Legendary Memphis singer Rufus Thomas, who died this past December 15th at the age of 84, was the originator of the Funky Chicken, the World’s Oldest Teenager, and the Crown Prince Of Dance. But despite his notable and influential contributions to funk, soul, and R&B, Thomas began and ended his musical career firmly planted in the blues.
Rufus was born in Cayce, Mississippi, merely 36 miles from Memphis, a geographical placement that would have much to do with the future of his music. Like any number of his Depression-era peers, he found the region a less than kind place for African-Americans, and migrated quickly to Memphis, and the music epicenter thereof. “Beale Street,” he was known to say, “was a black man’s haven.” By the time he reached manhood, Thomas had established himself there as a tap-dancer, singer, and comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He was also becoming well-known for his talent shows—he was one of the first to present B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and Ike Turner on a stage—and as a disc jockey on Memphis’ legendary WDIA, a blues dynamo that was sometimes referred to as “The Mother Station Of The Negroes.”
Although he recorded sporadically throughout the ’40s, his first taste of success came with the then-nascent Sun Records; giving Sam Phillips’ label its first national hit with his 1953 recording of “Bear Cat.” A musical response to Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog,” it rocketed to Number Three. Later that year he followed up with “Tiger Man,” which so impressed a young truck driver named Elvis Presley that he would later torch it on stage during his 1968 comeback TV special. After Elvis’ ascent, Rufus felt that Phillips was ignoring black artists in favor of black ones, and before long Thomas had jumped ship to a small label known as Satellite, where he recorded the 1960 duet “Cause I Love You” with his daughter, Carla. Another smash, it gave the label—soon to be renamed Stax—the incentive to sign more regional soul artists.
Carla went on to enjoy success with solo singles, and Rufus kept plugging along, as well, helping to define the signature Stax sound with the immortal “Walking The Dog” in 1963. The song’s blend of greasy blues and proto-funk bottom inspired a new English R&B group named the Rolling Stones to cover it on their first album. By the early ’70s, Rufus was working a commercially successful stone funk-blues groove with outrageously hilarious dance singles like “Do the Funky Chicken,” “(Do The) Push And Pull” and “The Breakdown.”
The rise of disco in the late-’70s killed a good many soul careers, but Thomas pressed on, despite the fact that he was edging past 60 years of age; he continued to please crowds with his genial showmanship. He became one of Memphis’ elder R&B statesmen, performing at the city’s Blues and Heritage Festival, playing Stax reunions, continuing to host his WDIA radio show, raising money for local charities, and regaling fans with stories of Beale Street’s glory days. He recorded sporadically, sticking to a straight blues groove (but continuing to perform his soul hits in concert).
Propers finally began to be given late in life: a birthday tribute at Memphis’ Orpheum Theater, a cameo in Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train, three lifetime achievement awards (including the first one ever given by ASCAP), and the W.C. Handy Howlin’ Wolf Award. In 1998, he was finally made part of Beale Street itself with a renaming of one of its cross-streets, and just this past year he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Perhaps what’s most amazing about Rufus’ long life is its “Forrest Gump” like quality—for a genial, unassuming man who made what were essentially a lot of novelty singles, he sure made a hell of a lot of wheels turn. (Thomas is survived by two children and a granddaughter; the family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to The Rufus Thomas Scholarship Fund, 1900 Union Ave., Memphis, TN 38104.)
Grammy Nominations
Another old R&B mainstay, Ike Turner, is enjoying his own renaissance right about now, and his status as a reemerging blues performer has just been solidified with a Grammy nod for best Traditional Blues Album for his latest, Here And Now. The nominations were announced January 4th, and Turner is a good bet to win his category, although there are some other worthy nominees, most notably James Blood Ulmer for his Memphis Blood – The Sun Sessions CD. Of the rest, Maria Muldaur’s Richland Woman Blues is fine, both Jimmie Vaughan’s Do You Get The Blues? and Kim Wilson’s “Smokin ‘ Joint” are tight but unremarkable, and the Robert Johnson tribute CD, Hellhound On My Trail, is spotty at best. Look for Ike to win—and God help us all if he gets to deliver his speech on camera.
New Orleans’ own Dr. John is nominated in the other blues category (Best Contemporary Album), but that’s typical Grammy name-recognition thinking. How do you fit the Nite Tripper into one box, anyway? Buddy Guy’sSweet Tea is the most daring and daringly successful nominee, and would be a great choice, but the statuette will more than likely go to the more mellow, adult-contemporary blues found on our own Keb’ Mo’s The Door. A fine CD, to be sure, but let’s hope he doesn’t turn completely Clapton on us. Of the other nominees, Etta James’ Matriarch Of The Blues proves her as just that, while Delbert McClinton’s outstanding Nothing Personal album would be better suited to a Country Album nod. However, considering that category is cluttered with the likes of Tim McGraw and Diamond Rio, perhaps we should leave him where we found him.
Acoustic blues legend and transplanted local Corey Harris is pulling up stakes, however, moving from Alligator to Rounder; the equally legendary roots music label that’s just signed him to a multi-album deal. Such a move seems to indicate that Harris is about to expand his style, and, indeed, advance word on his 2002 release, Downhome Sophisticate, is that it will combine all flavors of American rusticana into a uniquely Corey sound. At any rate, Rounder has an untouchable reputation as an artists’ label that encourages creativity, so it’ll be interesting to see what, exactly, unfolds.
Spring is just around the corner, even if it doesn’t feel like it, and with it the musical festival season will start to ramp up as well. Prepare yourself this month by taking in some local blues—Joe Krown’s Organ Combo will be at Le Bon Temps on the 11th, and Dr. John will be taking his glittery whatever it is out to Spanish Plaza on the 2nd. B.B. King wraps up his recent local appearances at Generations Hall on the 1st, and at the other end of the spectrum, Southern blues-rock freakout kings Gov’t Mule play a pair of dates at the House Of Blues on the 8th and 9th. If you’d like something with just a little more soul, the Nevilles will also do two dates at the HOB this month—11th and 14th—while Percy Sledge keeps tearing out hearts at the Boomtown Casino on the Westbank (Feb. 14).
Finally, if you’re tired of being on the wrong end of the stage, buy a cheap guitar and check out Blues Website of the Month: the Swing and Jump Blues Guitar page at swingblues.com. It’s nothing less than a complete online instruction book on proper jump blues string slinging, and it’s entirely free. Years in the making, philosophical as well as technical, and easy for blues dummies, it’s the kind of community resource the web was originally designed to provide. Best of all, it encourages you to feel the blues first, and understand it later. After all, isn’t that how you first fell in love with it?
