a double bass. Attached to a short neck at the top of this box were six bass strings, stretched over the body. And finally, there was the means to play those strings: six foot pedals, each connected to a padded hammer which struck the string, in a homemade wooden contraption. The six notes of the fotdella allowed him to play a bass line in several keys, though he occasionally would play without it if a song exceeded its limited range. The name was coined by his wife, who took to calling the instrument a “foot-diller” (as in a “killer-diller” instrument played with the foot), which was shortened to fotdella.” Mr. Fuller’s work has been well covered by performers from The Grateful Dead to Eric Clapton to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott to Bob Dylan.

Jesse Fuller was a remarkable performer. You can find quite a bit of of his material including some excellent film footage on the YouTube and I give it all the Anchovy Stamp of Approval.  Here’s Mr. Fuller’s most well-known tune, the San Francisco Bay Blues just because it is so fantastic….