Biography
Born around 1900, most likely in Houston, Texas, and believed to have died near 1965 somewhere in California, Pullum began performing blues in his hometown during the early 1930s. His high, clear vocal delivery lent distinctive shading to the songs he sang, winning steady favor with mid- and late-decade listeners. Although he secured a contract with Victor Records, only a handful of sides appeared on the company’s Bluebird imprint.
In 1934 he cut his original composition “Black Gal What Makes Your Head So Hard?,” which proved so successful that he soon revisited the piece as “Black Gal No. 3” and “Black Gal No. 4.” Leroy Carr and several contemporaries also waxed versions at roughly the same moment, yet Pullum’s treatment outsold the others; Jimmie Gordon even issued a cover credited to “Joe Bullum.” Subsequent generations kept the number alive through recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Shaw, Clifton Chenier, Mance Lipscomb, and above all Victoria Spivey, who returned to it on multiple occasions. Spivey claimed Pullum had composed the song a decade earlier, but the 1934 lyrics contain pointed allusions to the bonus marchers, implying either that her recollection was mistaken or that Pullum, as he did after 1934, had simply updated the text for the occasion. His separate performance of “Bonus Blues” further reflected an ongoing concern with the social and political currents of the period.
Additional titles from his repertoire include “Mississippi Flood Blues,” “Joe Louis Is The Man,” “Blues With Class,” and “Dixie My Home.” On disc he was frequently supported by pianists Robert Cooper or Andy Boy, the latter appearing on such pieces as “House Raid Blues,” “Yellow Gal Blues,” “Ice Pick Mama,” and “Too Late Blues.” During the 1940s Pullum moved to California and, in 1948, recorded several tracks for Swing Time Records, occasionally backed by pianist Lloyd Green. A portion of those collaborations later surfaced on compilations issued under Green’s name—Honky Tonk Train (1983) and Chica Boom (1988). After his final sessions in 1951, Pullum receded into an obscurity that eclipsed even the scant details known of his earlier years.
In 1934 he cut his original composition “Black Gal What Makes Your Head So Hard?,” which proved so successful that he soon revisited the piece as “Black Gal No. 3” and “Black Gal No. 4.” Leroy Carr and several contemporaries also waxed versions at roughly the same moment, yet Pullum’s treatment outsold the others; Jimmie Gordon even issued a cover credited to “Joe Bullum.” Subsequent generations kept the number alive through recordings by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Shaw, Clifton Chenier, Mance Lipscomb, and above all Victoria Spivey, who returned to it on multiple occasions. Spivey claimed Pullum had composed the song a decade earlier, but the 1934 lyrics contain pointed allusions to the bonus marchers, implying either that her recollection was mistaken or that Pullum, as he did after 1934, had simply updated the text for the occasion. His separate performance of “Bonus Blues” further reflected an ongoing concern with the social and political currents of the period.
Additional titles from his repertoire include “Mississippi Flood Blues,” “Joe Louis Is The Man,” “Blues With Class,” and “Dixie My Home.” On disc he was frequently supported by pianists Robert Cooper or Andy Boy, the latter appearing on such pieces as “House Raid Blues,” “Yellow Gal Blues,” “Ice Pick Mama,” and “Too Late Blues.” During the 1940s Pullum moved to California and, in 1948, recorded several tracks for Swing Time Records, occasionally backed by pianist Lloyd Green. A portion of those collaborations later surfaced on compilations issued under Green’s name—Honky Tonk Train (1983) and Chica Boom (1988). After his final sessions in 1951, Pullum receded into an obscurity that eclipsed even the scant details known of his earlier years.