Born a sharecropper's son in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, Thomas moved to Memphis with his family at age 2. His mother was “a church woman.” Thomas made his artistic debut at the age of 6 playing a frog in a school
theatrical production. Much later in life, he would impersonate all kinds of animals: screeching cats, funky chickens and penguins, and mournful dogs. By age 10, he was a tap dancer, performing in amateur productions at Memphis' Booker T. Washington High School.Thomas attended one semester at Tennessee A&I University, but due to economic conditions left to pursue a career as a professional entertainer, joining up in 1936 with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South. He then worked for twenty-two years at a textile plant and didn't leave that job until about 1963, around the time of his “Dog” hits.
He started at WDIA in 1951 (despite biographies placing his
start a year earlier). At WDIA, he hosted an afternoon show called Hoot and Holler. 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. Thomas's mentor was Nat D. Williams, a pioneer black deejay at WDIA as well as Thomas's high school history teacher, columnist for black newspapers, and host of an amateur show at Memphis's Palace Theater. For years Thomas himself took hosting duties for the amateur show and, in that capacity, is credited with the discovery of B.B. King.He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street in Memphis, filling in for another singer at the last minute. He made his first 78 rpm record in 1943 for the Star Talent label in Texas, "I'll Be a Good Boy", backed with "I'm So Worried."
He also became a long-standing on-air personality with WDIA, one of the first radio stations in the US to feature an all-black staff. His celebrity was such that in 1953 he
recorded an "answer record" to Big Mama Thornton's hit, "Hound Dog" called "Bear Cat" released on Sun Records. Although the song was the label's first hit, a copyright-infringement suit ensued and nearly bankrupted Sam Phillips' record label. Later, Rufus was one of the African American artists released by Sam Phillips as he oriented his label more toward white audiences and signed the likes of Elvis Presley.In 1959, he recorded a duet with his daughter Carla Thomas entitled 'Cause I Love You' for the Satellite label, a label that was later to become Stax Records. The prime of Rufus's recording career came in the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was on the roster of Memphis label, Stax, having one of the first hit sides at the historic soul and blues label, "Walking the Dog", (#5 R&B, #10 Pop) in 1963. At Stax, he recorded songs when he had something to record. He was often backed by Booker T. and the MG's or the Bar-Kays.
The early 1970s brought him three major hits, including "(Do The) Push and Pull" in 1970, his only number one R&B hit (#25 Pop). Earlier that year, "Do the Funky Chicken" had reached #5 R&B and #28 Pop. A third dance-oriented release
in 1971, "The Breakdown" climbed to #2 R&B and #31 Pop. He had several more less successful hits until Stax closed its doors in the mid-70s.Late in his career, for years, Rufus performed at the Porretta Soul Festival in Porretta Terme, Italy. The outdoor amphitheater in which he performed has been re-named "Rufus Thomas Park." In 1996, Rufus and William Bell headlined at the Olympics in Atlanta. Highlights of his career included calming an unruly crowd at the Wattstax Festival in 1972 and performing with James Brown's band.
He played an important part in the Stax reunion of 1988, and had a small role in the 1989 Jim Jarmusch film Mystery
Train. Rufus released an album of straight-ahead blues, That Woman is Poison!, with Alligator Records in 1990. Bob Fisher's Sequel Records released a new album from Rufus in 1996.'Blues Thang' celebrated his 79th birthday at the time of release. Rufus held three concerts at the Olympic Games in Atlanta the following year.In 1997, Rufus released an album, "Rufus Live!," with Ecko Records. In 1998, he underwent open-heart surgery at a Memphis hospital.Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001. His last appearance was in the D.A. Pennebaker-directed documentary Only the Strong Survive in which he co-stars with daughter Carla.
Rufus Thomas 'the world's oldest teenager' died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. A street is named in his honor, just off Beale Street in Memphis.
(Info edited from various sources mainly Wikipedia)
