11/7/2022 0 Comments Rufus thomas![]() ![]() Thomas used to introduce his shows saying: "I'm young, I'm loose, I'm full of juice, I got the goose so what's the use. WDIA, featuring an African-American format, was known as "the mother station of the Negroes" and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation, its audience consisting of white as well as black listeners. He began working as a DJ at radio station WDIA in 1951, and hosted an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. ![]() In 1951 he made his first recordings at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio, for the Chess label, but they were not commercially successful. ![]() Swing" the recordings were not recognised by researchers as being by Thomas until 1996. He also recorded for the Bullet label in Nashville, Tennessee, when he recorded with Bobby Plater's Orchestra and was CREDITED as "Mr. the record sold five copies and I bought four of them." The record, "I'll Be a Good Boy" / "I'm So Worried," gained a Billboard review stating: "Thomas shows first class style on a slow blues". I just wanted to be known, be a recording artist. Thomas said: "I just wanted to make a record. As an established performer in Memphis, aged 33 in 1950, Thomas recorded his first 78 rpm single, for Jesse Erickson's small Star Talent label in Dallas, Texas. #RUFUS THOMAS PROFESSIONAL#He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs such as Currie`s Club Tropicana. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as his musical influences. In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. King, and others first discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis. He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Aretha Franklin's father, Rev. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. After graduating from high school, he attended one semester at Tennessee A&I University, but due to economic constraints left to pursue a CAREER as a full-time entertainer. Thomas also began performing in traveling tent shows. Williams, his high school history teacher who was also a pioneer black DJ at WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. ![]() By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets as well as in amateur productions at Memphis' Booker T. Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. He was the father of singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas, and keyboard player Marvell Thomas.īorn a sharecropper's son in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, Thomas moved to Memphis, Tennessee with his family around 1920. He remained active into the 1990s, and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". His CAREER began as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s, and he later also worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. occupied many important roles in the local scene." According to the Mississippi Blues COMMISSION, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death. He is best known for his novelty dance records including " Walking the Dog" (1963), " Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and " (Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). He recorded for several labels including Chess and Sun in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. Rufus Thomas, Jr. (Ma– December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm and blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. ![]()
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