Rufus Thomas

Thomas' grave in Memphis

Plaque in the form of a note for Thomas in Memphis

Rufus Thomas (born March 26, 1917 in Cayce , Mississippi , † December 15, 2001 in Memphis , Tennessee ) was an American blues and soul singer , radio presenter , entertainer and talent scout. He is the father of soul singer Carla Thomas and Stax - pianist Marvell Thomas .

biography

Rufus Thomas began his career with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels in the 1930s. In the 1940s he worked as a DJ on a radio show at WDIA in Memphis, one of the first black radio stations. He ran a talent show on Beale Street in Memphis that produced BB King , Bobby Blue Bland and Ike Turner, among others .

In 1953 Thomas had his first hit with Bear Cat , which can be understood as an answer to Big Mama Thornton's hit Hound Dog . The recording was the first national hit for Sun Records. In 1959 he recorded I Love You with his daughter Carla Cause . Father and daughter thus became the first stars of the Stax label. However, his daughter became the bigger star there, surpassing her father, who was regularly releasing records. His biggest hit is Walking the Dog , which was later covered by The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith and was part of the live program of the Grateful Dead and John Cale . His most successful period was in the early 1970s, when he had hit numbers on the R&B charts with Do the Funky Chicken , (Do The) Push and Pull , and The Breakdown . The bankruptcy of Stax Records in the mid-1970s ended his career, as did that of many other artists on the label. On August 24, 1997 , at the age of 80, Thomas performed live as a musical guest at a Prince after-show in Memphis.

In 1992 Rufus Thomas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2001 into the Blues Hall of Fame . He died of heart failure in Memphis in 2001 .

Discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title music label	US	R&B	Remarks
1963	Walking the Dog Stax 704	US138 (3 weeks) US	-	First published: December 1963 Supervisor: Jim Stewart
1970	Do the Funky Chicken Stax 2028	-	R&B32 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: April 1970 Producers: Al Bell, Al Jackson, Tom Nixon
1973	Crown Prince of Dance Stax 3008	-	R&B42 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1973 Producer: Tom Nixon

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

1972: Did You Heard Me? (Stax 3004)
1977: If There Were No More Music (AVI 6015)
1978: I Ain't Gettin 'Older, I'm Gettin' Better (AVI 60465)
1980: Rufus Thomas (new recordings of older tracks; Gusto 0064)
1988: That Woman Is Poison! ( Alligator 4769)
1996: Blues Thang! (Sequel 1054)

Live albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title music label	US	R&B	Remarks
1971	Rufus Thomas Live: Doing the Push & Pull at PJ's Stax 2039	US147 (5 weeks) US	R&B10 (13 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1971 Recording: at PJ's, Hollywood, California Producers: Al Bell, John W. Smith, Tom Nixon

More live albums

1997: Rufus Live! (Image: 1996 at the Southern Crossroads Festival, Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta; Ecko 1013)

Compilations

1979: Chronicle: Their Greatest Stax Hits ( split album with Carla Thomas ; Stax 4124)
1992: Can't Get Away from This Dog (Stax 8569)
1993: The Best of Rufus Thomas: The Singles 1968-75 (Stax 094)
1995: Did You Heard Me ?: Crown Prince of Dance (Stax 88026)
1996: The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin ' ( Rhino 72410)
1998: Memories ( MCA Special Products 21105)
2003: The Funkiest Man Alive: The Stax Funk Sessions 1967–1975 (Stax 8611)
2006: Stax Profiles (Stax 86202)
2007: The Very Best of Rufus Thomas (Stax 30307)
2008: His R&B Recordings 1949–1956: The Sun Years, Plus ( Bear Family 16695)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
year	Title album	US	R&B	Remarks
1953	Bear Cat	-	R&B3 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1953 as Rufus Hound Dog Thomas Jr. answer song to Big Mama Thornton's Hound Dog Author: Sam Phillips
1963	The Dog Walking the Dog	US87 (8 weeks) US	R&B22 (3 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1962 Author: Rufus Thomas
1963	Walking the Dog Walking the Dog	US10 gold (14 weeks)US	R&B4 (16 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1963 Grammy Hall of Fame Author: Rufus Thomas
1964	Can Your Monkey Do the Dog Walking the Dog	US48 (9 weeks) US	R&B12 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: January 1964 Authors: Rufus Thomas, Steve Cropper
	Somebody Stole My Dog	US86 (2 weeks) US	-	First published: March 1964 Authors: Rufus Thomas, Steve Cropper
	That's Really Some Good	US92 (2 weeks) US	R&B30 (5 weeks) R&B	First published: April 29, 1964 as Rufus and Carla, with Carla Thomas Author: Rufus Thomas
	Night time is the right time	US94 (1 week) US	-	B-side of That's Really Some Good as Rufus and Carla, with Carla Thomas Author: Lew Herman
	Jump back	US49 (7 weeks) US	R&B6 (12 weeks) R&B	First published: September 1964 Author: Rufus Thomas
1967	Sophisticated sissy	-	R&B43 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: June 5, 1967 Authors: Bonny Rice, David Porter, Isaac Hayes, Joe Shamwell
1970	Do the Funky Chicken Do the Funky Chicken	US28 (12 weeks) US	R&B5 (14 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1969 Author: Rufus Thomas
	Sixty Minute Man Do the Funky Chicken	-	R&B42 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1970 Authors: Rose Marks, Billy Ward Original: The Dominoes , 1951
	The Preacher and the Bear Do the Funky Chicken	-[R&B: ↑]	R&B42 (8 weeks) R&B	B-side of Sixty Minute Man folk song; Arranger: Rufus Thomas
	(Do The) Push and Pull Did You Heard Me?	US25 (13 weeks) US	R&B1 (15 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1970 Author: Rufus Thomas
1971	The World Is Round Did You Heard Me?	-	R&B34 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: April 1971 Author: Rufus Thomas
	The Breakdown Did You Heard Me?	US31 (10 weeks) US	R&B2 (12 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1971 Authors: Bonny Rice, Eddie Floyd , Rufus Thomas
	Do the Funky Penguin Did You Heard Me?	US44 (10 weeks) US	R&B11 (10 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1971 Authors: Bonny Rice, Jo Bridges, Rufus Thomas, Tom Nixon
1974	The Funky Bird Crown Prince of Dance	-	R&B93 (2 weeks) R&B	First published: January 1974 Authors: Jo Bridges, Tom Nixon
1974	Boogie Ain't Nuttin '(But Gettin' Down)	-	R&B63 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1974 Author: Rufus Thomas
1975	Do the double bump	-	R&B74 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1975 Author: Rufus Thomas
1976	If There Were No Music If There Were No Music	-	R&B92 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1976 Author: George Jackson

More singles

1950: I'll Be a Good Boy
1953: Tiger Man (King of the Jungle) (as Rufus Thomas Jr .; released July 8th)
1956: The Easy Livin 'Plan (Rufus "Bearcat" Thomas with the Bearcats; release: November)
1960: Cause I Love You (as Rufus and Carla, with Carla Thomas ; release: August)
1962: Its Aw'rite (release: September)
1965: Little Sally Walker (released February)
1965: Willy Nilly (release: June 29)
1965: The World Is Round (released September)
1966: Birds and Bees (as Rufus and Carla, with Carla Thomas; release: January 17th)
1966: Sister's Got a Boyfriend (release: September 26th)
1967: Down ta My House (release: December 4th)
1968: The Memphis Train (released March 12)
1968: Funky Mississippi (release: September)
1968: Funky Way (release: December)
1972: 6-3-8 (release: April)
1972: Itch and Scratch (release: September)
1973: Funky Robot (release: February)
1973: I'm Still in Love with You (Release: September)
1973: That Makes Christmas Day (release: December)
1975: Jump Back 75 (release: October)
1978: Fried Chicken
1981: Everybody Cried (The Day Disco Died)
1985: Rappin 'Rufus
1987: Ramesses Rap
1992: Timeless Funk
1992: Get Up Offa That Funk
1998: Hey Rufus!

Other chart placements

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)	Remarks
year	Title album	UK	Remarks
1970	Do the Funky Chicken Do the Funky Chicken	UK18 (12 weeks) UK	First published (UK): October 1970

Video albums

1973: Wattstax
2003: Only the Strong Survive

literature

Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, St. Martin's Press, New York City 1989, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 , pp. 681f.

swell

↑ For Thomas 'recordings for "Sun Records" see: Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin' Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . St. Martin's Press, New York City 1991, pp. 40-42.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Chart sources: Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200
↑ ^a ^b ^c gold / platinum database US
^ ^A ^b Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
↑ Chart data UK

Web links

Commons : Rufus Thomas - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Rufus Thomas at Allmusic (English)
Rufus Thomas at Discogs (English)
Rufus Thomas at 45cat.com
Rufus Thomas at soulwalking.co.uk
Rufus Thomas at soulfulkindamusic.net
Biography on the website of Alligator Records (English)

personal data
SURNAME	Thomas, Rufus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Thomas, Rufus Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American blues and soul singer, radio host, entertainer and talent scout
DATE OF BIRTH	March 26, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cayce , Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH	December 15, 2001
Place of death	Memphis , Tennessee

[1] For Thomas 'recordings for "Sun Records" see: Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin' Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . St. Martin's Press, New York City 1991, pp. 40-42.

[charts-2] Chart sources: Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200

[gold-3] / platinum database US

[R&B-Alben-4] A ^b Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .

[5] Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .

[charts2-6] Chart data UK