Bobby Rush

Bobby Rush is an American blues musician, singer and composer from Homer, Louisiana. Born Emmet Ellis, Jr. in 1933, he begins performing under the name Bobby Rush in tribute to his father. His music sits in blues and electric blues, and it also draws on funk, rap, soul and hip-hop. Rush describes his sound as “folk funk”, a blend that combines modern rhythm with older blues and folk traditions.

Early life and playing style

Rush builds his first instrument, a crude diddley bow, and starts performing in local juke joints while still a teenager, often in disguise. He takes up bandleading early, seeing it as a way to control his own career by owning the equipment. His performances become known for humour, double entendres, costume changes and comic sketches, often with female dancers, and for shifting between different stage personas such as lover, cuckold and boastful braggart.

Chicago years and recording career

In the mid-1950s he moves to Chicago. There he works with musicians including Freddie King, Earl Hooker and Luther Allison, and on trips back to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, he also performs with Elmore James and Boyd Gilmore. Although he becomes well known as a live performer in Chicago, this delays the development of his recording career. National attention comes in 1971 with the success of “Chicken Heads” on Galaxy Records. Over the following decade he records for Jewel, Philadelphia International and Warner Brothers, and tours the chitlin circuit, the network of clubs running through parts of Texas, Florida and Chicago.

Jackson, Mississippi and later work

In the early 1980s Rush moves from Chicago to Jackson, Mississippi, where he makes a series of albums for LeJam, Ichiban and Malaco. During this period he earns the title “king of the chitlin circuit” with hits including “Sue”, “Wearin’ It Out”, “Ain’t Studdin’ You” and “Hoochie Man”. In 2003 he launches his own label, Deep Rush, and records Undercover Lover. He also films a live DVD at Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and appears in Richard Pearce’s documentary The Road to Memphis, which forms part of Martin Scorsese’s The Blues series.

Recognition and performance reputation

Rush continues to perform extensively, including at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and festival stages in Europe and Japan. He is known for maintaining a strong connection to black working-class audiences on the chitlin circuit while also reaching wider audiences. Across his career he presents a style rooted in classic blues traditions associated with figures such as Charley Patton, Memphis Minnie, Louis Jordan and Howlin’ Wolf, while also updating it with newer influences.