I Ain't Studdin' Ya: My American Blues Story

by Bobby Rush, Herb Powell (With)

Overview

Experience music history with this memoir by one of the last of the genuine old school Blues and R&B legends, the Grammy-winning dynamic showman Bobby Rush.

This memoir charts the extraordinary rise to fame of living blues legend, Bobby Rush. Born Emmett Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, he adopted the stage name Bobby Rush out of respect for his father, a pastor. As a teenager, Rush acquired his first real guitar and started playing in juke joints in Little Rock, Arkansas, donning a fake mustache to trick club owners into thinking he was old enough to gain entry. He led his first band in Arkansas between Little Rock and Pine Bluff in the 1950s. It was there he first had Elmore James play in his band. Rush later relocated to Chicago to pursue his musical career and started to work with Earl Hooker, Luther Allison, and Freddie King, and sat in with many of his musical heroes, such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed and Little Walter. Rush eventually began leading his own band in the 1960s, crafting his own distinct style of funky blues, and recording a succession of singles for various labels. It wasn't until the early 1970s that Rush finally scored a hit with "Chicken Heads." More recordings followed, including an album which went on to be listed in the Top 10 blues albums of the 1970s by Rolling Stone and a handful of regional jukebox favorites including "Sue" and "I Ain't Studdin' Ya."

And Rush's career shows no signs of slowing down now. The man once beloved for performing in local jukejoints is now headlining major music/blues festivals, clubs, and theaters across the U.S. and as far as Japan and Australia. At age eighty-six, he is still on the road for over 200 days a year. His lifelong hectic tour schedule has earned him the affectionate title "King of the Chitlin' Circuit," from Rolling Stone. In 2007, he earned the distinction of being the first blues artist to play at the Great Wall of China. His renowned stage act features his famed shake dancers, who personify his funky blues and his ribald sense of humor. He was featured in Martin Scorcese's The Blues docuseries on PBS, a documentary film called Take Me to the River, performed with Dan Aykroyd on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and most recently had a cameo in the Golden Globe nominated Netflix film, Dolemite Is My Name, starring Eddie Murphy. He was recently given the highest Blues Music Award honor of B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. His songs have also been featured in TV shows and films including HBO's Ballers and major motion pictures like Black Snake Moan, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Considered by many to be the greatest bluesman currently performing, this book will give readers unparalleled access into the man, the myth, the legend: Bobby Rush.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306874802
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	495,002
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Bobby Rush is a Grammy award-winning blues musician who has recorded over 400 songs over the course of five decades in the music industry. He is a Blues Hall of Famer, a 13-time Blues Music Award winner, and a B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. I Aint't Studdin' Ya is his first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I

Son 5

Hay Wire 10

Give and Take 14

Skin 16

The Beautiful Gifts 21

Sing It Again, Daddy 23

Something in the Soil 27

The Money of Nature 29

Mule Hustle 32

Joe Jesus 34

New 36

Sherrill 37

Just a Boy 41

Pictures in My Head 43

Trust and Choices 46

Enormous Energy 49

Leaving Home 52

What's Left Unsaid 53

Shot 54

A Drive to Tutwiler 56

You Gotta Git 60

What a Life 63

The Way In 66

I've Gotta Name 71

Going to a House Party 73

Juke 75

Mud, Waiter, and Jimmy 79

The Kid 81

Benefits of Being a Bullshitter 83

Part 2

Chicago, by Way of Memphis 87

Cityfied 89

My Fake Cousin Otis 91

Hazel 92

Howlin' from the Heavens 93

Chitlins 95

White Devils, Green Money 98

Heard and Not Seen 101

Sober Living 102

The Bottle, Papa Charley, Daddy, and Me 104

Integrate? What's That? 106

JB 109

The Little Rock Talk 112

Little Walter 115

Muddy 120

Respect the People 122

Hot Dog 124

Rock Island 126

Someday 130

Barber Shop Mud 133

Oh Lord, What Am I Gonna Do? 136

Didn't Even Start Her Race 141

Vee-Jay 143

The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me 145

MLK 147

Bobby's Barbecue House 149

Bobby Rush's Gotta Brand-New Dance 152

Hope, Dead or Alive 154

Ray 159

Thrashin' 160

Close 164

My Kinda Song 167

When We Lost the Ladies 169

Embarrassed and Embraced 171

Please, Lord, Not My Face 173

Exposure of a Whole Nother Color, Brother 176

I'm Sure-I Hope-I Believe 178

Rush Hour 179

Little Milton's Word to the Wise 181

A Different Yardstick 183

Sue 185

Down-Home Smash 188

Ghost of Mississippi 190

The Big Girls 193

Eye for Eye, Tit for Tat 195

A Joyful Blues 197

What's Poured into Your Pitcher? 199

I Ain't Studdin' Ya 200

Oakdale Prison 202

Old Friends 205

New Friends 208

The Blues We Keep 210

Wichita Mercy 212

Century's End 214

Part 3

My People 217

Dustin' Off the Harp 220

Misery and the Miles 222

Simple Things 224

Brighter Lights, Same Cities 225

The King of the Chitlin Circuit 228

Folk Funk 229

Bobby Rush Inc. 231

Southern Energy 233

Pride and Joy 236

Katrina 238

Honors of the Heart 240

China 242

Missed Rufus 245

Last Train Home 247

Jeff 249

Blinddog and Dr. John 251

Haunted 253

Big-Pond Vision 255

Magic Bag 258

Champagne 261

Denise 263

Home Again 264

Sitting on Top of the Blues 266

Down-Home Love 267

Last Men Standing 269

But I Didn't Cross Out 271

Hey, Bobby Rush 273

My Way and the Way of Patience 275

Junior 278

Acknowledgments 281

Discography, Awards, and Honors 283

Index 291

Editorial Reviews

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing my friend Bobby for over forty years. He’s a born entertainer and a riot.”—Mavis Staples

“Merely living and surviving nine decades would be marked as a huge accomplishment for anyone but then pack in thousands of nights filled with music, dancing, laughter, raucousness, professionalism, showmanship, all done with passion plus compassion and you have the life of Bobby Rush.  This book is a must read for all serious followers of the American Rhythm and Blues cultural explosion by one of its extant founders.”—Dan Aykroyd

“Bobby Rush’s I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya could be called ‘the spark of stayin' in the moment.’  Bobby’s indefatigable spirit and energy leap from the page of this delightful chronicle of a life well lived, and he is always in the moment. Bobby may be the only bluesman alive who can speak of a personal journey that extends from picking cotton in his youth to an active recording and performing career in 2021. Bobby personally knew many of the mythic artists who we think of when we explore the history of the blues. I recommend this book to any lover of the blues and any lover a good story.”—Jerry Harrison, founding member of Talking Heads

“It’s Bobby Rush! Bobby is the real deal with an investment of a lifetime of raw effort and true talent. It's made Bobby Rush the overnight sensation he was destined to become. This is it!”—Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top

"Bobby Rush rode the blues from the southern farm to the northern city and then back home, becoming one of the kings of the modern Chitlin Circuit. He’s got a great memory, a sharp eye for details, and he’s always been a great entertainer, so I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya is full of great tales. Reading this is like listening to Bobby Rush talk us through his life, which is a great contemporary blues story."—Robert Gordon, author of It Came from Memphis and Can’t Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters

“Bobby Rush is one of my favorite performers, and this book is as smart, funny, and soulful as his shows. He is also a profoundly thoughtful man and his warmth and wisdom come through on every page. Rush has been everywhere, known everyone, and is the greatest road warrior on the blues scene. He has eighty years of wonderful stories, and I'm already waiting for volume two.”—Elijah Wald, author of Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues and How the Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music

"Rush’s memoir... is frank about many things, including the reason he’s received so many standing ovations in recent years." —New York Times

"Rush never fails to put on an electrifying performance, and his entertaining autobiography is no exception. Reading this is like sitting backstage with Rush listening to him tell story after story of his life and long career."—No Depression

"In I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya, Rush gives readers intimate access into his life and career like never before.... Bobby Rush is the American success story. Hail to the King!"
 —American Blues Scene

“In addition to its entertainment and cultural value, Rush’s memoir holds the wisdom he’s gained during a long and active life.” —The Advocate

"A fascinating story well told... A richly detailed account of a bluesman’s full life."
 —Kirkus Reviews

"[I Ain't Studdin' Ya features] short, conversational chapters written in a leisurely, friendly, and down-home style.” —Booklist

"I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya reads like the raw and mostly uncut version of how Emmett Ellis, Jr. became Bobby Rush."—Jackson Advocate Online

"In I Ain’t Studdin' Ya, Rush recalls with great detail his lifelong journey in the music business beginning with his father pulling out an old harmonica from his overalls pocket where a young Rush instantly got hooked on the blues... Rush’s determination and hard work is admirable and evident in his life story."—Houston Press

A "SUMMER MUST-READ" [Slate, Chicago Tribune] 

From the Publisher

06/01/2021

In a series of snapshot vignettes, musician Rush's memoir, cowritten by Powell (coauthor, My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire), offers an expressive sojourn through the world of American blues and R&B, from the post-World War II era to the present. Rush discusses his hardscrabble childhood; born Emmett Ellis Jr. in 1933, he grew up in Louisiana and Arkansas in a family of 10 children, crafting instruments from broom wire and bottles. His parents were both Black, but he says his mother was "light-passing"; as a boy, he was confused by differences in how his mother and father were treated. The book ends with Rush's 2017 Grammy win and 2006 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. In between, there are enthralling anecdotes about the greats (Muddy Waters, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner), the challenges of life on the road, and the vagaries of Rush's home bases of Chicago and Jackson, MI. Other intriguing sidelights include Rush's work as a bricklayer and barbecue chef, and his tours across Europe and less-visited areas of the United States. He also discusses the tragic loss of three of his children to sickle-cell anemia. VERDICT Rush describes the rewards and difficulties of the bluesman's life with a refreshing, self-deprecating honesty. His story will appeal to musicians and readers interested in race in the United States.—Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Library Journal

2021-04-13
A richly detailed account of a bluesman’s full life.

Although Rush (b. 1933) is a Grammy winner and an inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame, the showman hailed as “The King of the Chitlin Circuit” has never achieved the widespread renown of B.B. King, Muddy Waters, or others whose names are sprinkled throughout this vibrant and personable account. This makes his fresh story more intriguing because he didn’t really achieve his acclaim until after the turn of the century, as a veteran artist in his 60s and 70s who had returned to his native South after decades knocking around the blues scene of Chicago. He seems somewhat like the last man standing—he and Buddy Guy, with whom he has forged a latter-day friendship, recounted here. The author chronicles an eventful life: formative years in Louisiana, where the son of a preacher first played on homemade instruments; musical apprenticeship in Arkansas, including a stint in a minstrel troupe, after leaving home in his early teens; his move to the blues capital of Chicago before he was old enough to drink. Though he made the right friends and developed something of a following—particularly in smaller cities in the Midwest—he never landed the big hit or lucrative record contracts. “From 1964 to 1971, my first seven years of recording, I had been on seven different labels,” writes Rush, who augmented his income with “day jobs, night jobs, a hot dog truck, and a barbecue joint.” He found a following in out-of-the-way joints, playing for older Black audiences, while other blues artists were finding favor with a younger, mostly White crowd. He became well known in the juke joints as a flashy entertainer, but his recent career surge has found him and his music returning to a rawer, roots-y sound. This book is an entertaining tale of “how I became an overnight sensation. It just took me fifty years to do so.”

A fascinating story well told.

Kirkus Reviews

The ribald 87-year-old blues legend Bobby Rush reads the introduction to his thoughtful memoir, while Leon Nixon narrates the balance of the production. The result is an easy-to-hear and authentic-sounding account of how a gutsy 12-year-old Louisiana guitar player rose from poverty to develop a stage act in Black clubs on the so-called Chitlin Circuit and become a big-city name in blues and pop music. Though Rush’s speaking voice and life are decidedly rough-hewn, he’s a likable storyteller whose gift for narrative makes this a compelling audiobook. Nixon’s performance is perfect for this type of author. His clear voice and diction don’t get in the way of capturing the grit and honor in Rush’s homespun experiences as a Black musician in mid-century America. T.W. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2021 - AudioFile

The ribald 87-year-old blues legend Bobby Rush reads the introduction to his thoughtful memoir, while Leon Nixon narrates the balance of the production. The result is an easy-to-hear and authentic-sounding account of how a gutsy 12-year-old Louisiana guitar player rose from poverty to develop a stage act in Black clubs on the so-called Chitlin Circuit and become a big-city name in blues and pop music. Though Rush’s speaking voice and life are decidedly rough-hewn, he’s a likable storyteller whose gift for narrative makes this a compelling audiobook. Nixon’s performance is perfect for this type of author. His clear voice and diction don’t get in the way of capturing the grit and honor in Rush’s homespun experiences as a Black musician in mid-century America. T.W. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2021 - AudioFile