Regular Main Street Mojo host June Bug is thrilled to have the legendary Bobby Rush on the show today for an interview and chat. Rush will be performing live tonight at Knuckleheads Saloon alongside Bleu Edmondson at 8 p.m. More information can be found at http://www.knuckleheadskc.com/.
Bobby Rush (born Emmit Ellis Jr., November 10, 1935, Homer, Louisiana) is an American blues and R&B musician, composer and singer.His style incorporates elements of soul blues, rap and funk.
It was in the early 1970s 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 produced by Leon Huff, 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 Show You A Good Time (2011) on Deep Rush and Down In Louisiana (2013) on Thirty Tigers.
In 2013, Rush was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the ‘Soul Blues Male Artist’ category.
