Did You Ever Love A Woman - Music

Rufus Thomas March 26 1917 – December 15 2001 Was A Rhythm And Blues And Soul Singer From Memphis Tennessee United States Who Recorded On Sun Records In The 1950s And On Stax Records In The 1960s And 1970s. He Was The Father Of Soul Singer Carla Thomas Best Known For The Classic Song "B-A-B-Y" And Keyboard Player Marvell Thomas. A Third Daughter Vaneese A Former French Teacher For Years Had A Recording Studio In Upstate New York Where She Sang For Television Commercials. The Above Biography Taken From Wikipedia - Rufus Thomas The Crown Prince Of Dance An Early Rock & Roll DJ Memphis Soul Icon And Creator Of The Funky Chicken. Artist Biography Below By Richie Unterberger Few Of Rock & Roll's Founding Figures Are As Likable As Rufus Thomas. From The 1940s Onward He Has Personified Memphis Music His Small But Witty Cameo Role In Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train A Film Which Satirizes And Enshrines The City's Role In Popular Culture Was Entirely Appropriate. As A Recording Artist He Wasn't A Major Innovator But He Could Always Be Depended Upon For Some Good Silly And/or Outrageous Fun With His Soul Dance Tunes. He Was One Of The Few Rock Or Soul Stars To Reach His Commercial And Artistic Peak In Middle Age And Was A Crucial Mentor To Many Important Memphis Blues Rock And Soul Musicians. Thomas Was Already A Professional Entertainer In The Mid-'30s When He Was A Comedian With The Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He Recorded Music As Early As 1941 But Really Made His Mark On The Memphis Music Scene As A Deejay On WDIA One Of The Few Black-Owned Stations Of The Era. He Also Ran Talent Shows On Memphis' Famous Beale Street That Helped Showcase The Emerging Skills Of Such Influential Figures As B.B. King Bobby Bland Junior Parker Ike Turner And Roscoe Gordon. Thomas Had His First Success As A Recording Artist In 1953 With "Bear Cat " A Funny Answer Record To Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." It Made Number Three On The R&B Charts Giving Sun Records Its First National Hit Though Some Of The Sweetness Went Out Of The Triumph After Sun Owner Sam Phillips Lost A Lawsuit For Plagiarizing The Original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller Tune. Thomas Strangely Would Make Only One Other Record For Sun And Recorded Only Sporadically Throughout The Rest Of The 1950s. Thomas And His Daughter Carla Would Become The First Stars For The Stax Label For Whom They Recorded A Duet In 1959 "'Cause I Love You" When The Company Was Still Known As Satellite . In The '60s Carla Would Become One Of Stax's Biggest Stars. On His Own Rufus Wasn't As Successful As His Daughter But Issued A Steady Stream Of Decent Dance/novelty Singles. These Were Not Deep Or Emotional Statements Or Meant To Be. Vaguely Prefiguring Elements Of Funk The Accent Was On The Stripped-Down Groove And Rufus' Good-Time Vocals Which Didn't Take Himself Or Anything Seriously. The Biggest By Far Was "Walking The Dog " Which Made The Top Ten In 1963 And Was Covered By The Rolling Stones On Their First Album. Thomas Hit His Commercial Peak In The Early '70s When "Do The Funky Chicken " " Do The Push And Pull " And "The Breakdown" All Made The R&B Top Five. As The Song Titles Themselves Make Clear Funk Was Now Driving His Sound Rather Than Blues Or Soul. Thomas Drew Upon His Vaudeville Background To Put Them Over On-Stage With Fancy Footwork That Displayed Remarkable Agility For A Man Well Into His 50s. The Collapse Of The Stax Label In The Mid-'70s Meant The End Of His Career Basically As It Did For Many Other Artists With The Company. In 2001 Rufus Thomas Was Inducted Into The Blues Hall Of Fame. Later That Year On December 15 He Died At St. Francis Hospital In Memphis TN. The Above Biography Taken From All Music Biography - Rufus Thomas By Richie Unterberger read less