Bobby Rush is a Grammy Award–winning blues musician whose career spans more than seventy years. Born in Homer, Louisiana, Rush has continued recording and touring into his 90s, building a body of work rooted in traditional blues and shaped by decades on the road.
{photo credit: Arnie Goodman}
{photo credit: Bobby Rush’s Facebook page}
Bobby Rush was born Emmett Ellis Jr. on November 10, 1933, in Homer, Louisiana. He was the sixth of ten children, and his earliest memories of music came from playing with a homemade diddley bow built from broom wire and listening to his father, a pastor, play guitar and harmonica. It was that kind of rural upbringing that shaped Rush’s connection to music from the start.
As a teenager, Rush got serious about performing. In his early years, he moved with his family to Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he met and played with established players like Elmore James and Little Walter. To get into clubs as a young musician, he even used a fake mustache to sneak into the juke joints where crowds ate up his raw, lively style.
Rush moved north to Chicago in the early 1950s, becoming part of the city’s vibrant blues scene. There, he shared stages and friendships with legends including Muddy Waters and Little Walter. Early singles and relentless touring helped Rush make a name for himself on what was known as the Chitlin’ Circuit. This was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest states that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers during the era of racial segregation.
His music is rooted in traditional blues, but it never stayed in one style. Over the years, Rush blended blues with soul, funk, R&B, and even rap, creating a sound he sometimes called folkfunk. In 1971, he had his first hit with “Chicken Heads,” a song that would go on to define part of his catalog and even re-enter the charts decades later.
Bobby Rush didn’t slow down as the decades passed. He recorded consistently, toured internationally, and became known as a strong live entertainer. He’s known for his dynamic onstage presence, with a sense of humor and showmanship that drew fans wherever he went. His career includes appearances in films and documentaries, from Martin Scorsese’s The Road to Memphis to a cameo in Dolemite Is My Name alongside Eddie Murphy.
Recently, he provided the authentic, off-camera harmonica playing for the character Delta Slim (played by Delroy Lindo) in the movie Sinners. While Lindo mimed the instrument on screen, Rush played it live. Rush also recorded original songs, “Delta Slim Railroad Blues” and “Juke” for the soundtrack.
Recognition came steadily. He’s been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2017, at age 83, Rush won his first Grammy Award for Porcupine Meat, a moment he laughed about how it came late in a long career but underscored how relevant he remained. He added more Grammy wins and nominations as he continued making new music well into his 90s and beyond.
Today, Bobby Rush is celebrated not just for his longevity but for his steadfast commitment to the blues tradition and for pushing the music forward while honoring where it came from. Whether with a harmonica in hand or a guitar slung over his shoulder, he stands as one of the most enduring figures in American blues.
{photo credit: Bobby Rush’s Facebook page}
Growing up in Homer, do you remember the first time red beans and rice showed up on your plate?
My mama made it. I was from Louisiana, my mother being from Louisiana. Red beans and rice was something we ate two, three times a week or every other day at least. And I remember just having it and sometimes with nothing else but it. So it was a common thing for me to get red beans and rice at a dinner, breakfast, or supper.
When red beans and rice come to mind, is there a particular moment that you think of?
Yeah. Survival. Red beans and rice were survival for me because the next thing after that was pork and beans and lunch meat. Those three things were survival for us when I was a kid in Louisiana.
If you could sit down with a bowl of red beans and rice and share a conversation with anyone from your past or your musical life, who would that be?
Probably my brothers and sisters, because we all ate that together. We all laughed about it because it made you pass gas. We would joke that when you eat red beans, you should eat it alone, not with company, because it would make you pass gas. We would laugh about that.
What does the tradition of red beans and rice mean to you?
It’s economical to buy. It’s economical to grow. You can buy the seeds one year and plant them, and you save the seeds for the following year, and you never have to buy them again. It was a way of living economically. That’s one of the cheapest things you can buy, even today.
Where’s your favorite spot in New Orleans?
I would hang out in the 9th Ward, going into the little juke joints. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time as a young man in Louisiana before moving to Arkansas. I spent more time at the juke joints there after I left than when I lived there.
What’s your go-to comfort food meal?
Red beans and rice with fried catfish.
What’s the best way to support your work?
You can buy my records and get into what I’m doing. If I’m ever in your area of town, please come and see one of my shows.
Is there anything you’re working on right now—new music, shows, projects—that you want people to know about?
I’m writing now. I have some new music coming, and I’m always on the road.
To stay up to date with the latest information on Bobby Rush, follow him online:
- website: https://www.bobbyrushbluesman.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyrushbluesman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobbyrushbluesman/
Eric Olsson is the food blogger of RedBeansAndEric.com. He publishes new recipes and interviews weekly. He has developed recipes and written articles for the famous Camellia brand in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been mentioned in Louisiana Cookin‘ magazine and has had recipes featured in Taste of Home magazine – with his Creole Turkey recipe being runner up in their annual Thanksgiving recipe contest. He lives outside of Detroit, Michigan, with his wife and four children.
Leave a Reply