Bobby Rush

Biography

Bobby Rush (born Emmett Ellis Jr. in Homer, Louisiana on November 10, 1933) is an American blues musician, composer, record producer, and singer. His style incorporates elements of blues, rap, and funk, as well as a comic sense about blues tropes.
Rush has won twelve Blues Music Awards and in 2017, at the age of 83, he won his first Grammy Award for the album Porcupine Meat×Porcupine Meat16 September 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Don’t Want Nobody Hanging Around4:532Porcupine Meat4:143Got Me Accused7:014Snake in the Grass4:145Funk o’ De Funk4:546Me, Myself and I5:337Catfish Stew4:028It’s Your Move4:199Nighttime Gardener4:0610I Think Your Dress Is Too Short4:2011Standing on Shaky Ground4:5412I’m Tired (Tangle Eye Mix)4:21. He is inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, and Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.

Life and career

Rush is the son of Emmett and Mattie Ellis. He was the sixth of ten children. 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 sugarcane syrup bucket and a broom-wire diddley bow. Around 1947, he and the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where his father took on the pastorate of a church and was a farmer.
It was here that Rush would become friends with Elmore James, the slide player Boyd Gilmore (James's cousin), and the piano player Johnny "Big Moose" Walker; eventually forming a band to support his singing and harmonica and guitar playing. His band, Bobby Rush and the Four Jivers, consisted of Gilmore, Walker, Pinetop Perkins, and Robert Plunkett. Through Gilmore, Rush became friends with Clarksdale musician Ike Turner.
Still a teen, Rush donned a fake moustache to play in local juke joints 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. In Chicago, he met and befriended Little Walter and Muddy Waters who lived nearby. Little Walter got him a job at a club called Skins where they played behind a curtain for a white audience, and began working for Jimmy Reed. Through these connections he began performing on a circuit with Etta James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed.
In the early 1970s a song he wrote, "Chicken Heads", released by Galaxy, became his breakout record after being picked up from a small label started by the former Vee Jay Records producer Calvin Carter. It reached No. 34 the Billboard R&B chart in 1971. "Chicken Heads" would become Rush's first certified gold certified record in 1971, and would later re-enter the Billboard chart 30 years after its release as a result of being featured in the film Black Snake Moan.
Rush later recorded with a leading label for black music, Philadelphia International, releasing his first album, Rush Hour×Rush Hour27 July 1979 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1I Wanna Do the Do4:41A2I Can't Find My Keys3:56A3Let's Do It Together4:12A4Intermission2:20B1Nickname4:46B2Evil Is5:00B3No Axe Ta Grind5:28B4Hey Western Union Man3:22, produced by Leon Huff, with one track, "I Wanna Do the Do," reaching No. 75 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1979. Reviewing Rush Hour in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "A lot of this is fun—I'm delighted to find Leon Huff collaborating with someone who's got funk in his soul, and heartened to hear a protest song about the problem of lost keys. But a lot of it—the witless 'Evil Is,' the characterless 'Hey, Western Union Man'—is dumber than Kenny Gamble."
His next albums to become gold certified would be Sue in 1981 and Ain't Studdin' Ya in 1991.
After Living in Chicago for 48 years, Rush moved to Jackson, Mississippi, to find the roots of his enslaved ancestors.
He recorded a series of records for the LaJam label, Malaco's Waldoxy imprint, and in 2003, his own Deep Rush label with co-founder Greg Preston, a former Malaco Records executive. One of the artists on the label is Crystal Springs, Mississippi native and former bandmate Dexter Allen.
He appeared in the 2003 documentary The Road to Memphis which is part of the series The Blues, produced by Martin Scorsese. As a result of the Scorsese film, Rolling Stone magazine named him "'King of the Chitlin' Circuit' because of his 50 years of relentless touring and colorful live shows."
His 2004 album FolkFunk was a return to a more rootsier sound, featuring guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, and was co-produced by Preston who was awarded producer of the year by Living Blues magazine for his work on the record. That year he was a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. He also performed at the White House along with James Brown when Bill Clinton went into office. In 2014 he again performed for Bill and Hillary Clinton for a state event in Arkansas.
In 2007, he became the first blues artist to perform in China, earning him the title “International Dean of the Blues.” He was later named Friendship Ambassador to the Great Wall of China after performing the largest concert ever held at that site. In addition, Rush has toured in most major markets around the world, including Sydney, Australia; Paris, France; Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Berlin, Germany; Rome, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; Lucerne, Switzerland; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; Los Angeles, California; to Jackson, Mississippi.
In 2014, Rush's album Down in Louisiana×Down in Louisiana2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Down in Louisiana4:002You Just Like a Dresser3:503I Ain't the One3:364Tight Money6:035Don't You Cry4:456Boogie in the Dark3:397Raining in My Heart4:238Rock This House3:399What Is the Blues5:1410Bowlegged Woman4:0111Swing Low5:28, was Grammy-nominated for "Best Blues Album", and won a Blues Music Award in the 'Soul Blues Album of the Year' category, whilst Rush was also nominated in two other categories. Following 2014's Grammy nomination, Rush was nominated again for "Best Blues Album" in 2015 for Decisions×Decisions15 April 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Another Murder in New Orleans4:572Decisions5:273Bobby Rush's Bus5:224If That's the Way You Like It I Like It3:015Funky Old Man4:086Love of a Woman3:127Stand Back5:068Skinny Little Women4:229Dr. Rush3:4610Too Much Weekend6:2011Sittin' Here Waitin'5:06, with Blinddog Smokin' and featuring Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John.
In July 2014, Rush performed with Dan Aykroyd one of James Brown's songs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
He appears in the 2015 documentary film I Am the Blues. He also appeared as himself performing "I Ain't Studdin' You×I Ain't Studdin' You1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1I Ain't Studdin' You5:492You, You, You (Know What to Do)4:113Hand Jive3:074Blues Singer3:265Thank You (For What You Done)4:216You Make Me Feel So Good4:357Money Honey4:308Time to Hit the Road Again4:34" in the 2019 film Dolemite Is My Name.
Rush also made contributions to the 2025 feature film Sinners, performing the harmonica parts for the character of Delta Slim. Most notably in the song "Juke", a duet with Miles Caton's character Sammie.

Awards and recognition

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.
In 2006, Rush was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Rush was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Jackson, Mississippi.
In 2012, Rush was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.
In May 2015, Rush cut the ribbon for the Blues Hall of Fame, with an introduction by the Memphis Head of Tourism and aired live on local news.
In 2015, Rush won two Blues Music Awards: 'Soul Blues Male Artist' and 'B.B. King Entertainer of the Year'.
In May 2019, Rush was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities by Rhodes College. As part of the graduation ceremony, the worldwide premiere of his blues rendition of "America the Beautiful×America the Beautiful29 June 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1America the Beautiful4:08" occurred. This video was recorded at Royal Studios with Eddie Cotton and Rhodes College's students from the Mike Curb for Music Institute.
In 2015, Rush was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.
In 2017, Rush won a Blues Music Award for Album of the Year for "Porcupine Meat×Porcupine Meat16 September 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Don’t Want Nobody Hanging Around4:532Porcupine Meat4:143Got Me Accused7:014Snake in the Grass4:145Funk o’ De Funk4:546Me, Myself and I5:337Catfish Stew4:028It’s Your Move4:199Nighttime Gardener4:0610I Think Your Dress Is Too Short4:2011Standing on Shaky Ground4:5412I’m Tired (Tangle Eye Mix)4:21" and for Historical Album of the Year for Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush. These were the eleventh and twelfth Blues Music Awards Rush has been awarded by the Blues Foundation during his career. He gained his 13th Blues Music Award in 2020, this time in the 'Soul Blues Album of the Year' category for Sitting on Top of the Blues×Sitting on Top of the Blues16 August 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Hey Hey Bobby Rush2Good Stuff3Get Out of Here (Dog Named Bo)4You Got the Goods on You5Sweet Lizzy6Recipe for Love7Bobby Rush Shuffle8Pooky Poo9Slow Motion10Shake Til’ You Get Enough11Bowlegged Woman.

Grammy Awards

In 2017, at the age of 83, Rush won his first Grammy Award in the category Best Traditional Blues Album for Porcupine Meat×Porcupine Meat16 September 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Don’t Want Nobody Hanging Around4:532Porcupine Meat4:143Got Me Accused7:014Snake in the Grass4:145Funk o’ De Funk4:546Me, Myself and I5:337Catfish Stew4:028It’s Your Move4:199Nighttime Gardener4:0610I Think Your Dress Is Too Short4:2011Standing on Shaky Ground4:5412I’m Tired (Tangle Eye Mix)4:21. In 2018, a remix of Rush's song "Funk O'De Funk" by American electronic music duo Smle was nominated for Best Remixed Recording at the 60th Grammy Awards. The rendition lost to Latroit's remix of Depeche Mode's "You Move".