Otis Rush

Otis Rush (born April 29, 1935 in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is a blues musician,

singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent

notes. With similar qualities to Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as

West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on many musicians including Michael

Bloomfield and Eric Clapton.

Rush is left-handed and, unlike many other left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed

instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom. He played often with

the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning. It is widely believed

that this contributes to his distinctive sound. Other guitarists who restrung upside down

include Albert King, Doyle Bramhall II, and Dick Dale. He has a wide-ranging, powerful

tenor voice.

After moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1948,[4] Rush made a name for himself playing in clubs

on both the South Side and West Side blues scenes. From 1956 to 1958, he recorded for the

Cobra Records and released eight singles, some featuring Ike Turner on guitar. His first

single "I Can't Quit You Baby" in 1956 reached No. 6 on Billboard's R&B chart.[4] During his

tenure with Cobra, he recorded some of his well known songs such as "Double Trouble" and

"All Your Love (I Miss Loving)."

After Cobra Records went bankrupt in 1959, Rush landed a recording contract with Chess in

1960. He recorded eight tracks for the label, four of which were released on two singles

that year. Six tracks including the two singles later came out on "Door To Door" album in

1969, a compilation with Albert King.

He also went into the studio for Duke Records in 1962, but only one single "Homework/I

Have to Laugh" was issued from the label.[6] It also received a release in Great Britain on

Vocalion VP9260 in 1963. In 1965, he recorded for Vanguard which can be heard on the

label's compilation album, Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol.2.

In the 1960s, Rush began playing in other cities in the U.S. and also to Europe, most notably the American Folk Blues Festival.

In 1969, the album Mourning in the Morning was released on Cotillion Records. Recorded at the FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album

was produced by Michael Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites (then of Electric Flag). The sound that incorporated soul and rock was a brand new

direction for Rush.

In 1971, Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time in San Francisco, California for Capitol Records, but Capitol decided not to release it.

The album was finally released in 1976 when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by P-Vine Records in Japan. Bullfrog

Records released it in the U.S. soon after. The album generally has since gained a reputation as one of the best works by Rush.

In the 1970s, he also released some albums on Delmark Records and also from Sonet Records in Europe, but by the end of the decade he stopped

performing and recording.

Otis Rush performing in 2002

Rush made a come back in 1985 making a U.S. tour and releasing the live album, Tops, recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival.

In 1994, Rush released Ain't Enough Comin' In, the first studio album in 16 years. Any Place I'm Goin' followed in 1998, and Rush earned his first

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1999.

Though he has not recorded a new studio album since 1998, he continued to tour and perform. In 2002, he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute

album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "I'm A Man".

However, he suffered a stroke in 2004 which has kept him from performing since. In 2006, Rush released his latest CD, Live and From San

Francisco on Blues Express Records, a live recording from 1999. Video footage of the same show was released on the DVD Live Part 1 in 2003.

Rush has two daughters and two sons from a previous marriage and 2 daughters from his second marriage, Lena and Sophia.