Bobby Rush (musician)
Encyclopedia
Bobby Rush is an American
blues
and R&B
musician
, composer and singer. His style incorporates elements of soul blues
, rap
and funk
.
. Around 1946, he and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
where his father took on the pastorate of a church. It was here that Rush would become friends with Elmore James
, slide-player Boyd Gilmore (Elmore's cousin), and piano-player Moose John Walker; eventually forming a band to support his singing, as well as harp and guitar playing. Still a teen, Rush donned a fake mustache to play in local juke joint
s with the band fascinated by enthusiasm of the crowds. His family relocated to Chicago
in 1953 where he became part of the local blues scene in the following decade.
It was in the early 70s that his self-penned "Chicken Heads" cracked the Billboard
R&B chart on Galaxy, after being picked up from a small label started by former Vee Jay Records producer, Calvin Carter (#34, 1971). He later recorded with leading black music label, Philadelphia International, releasing his first album, Rush Hour with one track, I Wanna Do The Do also charting in 1979 (#75).
In the early 1980s he moved to Jackson
, Mississippi
, where he recorded a series of records for the LaJam label, Malaco
's Waldoxy imprint, and more recently his own Deep Rush label. 2004's FolkFunk was a return to a more rootsier sound, featuring guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart
. He appeared in the film
, The Road to Memphis
which is part of the series The Blues
, produced by Martin Scorsese
. Rush was also a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards
to support independent artists' careers.
Rush received recognition for his music after the release of his 22nd album Rush, when he was awarded "Best Male Soul Blues Artist" at the Blues Music Awards. He also received “best acoustic artist” and “best acoustic album” for his album Raw. His album, Hoochie Mama was nominated for a Grammy award in the blues music section in 2000. His most recent albums are Look At What You Gettin (2008) and Blind Snake (2009).
1982 Sue (La Jam)
1984 Gotta Have Money (La Jam)
1985 What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander (La Jam)
1990 Man Can Give It But He Can't Take It (La Jam)
1991 I Ain't Studdin' You (Urgent)
1992 Handy Man (Urgent)
1995 She's a Good 'Un (It's Alright)
1995 One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Waldoxy)
1996 Wearing It Out (La Jam)
1997 It's Alright, Vol. 2
1997 Lovin' a Big Fat Woman (Waldoxy)
1999 Rush Hour... Plus (Philadelphia Intl)
1999 The Best Of Bobby Rush (La Jam)
2000 Hoochie Man (Waldoxy)
2003 Undercover Lover (Deep Rush)
2003 Live at Ground Zero DVD + CD (Deep Rush)
2004 Folkfunk (Deep Rush)
2005 Night Fishin (Deep Rush)
2006 Essential Recordings, Volume 1 (Deep Rush)
2006 Essential Recordings, Volume 2 (Deep Rush)
2007 Raw (Deep Rush)
2008 Look At What You Gettin (Deep Rush)
2009 Blind Snake (Deep Rush)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer and singer. His style incorporates elements of soul blues
Soul blues
Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music...
, rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
.
Biography
Born Emmit Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, Rush was the son of Ellis Sr. and Mattie Elllis. His father was a pastor whose guitar and harmonica playing provided early musical influences. As a young child he began experimenting with music using a sugar-cane syrup-bucket and a broom-wire diddley bowDiddley bow
The diddley bow is a string instrument of African origin made popular in America, probably developed from instruments found on the Ghana coast of west Africa. The diddley bow is rarely heard outside the rural south...
. Around 1946, he and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...
where his father took on the pastorate of a church. It was here that Rush would become friends with Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, slide-player Boyd Gilmore (Elmore's cousin), and piano-player Moose John Walker; eventually forming a band to support his singing, as well as harp and guitar playing. Still a teen, Rush donned a fake mustache to play in local juke joint
Juke joint
Juke joint is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term "juke" is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly...
s with the band fascinated by enthusiasm of the crowds. His family relocated to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1953 where he became part of the local blues scene in the following decade.
It was in the early 70s that his self-penned "Chicken Heads" cracked the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart on Galaxy, after being picked up from a small label started by former Vee Jay Records producer, Calvin Carter (#34, 1971). He later recorded with leading black music label, Philadelphia International, releasing his first album, Rush Hour with one track, I Wanna Do The Do also charting in 1979 (#75).
In the early 1980s he moved to Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, where he recorded a series of records for the LaJam label, Malaco
Malaco
Malaco is a brand of confectionery products owned by Leaf, their products are sold in Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Finland as well as Sweden....
's Waldoxy imprint, and more recently his own Deep Rush label. 2004's FolkFunk was a return to a more rootsier sound, featuring guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.-Career:Born in Oakland California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when...
. He appeared in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Road to Memphis
The Road To Memphis
The Road To Memphis is a documentary directed by Richard Pearce. The film follows the career of Blues musician B.B. King. It features performances by B.B...
which is part of the series The Blues
The Blues (film)
The Blues is a 2003 documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of blues music. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues...
, produced by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
. Rush was also a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
to support independent artists' careers.
Rush received recognition for his music after the release of his 22nd album Rush, when he was awarded "Best Male Soul Blues Artist" at the Blues Music Awards. He also received “best acoustic artist” and “best acoustic album” for his album Raw. His album, Hoochie Mama was nominated for a Grammy award in the blues music section in 2000. His most recent albums are Look At What You Gettin (2008) and Blind Snake (2009).
Discography
- 1979