Rufus Thomas
From Free net encyclopedia
| Rufus Thomas Jr. |
|---|
| Born |
| March 27, 1917 Cayce, Mississippi |
Image:Rufusthomaspoison.jpg Rufus Thomas (March 26 1917 – December 15 2001) was a rhythm and blues and soul singer from Memphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the father of soul singer Carla Thomas.
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Early life and education
Born a sharecropper's son in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, Thomas moved to Memphis with his family at age 2. Thomas made his artistic debut at the age of 6 playing a frog in a school theatrical production. Much later in life, he would impersonate all kinds of animals: cats, chickens, dogs, penguins. By age 10, he was a tap dancer, performing in amateur productions at Memphis' Booker T. Washington High School.
He attended one semester at Tennessee A&I University, but due to economic conditions left to pursue a career as a professional entertainer, joining up in 1936 with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South.
Professional singing career
He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street in Memphis, filling in for another singer at the last minute. He made his first 78 rpm record in 1943 for the Star Talent label in Texas, "I'll Be a Good Boy", backed with "I'm So Worried."
He also become an on-air personality with WDIA, one of the first radio stations in the US to feature an all-black staff and programming geared toward blacks. He become one of the station's most popular DJs.
His celebrity was such that in 1953 he recorded an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's hit, "Hound Dog" called "Bear Cat" and released on Sun Records. Although the song was the label's first hit, a copyright-infringement suit ensued and nearly bankrupted Sam Phillips' record label.
Unsuccessful recordings
He recorded three songs for the Meteor record label, none of which were hits, and continued to perform in clubs and on the radio.
In 1960, he recorded the track "Cause I Love You" with his daughter Carla, for the fledgling Stax Records (at that time still called Satellite Records). His biggest hit with Stax was "Walking the Dog", which has been covered by The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin, and was played live by the Grateful Dead in both 1970 and 1984.
He was often referred to as "The World's Oldest Teenager", though he always answered he was "The World's Finest Teenager". He was a charismatic stage presence, telling jokes and dancing, and wearing capes and brightly colored hot pants.
Hit records
Thomas had a number of hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, notably a string of songs that were tied to a then-current dance craze: "Do the Funky Chicken", "(Do the) Push and Pull", "The Breakdown" and "Do the Penguin". He performed at Wattstax in 1972, leading a crowd of 40,000 in the "Funky Chicken."
He played an important part in the Stax reunion in 1988, and had a small role in the 1989 Jim Jarmusch film Mystery Train. He released an album That Woman is Poison! with Alligator Records in 1990.
Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001.
Death
He died later that year at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. A street is named in his honor, just off Beale Street in Memphis.
References
- Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996.
- Unterberger, Richie. Rufus Thomas Biography at Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 26, 2005.