From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Mar 26, 2002  1:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Rufus Thomas
 
RUFUS THOMAS (By Shaun Mather)

Born 26 March, 1917, Cayce, Mississippi
Died 15 December 2001, Memphis, Tennessee

Rufus Thomas is the all singing, all dancing, music man from Memphis who
recorded for the city's two main independent labels, Sun and Stax, and is
one of those entertainers who was born to be on stage. He became a
professional entertainer in his teens, joining first the Rabbit Foot
Minstrels and then becoming a disc-jockey on the influential Memphis radio
station, WDIA. He wrote Bear Cat, an answer record to Big Mama Thornton's
Hound Dog in 1953 and when the record became a hit, Sun records were sued
and lost. It was the label's first hit, albeit, bittersweet. With his
daughter
Carla, Rufus recorded for the Stax label and although she had more
success chart-wise, he scored a top 10 hit with Walking The Dog in 1963.
His most sustained period of success came in the early 70's when he had hits
with the funky novelty dance singles, Do The Funky Chicken, (Do The) Push
And Pull and The Breakdown. He has continued to perform and was inducted
into the Blues Hall of Fame shortly before his death in 2001.
Rufus Thomas was a true ambassador of Memphis music.

Recommended listening;
The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' - Rhino