A four-disc box set containing 74 tracks that spans 1964 to the present day. The hardest working entertainer on the Chitlin’ Circuit and one our favorites; what immediately jumps out at the listener is that Rush is capable of jumping backing forth across the line between funk and blues while often saddling that line. A clever songwriter, he has the rare ability to create songs that are humorous and serious, often simultaneously. Born at Homer, Louisiana in 1933, he’d been around the block several times before moving to Chicago in the late 1950s. On his earliest energetic Chicago singles, Rush sounded eerily similar to fellow Windy City artist Syl Johnson. Although sides like “Gotta Have Money” and “Camel Walk” were only West and South Side hits, Rush’s sessions were put in the hands of legendary producers like Sonny Thompson, Monk Higgins, Calvin Carter and Vic Despenza. Rush’s breakout in 1971 turned out to be “Chicken Heads” (what can be funkier than a chicken head?) which appeared on Galaxy, a West Coast signature. Ironically, the national hit lead to an association with Shreveport’s Stan Lewis, who released several Rush singles on his Jewel imprint. Highlights from this era definitely include “Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed Man” and “Niki Hoeky.” After Jewel, he flirted with the majors, cutting 45s for Warner Bros. and London as well as an LP, Rush Hour, produced by Gamble and Huff which appeared on Philadelphia International. Since most of Rush’s work was now in the Deep South, in 1981 he moved to Jackson, Mississippi where began an association with James Bennett at La Jam Records. Funky regional hits like “Sue” and “What’s Good For the Goose Is Good For the Gander Too” were added to Rush’s repertoire. A move to Urgent provided another Rush standby, “I Ain’t Studdin’ You.” Rush then made stops at the last two Southern powerhouse labels that still recorded down-home black music, Ichiban and Malaco. Highlights from Malaco—actually Waldoxy—were 1995’s “One Monkey (Don’t Stop No Show)”, “Lovin’ A Big Fat Woman” and the hilarious chucks of funk “Be Still” and “Hoochie Man” from 2000.
By the new millennium, Rush’s audience began getting a little paler. To appease his new listeners, in 2003 he formed the Deep Rush label and released the CDs Undercover Lover and Folkfunk. Rush’s 2013 effort Down in Louisiana was on many folks’ list of best CDs for that year. With the set containing five hours of music, it would be impossible in this space to note all the great sides here. Plenty of vintage pics and informative notes, just as you’d expect. A wee bit pricy—also just as you’d expect—but if you unexpectedly find two or three Jacksons in your wallet, Chicken Heads would be a funky musical investment.
