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Otis Rush
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Otis Rush (born April 29, 1934 in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is a blues musician, singer and guitarist.
After moving to Chicago in the early 1950s, Rush made a name for himself playing in clubs on both the South Side and West Side blues scenes. From 1956 to 1959, he recorded for the Cobra label and had hits with "All Your Love I Miss Lovin'" and Willie Dixon's "I Can't Quit You Baby" in 1957. His most famous recording is perhaps "Double Trouble" from the same year.
He recorded several singles on the Chess Records label in the early 1960s and began playing in other cities in the U.S. and Europe. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound, jazz-style arpeggios and long bent notes. With similar qualities to Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Buddy Guy and Albert King, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and became an influence on Michael Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Rush is left-handed and, unlike many left-handed guitarists, plays a right-handed instrument upside-down without restringing it. This perhaps contributes to his distinctive sound. Other guitarists who use this method include Albert King, Dick Dale, Doyle Bramhall II,Coco Montoya and Lefty Dizz. He has a wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice. In 1968, the album Mourning in the Morning was released on Atlantic Records and attracted attention. Signed to Mercury Records in 1976, he remained with the label for twenty years. Rush continued to produce quality recordings and perform live throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1999 Rush earned a Grammy Award for best traditional blues album for his 1998 release, Any Place I'm Goin'.
He suffered a stroke in 2004 but has since recovered, (albeit not to the extent that would allow resuming his career).
Rush released his latest CD, Live and From San Francisco on Blues Express Records in 2006, which featured some of his best live performances.
Rush has two daughters, Lena and Sophia.
- Chicago / The Blues / Today, Vol 2. (1967) Vanguard VRS-9217
- All Your Love I Miss Loving - Live at the Wise Fools Pub, Chicago (22 November 2005)