After moving to
Chicago in
1948, Rush made a name for himself playing in clubs on both the South Side and West Side blues scenes. From
1956 to
1958, he recorded for the Cobra label. His first single "
I Can't Quit You Baby" in
1956 reached No. 6 on the Billboard's R&B Chart. During his tenure with Cobra, he recorded some of his well known songs such as "Double Trouble" and "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" (both covered by
Eric Clapton).
After Cobra Records went bankrupt in
1959, Rush landed a contract with
Chess Records in
1960. He
recorded 8 tracks for the label, but none of them were released at the time. (6 tracks came out on "Door To Door" album, a compilation with
Albert King in
1969) He also went into the studio for
Duke Records in
1962, but only one single "Homework" (known to rock fans by a cover done by
The J. Geils Band) b/w "I Have To Laugh" (Duke 356) was released from the label. In
1965, he recorded for
Vanguard which can be heard on the label's compilation album
Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol.2.
In the 60's, Rush began playing in other cities in the
U.S. and also to
Europe, most notably
the American Folk Blues Festival.
In
1969, the album
Mourning in the Morning was released on
Cotillion Records. Recorded at the
FAME Studios in
Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album was produced by
Michael Bloomfield and
Nick Gravenites of
Electric Flag. The sound that incorporated soul and rock was a brand new direction for Rush.
In
1971, Rush recorded the album
Right Place, Wrong Time in
San Francisco for
Capitol Records, but Capitol somehow decided not to release it. The album finally saw the light of day in
1976 when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by
P-Vine Records in
Japan. Bullfrog Records in the U.S. released it in the U.S. soon after. The album generally has since gained a reputation as one of the best work by Rush.
In the 70's, he also released some albums from
Delmark Records and also from
Sonet Records in Europe, but by the end of the decade, he literally stopped performing and recording.
Rush made a come back in
1985 making a U.S. tour and releasing the live album
Tops recorded at
the San Francisco Blues Festival.
In
1994, Rush released
Ain't Enough Comin' In, the first newly recorded studio album in 16 years.
Any Place I'm Goin' followed in
1998, and Rush earned his first
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in
1999.
Though he has not recorded new studio album since, he continued to tour and perform. However, he suffered a
stroke in
2004 which has kept him from performing. It has been reported that he has since recovered, (albeit not to the extent that would allow resuming his career).
In
2006, Rush released his latest
CD, Live and From San Francisco on Blues Express Records, a live recording from
1999. A video footage of the same show had been released as DVD
Live Part 1 in
2003 from the label.
Rush has two daughters, Lena and Sophia.
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