Longtime friend and former assistant in Fulton's mayoral office Richard Riebeling said Fulton's oldest son informed him of his father's death Wednesday at a hospice care center.
Fulton also ran for governor in 1978 and 1986 but lost both times at least partly because he was not well known outside Nashville.
Fulton was elected to Congress in 1962 and was a rare Southern supporter of the Civil Rights Bill. He left Congress to serve three terms as mayor of Metro Nashville from 1975 through 1987. While mayor, Fulton was president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Tennessee Municipal League.