Invented and constructed by Jesse "The Lone Cat" Fuller, an American one-man band musician, who needed an accompaniment instrument beyond the usual high-hat (foot-operated cymbal) or bass drum favored by street musicians.
Fuller's wife took to calling it a "foot-diller" (as in the then-current expression, "killer-diller", meaning exceedingly good); and later, it became shortened to just fotdella.
One of Fuller's later fotdella iterations is available for viewing at a museum in Seattle, Washington.
After having seen one of Harris' performances in 2001, members of the band Frog & Henry built one of their own in 2010 in Ontario, Canada.
They made the instrument from a double-bass, piano hammers, drum stands, and found materials.