Rufus Thomas

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Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul, and blues singer, guitarist, DJ, and comedian from Memphis, Tennessee.

In the 1950s, he appeared on many labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records, before being signed in the 1960s and 1970s by Stax Records.

He is best known for his novelty dance recordings, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969), and "Do the Drag" (1970).

"Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist," the Mississippi Blues Commission said, from the 1940s to his death.

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Several important positions in the local scene were filled. "He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s.

He spent time on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became popular.

He remained active into the 1990s, and his reputation as a performer and recording artist was often described as "The World's Oldest Teenager."

Carla Thomas, the guitarist (with whom he performed duets), Vanee Thomas, and keyboard player Marvell Thomas were among the fathers of the singers.

Early life

Thomas was born in Cayce, Mississippi, on the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a sharecropper. Around 1920, he and his family immigrated to Memphis. His mother was a "church woman." Thomas appeared in a school dramatic production for the first time as a performer at the age of six. He was a tap dancer by the age of ten, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. He worked with Nat D. Williams, his high-school history instructor and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theatre on Beale Street from the age of 13. Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but finances led him to abandon him for a career as a full-time entertainer.

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Early career

Thomas was first seen on touring tent shows. He appeared in 1936 in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South as a tap dancer and comedian, occasionally as part of a duo, Rufus, and Johnny. Cornelia Lorene Wilson married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940 at a service officiated by Rev. ap. C. L. Franklin, Aretha Franklin's father, and the couple married in Memphis. Thomas worked a day job at the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for more than 20 years. Rufus and Bones, Robert "Bones" Couch's comedy and dancing pair, also performed as MCs at the Palace Theater, often performing amateur hour shows. B.B. was the first winner. King George is the monarch of the United Kingdom, and Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace were among others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s.

Thomas began writing and performing his own songs in the early 1940s. Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Gatemouth Moore were all considered as musical influences by the musician. He made his professional appearance at the Elks Club on Beale Street in the late 1940s, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana, he became a regular performer. Thomas, a well-known performer in Memphis, aged 33, released his first 78rpm single for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. "I just wanted to make a record," Thomas said. I had no idea that I would get rich. I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. .. . . [But] the album was sold five copies and I bought four of them] The song, "I'm So Worried," received a Billboard review, stating that "Thomas shows first-class style on a slow blues." "Mr. mr. '" was also recorded on the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he performed with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was credited as "Mr. mr. Swing"; the recordings were not identified by researchers until 1996; they weren't recognized by scholars as being by Thomas until 1996. He made his first recordings at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio for the Chess label in 1951, but they were not commercially successful.

In 1951, he began as a DJ at radio station WDIA and hosted a afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA, which had an African-American style, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became a key source of blues and R&B music for a decade, with a predominantly black audience as well as black listeners. "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm thirsty, I'm full of juice," Thomas said in his introduction. I have the goose, so what is the use? We're feeling gay, but we don't have a dollar, Rufus is here, so hoot and holler." On "midnight rambles" around Beale Street, he used to lead tours of white teenagers. Thomas pretended to be the first black DJ to perform Elvis Presley songs, but he didn't play until the police told him not to arrest him due to segregation. He appeared on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police attempted to lock it down, the audience erupted to welcome him. Elvis songs were also allowed on black radio stations after that.

In 1953, his fame in the South was so high that he recorded "Bear Cat" for Sun Records, a "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog" that was at Sam Phillips' suggestion. The chart hit the label's first national chart, racking at number 3 on the Billboard R&B chart, with the label ranked as the first national chart hit. However, Don Robey, the original producer of "Hound Dog," has a copyright lawsuit that has nearly bankrupted the record label. Thomas was one of the African-American artists released by Phillips, who redirected his brand more toward white audiences and signed Elvis Presley, who later recorded Thomas' song "Tiger Man." Thomas did not record again until 1956, when he released "I'm Steady Holdin' On" for the Bihari brothers' Meteor label; on the record, Lewie Steinberg, a founding member of Booker T and the MGs, appeared on the album.

Later career

Thomas continued to record and tour internationally, earning himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive" and referring to himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager." He "drew upon his vainence to bring [his songs] on stage with fancy footwork that showed remarkable flexibility for a man well into his fifties," and more often performed "while dressed in a wardrobe of hot pants, boots, and capes, often in wild hues."

He served as a DJ at WDIA until 1974, and then spent a brief period at WLOK before returning to WDIA in the mid-1980s to co-host a blues show. He appeared on television and recorded albums for various brands. Thomas appeared at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy on a regular basis; Rufus Thomas Park, the outdoor amphitheater in which he appeared, was later renamed Rufus Thomas Park.

He was instrumental in the 1988 Stax reunion, appeared in Jim Jarmusch's 1989 film Mystery Train, Robert Altman's 1999 film Cookie's Fortune, and D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Only the Strong Survive. In 1988, Thomas released That Woman Is Poison, a series of straight-ahead blues with Alligator Records, featuring saxophonist Noble "Thin Man" Watts. He and William Bell headlined the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Georgia. Rufus Live! on Ecko Records was released in 1997. On Beale Street in 1998, he hosted two New Year's Eve shows.

Rufus Thomas Boulevard was renamed by the City of Memphis in 1997 to celebrate his 80th birthday. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992, as well as an ASCAP lifetime achievement award in 1997. In 2001, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

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