Grammy Award-winning blues legend Bobby Rush has no intention of slowing down even after more than six decades in the music industry, racking up awards and sharing the stage with Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Etta James, and Howlin' Wolf.
The members of his band, Bobby Rush and the Four Jivers, were Robert Plunkett, Pinetop Perkins, Walker, and Gilmore. Ellis decided to go by "Bobby Rush" on stage at that time as a tribute to his minister father, who had the same name.
Rush wrote the song 'Chicken Heads' and had it released by Galaxy Records in 1971. It became his breakthrough hit at No. 34 on the Billboard R&B chart.
After being included in the Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake film 'Black Snake Moan,' the song reappeared on the Billboard chart in 2006, thirty years after it was first released. Rush's debut album, 'Rush Hour,' was released in 1979 through Philadelphia International.
One of the album's songs, 'I Wanna Do the Do,' rose to No. 75 on the Billboard charts.
Rush released two gold-certified albums, 'Sue' and 'I Ain't Studdin' Ya,' in 1981 and 1991. He was nominated for a Grammy in the blues category in 2001 for his album 'Hoochie Momma.'
He also appeared in 'The Road to Memphis,' a segment of Martin Scorsese's documentary series 'The Blues,' in 2003. Rush was dubbed the King of the Chitlin' Circuit by Rolling Stone magazine "because of his 50 years of relentless touring and colorful live shows."
Rush was recognized in the Blues Hall of Fame by the Blues Foundation in 2006. His 22nd album, 'Raw,' was released in 2007 and was honored by the Blues Music Awards' Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year.
As the inaugural blues performer in China in 2007, he was titled the International Dean of the Blues. He also gave the biggest concert on the Great Wall of China, bringing him the Friendship Ambassador title.
In 2014, Rush won the Blues Music Award in the Soul Blues Album of the Year category. His album 'Down in Louisiana' was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Blues Album category.
Furthermore, he has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, has won three Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for 56 Blues Music Awards. Alongside playwright Stephen Lloyd Helper, who co-wrote the seven-time Tony-nominated musical 'Smokey Joe's Café,' which honored the songs of Lieber and Stoller, Rush is co-writing a Broadway musical titled 'Slippin' Through The Cracks.'
