Before Stax: The Complete 50's Recordings

Performer: Rufus Thomas
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: If you know Rufus Thomas only as the Stax soul legend who turned out classic R&B tunes like "Walkin' the Dog," you're about to be schooled. Before he started pumping out those gems of Southern soul, Thomas had his finger in a bunch of other musical pies, including jump blues, boogie woogie, and even a little proto-rockabilly. BEFORE STAX: THE COMPLETE '50s RECORDINGS chronicles this developmental period of Thomas's career nicely, revealing largely unknown parts of his artistic personality. His recording of "Bear Cat," for instance, an answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog," came out on Sun Records just a couple of years before Elvis Presley made rock-&-roll history with his own version on the same label. And that's just the tip of the iceberg; forget what you think you know about Rufus Thomas and dig into some soulful American history.

The Crown Prince of Dance, Rufus Thomas is one of the most significant figures in Memphis music history, and is also an important contributor to the development of early rock & roll, classic Southern soul, and funk. Thomas began singing in the 1940s and made his name as a radio DJ in Memphis before recording the classic Sun Records side "Bear Cat." Thomas signed on with the legendary Stax Records in the early '60s where he released a series of fun yet hard-hitting soul records, many of which--"Do the Funky Chicken," "Do the Penguin," "Walking the Dog"--were directives for the latest dance crazes. Although Thomas was a genial entertainer, he was also one mean soulster, a reputation he upheld dutifully until his death in 2001.

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