Bobby Rush

Born Emmett Ellis Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, and raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Bobby Rush was shaped early on by rural blues before moving to Chicago in the early 1950s and joining the city's electric scene. A singer, harmonica player and guitarist, Rush developed a style at the crossroads of blues, soul-blues, rhythm and blues and funk, marked by a strong sense of groove, spoken-word exchanges and songs rooted in the juke joint tradition. After working with musicians such as Elmore James, Pinetop Perkins, Little Walter, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Reed, he reached wider recognition with the single “Chicken Heads” in 1971. His discography has since taken several directions, from the soul-leaning sound of Rush Hour (1979), produced by Leon Huff, to a more roots-oriented return on Folkfunk (2004) with Alvin Youngblood Hart, and later albums including Down in Louisiana (2013), Porcupine Meat (2016), Sitting on Top of the Blues (2019), Rawer than Raw (2020) and All My Love for You (2023). Long based in Mississippi, Bobby Rush remains associated both with Southern blues scenes and Chicago clubs, building a career sustained by tradition, soulful sensuality and stage energy.