This past weekend, I saw Slippin' Through The Cracks - The Bobby Rush Musical during its World Premiere at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS (where Bobby Rush lives). I didn't know the first thing about this show until several weeks ago, when Grady Champion, who is in the show, told me about it. When I heard about it, I was really excited to see it. Bobby Rush is a blues institution, the King of the Chitlin' Circuit, still doing his thing at 92 years old (93 on November 10) with no signs of letting up.
Living here in Mississippi all my life, and listening to the blues since the mid 80's, I couldn't help but be familiar with Bobby Rush. He was on all of the R&B stations that I listened to and when I started working, some of my co-workers liked him as well. I can remember listening to him, Johnnie Taylor, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Milton, Benny Latimore, Z.Z. Hill, Bobby Womack, Denise LaSalle, and so many others on the radio in my co-workers' trucks. Bobby Rush was just all over the place.
I never really bought any of his recordings at the time, though, because a lot of them had those electronic instruments that were so prevalent during the time. It didn't matter because you didn't have any trouble finding and listening to his music.....WMPR-FM, 90.1 played him pretty regularly whenever I was driving in Jackson. Even when all the other R&B stations sort of phased out these guys, WMPR always came through for those fans who really liked the old school blues and soul.
Bobby Rush's music was different though.....it wasn't exactly soul, it wasn't exactly blues, and it wasn't exactly R&B. It was a combination of all of those styles, plus he incorporated a heavy dose of funk that really made it stand out. Also, there wasn't really anyone else who wrote songs like Bobby Rush. He wrote tunes that everyone could relate to, laugh about, and think about. His brand of blues, which he dubbed "Folk Funk," makes you smile, tap your feet, and shake your booty.
Bobby Rush was born Emmitt Ellis Jr. in Houma, Louisiana on November 10, 1933. His father was a preacher who also played guitar and harmonica, and that had to have influenced the youngster in a big way. The family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas when he was a teenager, where he met Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore, and Bull Moose Walker. Eventually he formed a band, Bobby Rush and the Four Jivers which included Gilmore, Walker, Pinetop Perkins, and Robert Plunkett.
When his family relocated to Chicago, Bobby Rush began to make his mark. Little Walter got him a gig at a club called Skins, a white club where he and the band had to play behind a curtain and he performed with all of the Chicago legends of the time, even though he really wasn't able to break through with a hit song despite several fine efforts.
(In case you might be wondering why I refer to Bobby Rush as "Bobby Rush" instead of "Bobby" or "Rush," you just don't do that......there's only one way to refer to him and that's as "Bobby Rush." Just listen to some of his songs above and below to see what I mean)
Bobby Rush 1969
Bobby Rush finally broke through with a song he wrote called "Chicken Heads," which was released by Galaxy Records. It earned gold record status in 1971 and made it to #34 on the Billboard R&B chart. He later hit with "Bow Legged Woman" on Jewel Records and subsequently recorded an album, Rush Hour, for Philadelphia International Records (produced by Gamble & Huff) in 1979 to some success, his first full lengther.
Bobby Rush 1987 (Photo by William Ferris)
In the 80's, Bobby Rush signed with La Jam Records, which is where I first started hearing his music. Songs like "Sue," "What's Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander," "Wearing It Out," and "A Man Can Give It (But He Can't Take It)." In the early 90's, he recorded for Urgent Records, a subsidiary of Ichiban Records, producing songs like "I Ain't Studdin' You," "You, You, You (Know What To Do)," and "Handy Man." These songs were very humorous and very suggestive and very funky and his fans loved them.
In the mid 90's, Bobby Rush moved to Jackson and signed with Waldoxy Records, a Malaco Records subsidiary and released One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, Lovin' A Big Fat Woman, and Hoochie Man. These releases maintained his popularity and in 2003, he started his own label, Deep Rush Records, which ended up being some of his best albums up to that time. He released Undercover Lover in 2003, a CD/DVD set, Live at Ground Zero later in the year (which captured his ribald live show to a tee).
In 2004, Bobby Rush released what became one of my personal favorite releases, Folkfunk. This effort was a stripped-down affair, no synthesized keyboards or drums and featured backing by guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, a young Stevie J Blues on bass, and Charlie Jenkins on drums. I've been listening to this one for a solid 22 years and it's still great. I think the stripped-down effect, combined with his appearance on the 2003 Martin Scorsese mini-series The Blues ("The Road To Memphis" episode) may have inspired him to dig deeper into his blues roots.....as heard in 2007's acoustic set Raw.
Keep in mind as you read this that Bobby Rush was in his early 70's when the above-cited events transpired. He has continued to release albums on a regular basis, seven between 2005 and 2014. In 2015, Omnivore Records released a mammoth 4-disc set (Chicken Heads: A 50-Year History of Bobby Rush) that featured 74 of his best-known songs. At 83, he released Porcupine Meat on Rounder Records in 2016, which earned him his first Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues album. In 2020, he released Rawer Than Raw, a sequel to Raw, which earned him his second Grammy Award.
Bobby Rush won his third Grammy in 2023 with his album All My Love For You. He was 90 years old. He's also won 16 Blues Music Awards (with 56 nominations) over the years and has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. He still continues to tour and record, having released a collaborative effort with guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Young Fashioned Waysand contributed to the 2025 film Sinners, playing the harmonica parts for the Delta Slim character. He also published his autobiography, I Ain't Studdin' Ya: My American Blues Story, in 2021, some of which served as background for the musical.
Initial stage layout (no pictures were allowed during the sh0w)
Slippin' Through The Cracks tells the story of Bobby Rush's journey from working the fields as a sharecropper to moving to Chicago and then Jackson, dealing with early financial and family struggles and tragedies, and finally coming to grips with some demons that had plagued him since he was a child. I don't want to give too many details because blues fans really need to see and experience the show themselves, but it was a wonderful show. There were three performers who played Bobby Rush, a young version, a version at the beginning and rise of fame, and the 93-year-old version, who narrated the musical, and they were all marvelous. In fact, all of the performers were excellent and it was very easy for the audience to just get caught up in the events of Bobby Rush's life. The performances in Jackson were the first for the musical and it will be moving on to other areas, with some different performers, so be sure to catch it if it gets to your area.
As for Bobby Rush himself, he didn't miss a single show during the Jackson, MS run, sitting in the audience each time and going on stage to conclude the evening each night, entertaining fans with a couple of songs and stories. He was so gracious to everyone in attendance, taking as much time as his fans wanted before and after the show, signing programs and posing for pictures (including one with me and my brother). It's nice to see a blues legend get his flowers while he's still around to appreciate them.
