Bobby Rush

Bobby Rush is an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist whose style embraces funk and rhythm and blues. He has made scores of albums since he broke ground with his debut release, 'Rush Hour' in 1979 and his latest, 'Porcupine Meat' in 2016, won Grammy and Blues Music Awards and reached number five on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart. A four-disc collection titled 'Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush' was named Historical Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation in 2017.

Born in northern Louisiana, he spent his teenage years in neighbouring Arkansas where his father was a pastor. There, he met blues singer-guitarist Elmore James, slide guitarist Boyd Gilmore and pianist Johnny 'Big Moose' Walker who became his first band. When his family moved to Chicago in the early 1950s he began a successful career as a guitar player with artists such as Jimmy Reed, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Muddy Waters. He had a minor but influential hit with the single 'Chicken Heads' which went to number 34 on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs Chart in 1971 and after 'Rush Hour', from which the single 'I Wanna Do the Do' peaked at number 75 on the R&B Chart, he released the albums 'Sue' (1982), 'Gotta Have Money' (1984), 'What's Good for the Goose Is Good for the Gander' and 'Man Can Give' (1990). His 1991 release, 'I Ain't Studdin' You' reached number 69 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums Chart and he continued to make albums, became a regular at blues venues across America that came to be known as the Chitlin' Circuit and toured around the world. He performed at the White House after President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 and his album 'Hoochie Man' was nominated as Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2000. He appeared in Richard Pearce's 2003 documentary 'The Road to Memphis', in the television series 'The Blues' produced by Martin Scorsese and in 2007 he became the first American blues singer to perform in China.

'Down in Louisiana' (2013) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Blues Album and went to number 15 on Billboard's Blues Albums Chart and an EP, 'Upstairs at United Vol.II' (2014) reached number 12. He earned another Grammy for 'Decisions' in 2014. In January 2018 he commenced a fund-raising tour of America with fellow iconic blues player Buddy Guy in support of the treatment of prostate cancer.