Otis Rush (born April 29 1935 in
Philadelphia, MississippiPhiladelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
) is a blues
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
, singer and
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical guitars and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :...
. His distinctive
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes. With similar qualities to
Magic SamSamuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
and
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and...
, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on many musicians including
Michael BloomfieldMichael Bloomfield may refer to:* Michael J. Bloomfield, astronaut* Mike Bloomfield, guitarist...
and
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
.
Rush is left-handed and, unlike many left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom.
Otis Rush (born April 29 1935 in
Philadelphia, MississippiPhiladelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
) is a blues
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
, singer and
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitars, electric guitars, classical guitars and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :...
. His distinctive
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes. With similar qualities to
Magic SamSamuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett was an American blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter...
and
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and...
, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on many musicians including
Michael BloomfieldMichael Bloomfield may refer to:* Michael J. Bloomfield, astronaut* Mike Bloomfield, guitarist...
and
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
.
Rush is left-handed and, unlike many left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom. He played often with the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning . It is widely believed that this contributes to his distinctive sound. Other guitarists who restrung upside down include
Albert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer.-Career:One of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" , Albert King stood 6' 4" and weighed 250 lbs and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer". He was born Albert Nelson on a cotton plantation in Indianola, Mississippi...
and
Dick DaleDick Dale is a surf-rock guitarist, known as "The King Of The Surf Guitar"...
. He has a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice.
Career
After moving to
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
in 1948, Rush made a name for himself playing in clubs on both the South Side and West Side blues scenes. From 1956 to 1958, he recorded for the
Cobra RecordsCobra Records was an independent record label that operated from 1956 to 1959. The label was important for launching the recording careers of Chicago blues artists Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy and "signaled the arrival of a new generation of [blues] artists and a new sound .....
and released eight singles, some featuring
Ike TurnerIke Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, talent scout, and record producer. Considered to be one of the fathers of rock and roll, his first recording, "Rocket 88" by "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats," in 1951, is considered by some to be the "first rock and roll song" ever...
on guitar. His first single "
I Can't Quit You Baby"I Can't Quit You Baby" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Chicago blues artist Otis Rush, one of the leading exponents of the "West Side Sound." The song, a slow 12-bar blues, was a vehicle for arranger/producer Dixon to launch Rush and Cobra Records, as it was the...
" in 1956 reached No. 6 on Billboards R&B chart. During his tenure with Cobra, he recorded some of his well known songs such as "Double Trouble" and "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)."
After Cobra Records went bankrupt in 1959, Rush landed a recording contract with
ChessChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
in 1960. He recorded eight tracks for the label, four of which was released on two singles that year. Six tracks including the two singles later came out on "Door To Door" album in 1969, a compilation with Albert King.
He also went into the studio for
Duke RecordsDuke Records was a record label started in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952 by David James Mattis and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey Fat Girl" ... issued on Duke R-1, later amended to R-101.After forming a partnership with...
in 1962, but only one single Homework / I Have to Laugh
was issued from the label. It also received a release in Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
on Vocalion VP9260 in 1963. In 1965, he recorded for VanguardVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
which can be heard on the label's compilation album, Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol.2
.
In the 1960s, Rush began playing in other cities in the U.S. and also to EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, most notably the American Folk Blues FestivalThe American Folk Blues Festival was a music festival that toured Europe beginning in 1962....
.
In 1969, the album Mourning in the Morning
was released on Cotillion RecordsCotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. President of Cotillion Records was Henry E. Allen. It was active from the late 1960s through 1985...
. Recorded at the FAME StudiosFAME Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present...
in Muscle Shoals, AlabamaMuscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-History:Native Indians first...
, the album was produced by Michael Bloomfield and Nick GravenitesNicholas George Gravenites , known as Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock and folk singer–songwriter and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin and several other greats of the 1960s and 1970s...
of Electric FlagThe Electric Flag was a blues rock soul group, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other well-known musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield formed Electric Flag in 1967, following his stint with...
. The sound that incorporated soul and rock was a brand new direction for Rush.
In 1971, Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time in
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
for
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Los Angeles and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group...
, but Capitol decided not to release it. The album was finally released in 1976 when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by
P-Vine RecordsP-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi...
in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Bullfrog Records released it in the U.S. soon after. The album generally has since gained a reputation as one of the best works by Rush.
In the 1970s, he also released some albums on
Delmark RecordsDelmark Records is an American Jazz and Blues record label. Based in Chicago since 1958 it originated in St Louis Missouri in 1953 when owner Robert "Bob" Koester released a recording by the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group in 1953, under the 'Delmar' imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
and also from
Sonet RecordsSonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
in Europe, but by the end of the decade he stopped performing and recording.
Rush made a come back in 1985 making a U.S. tour and releasing the live album, Tops
, recorded at the San Francisco Blues FestivalDebuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...
.
In 1994, Rush released Ain't Enough Comin' In
, the first studio album in 16 years. Any Place I'm Goin followed in 1998, and Rush earned his first
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album has been awarded since 1983. From 2001 to 2003 the award recipients included the producers and engineers as well as the artists...
in 1999.
Though he has not recorded a new studio album since 1998, he continued to tour and perform. In 2002, he was featured on the
Bo DiddleyBo Diddley , born Ellas Otha Bates, was an American rock & roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock & roll, influencing a host of legendary acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton...
tribute album
Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "
I'm A Man"I'm a Man" is a popular American song written and released by Bo Diddley in March 1955 on Checker Records as the b-side to his hit "Bo Diddley". The writing credit is under Diddley's real name, Ellas McDaniel...
".
However, he suffered a stroke in 2004 which has kept him from performing since. In 2006, Rush released his latest CD,
Live and From San Francisco on Blues Express Records, a live recording from 1999. Video footage of the same show was released on the DVD
Live Part 1 in 2003.
Rush has two daughters, Lena and Sophia.
Original Albums
- 1969 Mourning In The Morning (Cotillion)
- 1974 Screamin' And Cryin (Black And Blue)
- 1975 Cold Day In Hell (Delmark)
- 1976 So Many Roads (Delmark)
- 1976 Right Place, Wrong Time
Right Place, Wrong Time Is a 1976 album by blues singer and guitarist Otis Rush. Although regarded as one of his finest recordings, the album was not issued until five years after it was recorded.-Background:...
(Bullfrog)
- 1978 Troubles Troubles (Sonet)
- 1989 Tops (Blind Pig)
- 1989 Blues Interaction -Live In Japan 1986- (P-Vine)
- 1991 Lost in Blues (Alligator Records ALCD4797)
- 1993 Live In Europe (Evidence Music ECD 26034-2)
- 1994 Ain't Enough Comin' In (This Way Up)
- 1998 Any Place I'm Going (House Of Blues)
- 2006 Live...and in Concert from San Francisco (Blues Express)
- 2009 Chicago Blues Festival 2001 (P-Vine)
Compilations
- 1969 Door To Door (Chess) (coupled with Albert King)
- 1989 I Can't Quit You Baby - The Cobra Sessions 1956-1958 (P-Vine)
- 2000 Good 'Uns - The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Westside)
- 2000 The Essential Otis Rush - The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958 (Fuel 2000)
- 2002 Blue on Blues - Buddy Guy & Otis Rush (Fuel 2000)
- 2005 All Your Love I Miss Loving - Live at the Wise Fools Pub, Chicago (Delmark)
- 2006 Live At Montreux 1986 (Eagle Rock Entertainment) (Joint performance with Eric Clapton and Luther Allison
Luther Allison was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago, Illinois in 1951. He had taught himself guitar while in Chicago and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues...
)
Singles
- 1956 I Can't Quit You Baby / Sit Down Baby (Cobra 5000)
- 1956 My Love Will Never Die / Violent Love (Cobra 5005)
- 1957 Groaning The Blues / If You Were Mine (Cobra 5010)
- 1957 Jump Sister Bessie / Love That Woman (Cobra 5015)
- 1957 She's A Good 'Un / Three Times A Fool (Cobra 5023)
- 1958 Checking On My Baby / It Takes Time (Cobra 5027)
- 1958 Double Trouble / Keep On Loving Me Baby (Cobra 5030)
- 1958 All Your Love (I Miss Loving) / My Baby's A Good Un (Cobra 5032)
- 1960 So Many Roads So Many Trains / I'm Satisfied (Chess 1751)
- 1960 You Know My Love / I Can't Stop Baby (Chess 1775)
- 1962 Homework / I Have to Laugh (Duke 356)
- 1969 Gambler's Blues / You're Killing My Love (Cotillion 44032)
External links