Rufus Thomas

Rufus Thomas ranks among the most engaging personalities among rock & roll's originators. Beginning in the 1940s, he came to embody the sound and spirit of Memphis, making his lighthearted appearance in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train—a movie that both pokes fun at and celebrates the city's influence on popular music—feel perfectly fitting. Although Thomas never ranked as a major stylistic trailblazer on record, his soul dance numbers reliably delivered playful, absurd, or even outlandish entertainment. He stands out as one of the rare rock or soul performers to achieve both commercial success and creative fulfillment during middle age, while also serving as an essential guide for numerous key figures in Memphis blues, rock, and soul.

Already working as a professional performer by the mid-1930s, Thomas toured as a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He cut his first sides as early as 1941, yet his lasting impact on the local scene came through his role as a deejay at WDIA, one of the few Black-owned stations operating at the time. He further shaped the city's talent by organizing shows along the legendary Beale Street, where he helped introduce the budding abilities of artists including B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.

Thomas scored his initial hit as a recording artist in 1953 with the humorous "Bear Cat," an answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." The track climbed to number three on the R&B charts and delivered Sun Records its first national success, although the victory was tempered when owner Sam Phillips faced a lawsuit over similarities to the original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller composition. Oddly, Thomas would release just one more single for Sun and appeared on disc only occasionally for the remainder of the 1950s.

Thomas and his daughter Carla became the first notable acts signed to the Stax label, cutting the 1959 duet "'Cause I Love You" while the company still operated under the name Satellite. During the 1960s Carla emerged as one of Stax's leading artists, while Rufus, though less commercially dominant than his daughter, maintained a consistent output of solid dance and novelty singles.

Those tracks never aimed for emotional depth or introspection. With a stripped-down emphasis that loosely anticipated funk, they centered on the groove and Thomas's carefree vocals, which refused to treat any subject with gravity. The standout release proved to be "Walking the Dog," which reached the Top Ten in 1963 and received a cover by the Rolling Stones on their debut album.

Thomas attained his greatest commercial heights in the early 1970s, as "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" each entered the R&B Top Five. As the titles indicate, funk had replaced blues and soul as the dominant force in his music. Drawing on his earlier vaudeville experience, he enlivened live performances with intricate dance steps that revealed surprising nimbleness for a performer well into his fifties. The mid-1970s downfall of Stax effectively halted his recording career, as it did for many of the label's other acts. In 2001 Thomas received induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. Later that year, on December 15, he passed away at St. Francis hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.