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  2. Rufus Thomas - Wikipedia

    • Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Reco… See more

    Early life

    Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, on the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a sharecropper. He moved with his family to Memphis around 1920. His mother was a "church wo… See more

    Early career

    Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. H… See more

    Stax Records

    In 1960 he made his first recordings with his 17-year-old daughter Carla, for the Satellite label in Memphis, which changed its name to Stax the following year. The song, "Cause I Love You", featuring a rhythm borrowed fr… See more

    Later career

    Thomas continued to record and toured internationally, billing himself as "The World's Oldest Teenager" and describing himself as "the funkiest man alive". He "drew upon his vaudeville background to put [his son… See more

    Death and legacy

    He died of heart failure in 2001, at the age of 84, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. He is buried next to his wife Lorene, who died in 2000, at the New Park Cemetery in Memphis.
    Writer … See more

    In popular culture

    Bobby Brown portrays Thomas in the BET television series American Soul.
    A character named Rufus in “Kill Bill: Volume 2” played with Rufus Thomas.
    His name is referenced on the Beastie Boys album … See more

    Further reading

    • Greenberg, Steve. Do the Funky Somethin': The Best of Rufus Thomas (liner notes), Rhino Records, 1996. See more

     
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