Legendary Bobby Rush shares his story ahead of show at Jimmy's in Portsmouth

On Saturday, Dec. 18, legendary blues singer Bobby Rush will sweep though Portsmouth for a show at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club in support of his latest effort, “Rawer Than Raw.” And it’s fair to say, that at 88 years young, Bobby is exactly that, rawer than raw, and, quite honestly, on top of his game, releasing his new record, and writing his autobiography in the same calendar year.

Seacoastonline caught up with the Grammy Award-winning bluesman to talk about all of the above, and a whole lot about his storied life and inspired career.

Seacoastonline: First of all, happy belated birthday. I just missed it. What’d you get up to?

Rush: Just a birthday, man. It’s always a thing when I’m about to have another birthday, man. At this age, when you have a birthday, you blessed, y’know? But, thank you, Chris.

Seacoastonline: Should I be referring to you as Dr. Rush? That’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Tell us about your recent doctorate degree in humanities. What an honor. What do you appreciate about working with the kids at the Rhodes Institute?

Rush: Well, yeah, honorary doctorate degree, you know, so Bobby Rush would be fine (laughs). I mean, sure, doctor would be OK, too, but I’m just a plain old country boy, singing the blues. It’s nice to feel appreciated. I love the time I spend at Rhodes, man. Those kids are great. I appreciate their knowledge of the blues and of me as an old blues singer. They like who I am, what I’ve done, and what I plan to do. And they’re right there with me, y’know? I love it, man. The whole experience really takes me to another height. I’ve been knocked off my feet about how much these kids know. It certainly helps that there are computers these days that can help them understand all the bluesmen and women that have come before and who are still keeping the spirit alive. It’s a great thing.

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Seacoastonline: Let’s talk about your latest full-length record, “Rawer Than Raw.” This is a favorite of mine. I really dig the stripped-down nature of it. And I love the song selections that make up the track list. The cover tunes blend in seamlessly with your originals, which I think is a fine study in your influences. From Howlin’ Wolf to Sonny Boy Williamson ... There’s a lot of great history here. Let’s talk about your goals for the record. What were you after?

Rush: There’s so many things that I was aiming at when I did this. First of all, I wasn’t able to go to the studio and do my writing and record my songs in the way I normally do. Things have been different. The world has been different. You know. So, I looked back at my catalogue and secondly at where I came from. There’s nothing new to me here. This is where I started from, with my guitar, in a bathroom, an outhouse, under the tree, on my back porch. It’s just me, my guitar, and my voice — putting down that beat with my feets, and my thumb was my bass. I put it down like that. I was gonna invite other musicians to come in on it, but the pandemic hit us. So, I couldn’t get that done, so, yeah man, this was all about me reaching back and pulling things outta the cookie jar. And the things I pulled out won the Grammy for me. That feels good man. It feels good to tip my hat to the guys that helped me find my thang. Back to where I got my start from. Where my thought patterns come from. Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson, I coulda kept going. Those were the guys I was hanging around; they were my brothers, my neighbors, and my friends. They inspired me, and I wanted to extend that inspiration out a bit. I wanted to celebrate Mississippi and not push it to the side, you follow me? Black music and Black people doing the music have been neglected for so long. I wanted to let the people know that Bobby Rush is known for doing what he do, but it wasn’t always so easy. And there were many before me who weren’t recognized at all. This is what this record is all about, Chris. I appreciate that you appreciate it. I’m doing their songs in the Bobby Rush way (laughs).

Seacoastonline: Yeah, man, and hey, congratulations on earning that second Grammy Award for this record. How does the second win compare to your first, which of course, came to you when you turned 83. Long and well deserved. It’s gotta be nice to be noticed, no matter what age it comes, right?

Rush: Yeah, it may be late, but it’s better late than never, y’know? I just thank God for giving me the opportunity and the time to do what I’ve been doing in this lifetime and come up flowers while I’m living.

Seacoastonline: On top of “Rawer Than Raw,” you just put out a record for Record Store Day, which revisited your first hit, “Chicken Heads” in celebration of the 50th anniversary of your original recording of the tune. You’ve got a few versions of the tune, each featuring a guest musician. What I find interesting about it (and speaking to the whole “influence” sentiment from a moment ago), is you’ve got young up-and-comer Christone Kingfish Ingram doing a number with you, then Warren Haynes, who has been around and is well known, and then you’ve got fellow legend Buddy Guy laying a cut down with you. What’s it mean to you to be able to create alongside some of your peers and contemporaries?

Rush: (Laughs.) Oh, you right! “Chicken Heads,” man! Christone King! Warren Haynes! Buddy! Yeah, man! I just love the idea of having this opportunity to do the “Chicken Heads” with all these folks, man, it was a blast. This was the biggest hit I ever had and revisiting it has been a blast. Man, I have tears in my eyes thinking about it. Let me tell you something. It’s not over. This is a sneak peek. I’m gonna keep reaching out to people, like Eric Clapton, and we gonna keep doing this. You the first person I’m talking to about this. I got some peoples in mind that might want to be a part of this, so I’m hoping to keep it going. We’ll see. But I’ll tell you, you’ll be surprised by the people that want to do the “Chicken Heads” with me. Some big names! (Laughs.)

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Seacoastonline: In general, why music? Why do you seek it? Why do you create it?

Rush: I don’t know. Music is all I know. The blues is all I know. Maybe I did it because I didn’t know nothing else, or maybe I did it because I’m half-crazy. I think I’ve been just crazy enough to be smart enough to keep it going I suppose. Guitar, harmonica, the back porch, storytelling ... This is all I know. I ain’t bragging, but I keep making music because I’m good at what I do. You don’t have to like me. You can think, ‘I don’t like that Bobby Rush, but damn, he good.’ (Laughs.) That’s all that matters.

Seacoastonline: Man, you’ve been busy. You’ve also just released your book, “I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya: My American Blues Story.” I know you’re saying right in the title that you’re not studying anyone here, but, hey, what was it like to look back at your storied career and reminisce for a moment? What did you learn from studying, well, yourself? Who is Bobby Rush? What lessons have you pulled out of this life you’ve led?

Rush: Yeah, man. I wasn’t really trying to write no book. I was just trying to let people know about where I came from. Where I been. You know? I’ve had my ups and my downs. And I have an idea of where I’m trying to go. My hope is that, at the end of the day, I’ve influenced someone in the same way that someone influenced me to keep this going. Keep the blues alive. The blues is the root of all music. It’s the mother of all music. If you don’t like the blues, you probably don’t like your momma. You know?

I hope that young Black men especially find no shame in celebrating this music. I want people to know that I’m not ashamed of my roots, or of myself and some of the mistakes I’ve made in my life. I want to be remembered by what I do as a bluesman. I’ve been through the valleys, I’ve been to the hills, I’ve had my ups, I’ve had my downs, the good, the bad — but the good always overtakes the bad. I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations and people that have come into my life that didn’t meet me at my best, but nevertheless, I’ve always been me, doing what I got to do. If tomorrow comes to you, you’re very blessed and very lucky, and I consider myself fortunate to have had as many days as I’ve been granted. I haven’t done all that I’ve wanted to do, but I’ve done an awful lot. I’m at 397 records. I’m happy about what it is, and that’s what this book is all about.

Seacoastonline: Hey man, and you’ve still got time. You’ve still got plenty of time.

Rush: Yep. You right. And I’m still having a lot of fun.

Seacoastonline: I think that’s probably the most important part.

Rush: Yeah, man. I’m glad you said that, Chris. There comes a point in any person’s life where they have to find purpose and be enthused about what they do. I’m incredibly inspired, man. I’m enthused about my work, about myself, about everything around me. A man can live a long time without water or food, but you can’t live without hope. I still have hope. If I had my life to live again, I’d do it all the same because right or wrong, I always doing the best thing I could at the time that I made my mind up to do it. And so, I’m not sorry about everything I’ve done. I’m not happy about everything I’ve done. But I’m satisfied, man. I’m satisfied.

Seacoastonline: Speaking of the life. You’re back on the road traveling around and singing your songs in towns far and wide.

Rush: It’s been close to two years. Two years. Man. It was the worst two years, but it was also the best two years. They were the worst because I couldn’t be with my friends. I couldn’t see ‘em, couldn’t perform for ‘em. Couldn’t make any money. But the best thing that happened was that I had time to get into myself. I had that time to look inside of me, look at my career, look at what I’ve done, what I should do, what I shouldn’t have done… All these things. And then I had the opportunity to analyze where I’m going from here.

Seacoastonline: You’re hitting Portsmouth, New Hampshire to visit all of us here in the Granite State and do a show at Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club on Dec. 18. What excites you about the gig? What can folks expect?

Rush: Everyone that comes to see me is a diehard fan. Thus, I must give them the best. I gotta give all y’all my all. The best of what I have. Because you never know when it’ll be the last chance you have to play to the people that love you so. And I owe it to the people ... They don’t have to come to see me. They have plenty of other choices. But nevertheless, everyone has been laying with me through all these years and I feel blessed to have so many fans.

I want to tell you a story, man. About 12 years ago, I was doing a show with Little Richard in Chicago. It was an outside show. One of those sets that happened at three or four o’ clock in the afternoon. A lady come up to me around two o’ clock and told me that there was someone at the gate that wanted to say hello. My manager said, ‘Bobby Rush can’t go to no gate.’ About 30 minutes later she comes back and says, man, she still waitin’ on you at the gate. I wanted to go so bad, but I couldn’t override my management at that moment in time. About three hours more go by and she come back and give me a look. She said, "Bobby, she still over there waitin’ on you at that gate." So, I sneaked off from my manager and scooted over to that gate. There was a lady there. She was 102 years old with one leg. She had another woman pushing her around who was about half her age. She said, "Bobby Rush, I just love you. Here’s a picture of me and my daughter taken with you back in 1955.’ 1955. 1955. She went on to say, ‘my daughter passed when she was pregnant with the young lady pushing me right now. This is my granddaughter." 102 years old. Still coming to see me. That got me, man. I had her waiting on me for three or four hours. I ain’t never doing that again. Those are the kinds of things that keep me going and keep me alive.

But, anyhow, man. When I come to see y’all in Portsmouth I’ll have my full band with me. I’m gonna do some singing, some dancing, some storytelling, and I’ll open the floor for some questions, which I’ll gladly answer. I’m just gonna be there to entertain you and show you a good time.

Seacoastonline: OK, last question about the road… I couldn’t help but focus in on the odometer in the van you’re cruising around in in the film, “I Am the Blues.” Thing read like 647,000 miles. That’s gotta be the van you travel around in, right? Have you replaced the engine in that thing, or is that just the greatest vehicle known to man? That’s impressive man…

Rush: (Laughs.) Ohhhhhhh, man. (Laughs.) Oh, man, why you wanna mention that? You know what? I’m a bluesman, and you do whatchoo gotta do to get you around. Oh, God, that’s good, man. I can’t believe you done picked up on that. I’ll be real with you though. It don’t take long to get to 600,000 miles on a van when you spend your life driving to make a living. I’ve had a few of those vans! (Laughs.) This life takes a lot of miles, man. A lot of effort. A lot of wear and tear. But, when you get to the end of the day, and people come up to shake your hand, give you a hug, offer a smile. It takes all the wear and tear and stress right out of it. Because then you enthused, and I think we already covered that, Chris, I’m enthused with who I am and what I do. And if people wanna keep coming out to see Bobby Rush, well, I guess it’s on me to keep on putting them miles on my van. She ain’t been nothing but good to me. Just like all of you.

Information: bobbyrushbluesman.com

Tickets: jimmysoncongress.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth's Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club to host legend Bobby Rush