The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin'

Performer: Rufus Thomas
Artist: Carla Thomas; Booker T. & The MG's; Godchildren Of Soul; The Drapels; The Mar-Keys
Producer: Steve Greenberg (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas (vocals); The Mar-Keys; The Drapels; Booker T. & The MG's; Godchildren Of Soul. Includes liner notes by Steve Greenberg. Personnel: Rufus Thomas (vocals). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Author: Steve Greenberg. The Best of Rufus Thomas: Do the Funky Somethin' is an overdue, career-spanning collection of Thomas' best material, centering around his Stax hits from the '60s and early '70s. The whole "dog" series of novelty dance songs from 1963-1964 is here, as well as the hit "Jump Back" and a clutch of Stax singles that weren't hits but became pretty well-known anyway, like "Sister's Got a Boyfriend" and "Sophisticated Sissy." There are also the early-'70s funk-dance hits "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," "The Breakdown," and "Do the Funky Penguin," a couple of '60s duets with his daughter Carla, and his 1953 blues single "Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog)," the first hit on Sun Records. A few other compilations have gone into specific phases of his career in greater depth, but this is certainly the best overview of a man who offered some of the funkiest and funniest Memphis soul around. ~ Richie Unterberger

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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