Bobby Rush

The irrepressible spirit of the blues was on full display during The Blues Foundation’s 42nd Blues Music Awards (BMAs) presented by Global Electronic Technology when winners across 25 categories were announced. Broadcasted virtually on June 6 due to COVID precautions, the show’s highlights included heartfelt video statements from many of the winners as well as lively performances from several past BMA winning artists. Awarded by The Blues Foundation’s members, the BMAs are widely recognized as the highest honor given to blues musicians. The 42nd Blues Music Awards coincides with the 42nd annual celebration of Black Music Month which recognizes the immeasurable influence of Black artists and their music on America’s musical traditions.

Internationally renowned blues artist, Blues Hall of Fame inductee, and Grammy Award winner Bobby Rush, whose career spans eight decades, received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities. degree from Rhodes College in Memphis on Saturday, May 15. Over the past decade, “Professor Rush,” as he is known to the students in...

In the late 1960s, Blackstone Rangers leader Jeff Fort received an anonymous letter warning him that local Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton wanted to kill him. Curiously, Hampton received an anonymous letter that said Fort wanted him killed. Both letters were signed by a “concerned black brother.”. Fort found...

Bobby Rush Raw: An Intimate Night of Stories and Songs. In April 2020, blues and soul singer Bobby Rush quarantined at his Jackson, Mississippi home with severe Covid-like symptoms (he never got a confirmed diagnosis). The now 87-year-old Rush recovered, and a year later he is busy. Rush, who won his first Grammy for his album Porcupine Meat in 2017 at age 83, is doing a pair of virtual solo concerts this month, making appearances on behalf of a new documentary he is in called The Birth of Soul Music, and will be releasing his memoir I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya: My American Blues Story, in June. Rush, who sometimes appears with a band and twerking dancers (including at a memorable show I saw at Wolf Trap), has in recent years been doing programs more like this month’s “Bobby Rush Raw: An Intimate Night of Stories and Songs,” promoted in part by the Birchmere. Expect Rush, born Emmett Ellis Jr. in Louisiana, to sing, play guitar and harmonica, and weave in joyous, funny, and sad tales from 70 years of doing countless gigs. Known for songs like “Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed Man,” and performing with blues greats like Muddy Waters, Rush also endured decades of racism, like at a gig in 1951 where he and his band were told to perform behind a curtain because the club owner said the White audience wanted to hear the music but not see the Black performers. On his 2020 album Rawer than Raw, Rush’s still powerful and heartfelt voice, strumming, and foot-stomping percussion ensure that blues standards and Rush originals alike sound moving. The performance begins at 8 p.m. on May 16 and 23. Tickets are available at boxoffice.mandolin.com. $15–$50.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — How does “Dr. Bobby Rush” sound to you?. Grammy Award winner and Blues Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Rush will be presented an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities at Rhodes College this Saturday. Rush was named the inaugural Curb Visiting Scholar in the Arts in 2014 at the private liberal arts school in Memphis.

The Memphis Flyer is Memphis’ alternative newsweekly, serving the metro Memphis area of nearly a million residents. The Flyer was started in 1989 by Contemporary Media, Inc., the locally owned publishers of Memphis magazine. For over 30 years, The Memphis Flyer has hit the streets every Wednesday morning with a blend of serious hard news and Memphis’ best entertainment coverage.

Blues legend Bobby Rush and Memphis filmmaker George Tillman got together Friday to unveil an exciting new project. The pair has been working together on a documentary called The Birth of Soul Music. Friday, the film debuted at the Halloran Center in downtown Memphis before the men embark on a...

The 87-year-old musician honed his craft at South Memphis’ Club Paradise, a pivotal venue in “The Birth of Soul Music.”. Chris Herrington covers the Memphis Grizzlies and writes about Memphis culture, food, and civic life. He lives in the Vollentine-Evergreen neighborhood of Midtown with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.

Bobby Rush has been making records for nearly 70 years with 27 studio albums to his name, and he’s played often on WTJU jazz & blues shows. Now you can watch him perform live! On Sundays, May 16 and May 23 at 8 p.m., join WTJU for Bobby Rush Raw: An Intimate Night of Stories and Songs.

Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush, a onetime Black Panther leader, wants J. Edgar Hoover’s name removed from the FBI’s headquarters in Washington.

JACKSON, Miss — Editor's note: The video above is from April 2020. A street in Mississippi's capital city could be getting a new name. WLBT-TV reports an ordinance to rename Ellis Avenue to Bobby Rush Boulevard, in honor of the two-time Grammy winning Bluesman, was introduced at Tuesday's Jackson City Council meeting.

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Bobby Rush was given a standing ovation as he approached the podium. He came to speak to the Jackson City Council, to thank them for considering an ordinance to rename a street after him. The city is considering renaming Ellis Avenue to Bobby Rush Boulevard, in...

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) yesterday reintroduced legislation that would steer billions of dollars to electrifying the transportation sector and boost domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles.

JACKSON, Miss. — The Jackson City Council is considering renaming a section of road in honor of blues singer Bobby Rush. The 87-year-old Grammy winner was present at Tuesday's council meeting during the discussion. He became emotional during the recognition. "Thank you for considering this. I'm in tears," Rush said.