Bobby Rush: 2019

I had the chance to welcome blues legend Bobby Rush for an interview and performance. Rush is quick to point out that he and Buddy Guy are the last men standing of an original generation that included the vaunted Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Elmore James.

This vibrant 86-year-old ran with that pack and offers firsthand recollections of each, including a bawdy tale of a long-ago Waters birthday party, and how the tempestuous Wolf had a bite as bad as his bark.

Rush takes it easy; he's good natured but quick-tongued. You can tell that he's never missed a trick and isn't slowing down. Bobby performs a new song from his latest album, Sitting On Top Of the Blues, called "Get Out Of Here (Dog Named Bo)" and raids his own songbook for two lost gems, "Garbage Man" and "Chicken Heads."

This is backcountry Louisiana talkin' here, and Bobby minces no words. For a guy whose life journey has taken him from that humble start to the Grammy awards, performing at the White House, and being featured in Martin Scorsese's "The Blues," Rush takes it all in stride.

[Session recorded: 8/21/19; Engineer: James Ordway; Producer: Jeremy Rainer]