Rufus Thomas – Timeless Funk

Vinyl 12"

Greetings to the new generation of Hip\-Hop and Shake Your Butt music. The man behind Timeless Funk aint exactly no Spring Funky Chicken, yet he is still the Funkiest Soul to rock this here nation. Rufus Thomas is the Soul King and Grand Daddy of Funk; as his generation knew him then, as we know him today. In the beginning, the Power of the Most High said: Let it be funky. Then there was Rufus. Rufus Thomas was born in 1917 in a small town outside of Memphis, Tennessee. At the age of ten he became a tap dancer. In the 1930s, Rufus worked professionally at the infamous Palace Theatre, Memphis, TN, as M.C., performing comedy and dance routines. During the early 1940s, Rufus began his singing career. He also continued his M.C. acts at various notable nightclubs and theatres, for amateur nights. He was then considered to be a triple threat: dancer, comedian and singer! The notables he crossed hands with in those days were B.B. King, Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace. In the 1950s Rufus became one of the Hip\-pest DJs in Memphis TN W.I.D.A. radio station and is affiliated with the company to this day. He was quoted as saying Im young and loose and full of juice. At those times he recorded Bear\-Cat for Sun Records, their first R\x26B hit for the label.

All\-right Kiddies, now I take you into the light of Rufus in the 1960s. When most of us were on our way to our happy existence, Rufus was already 30 years in the entertainment circuit. He was affiliated with STAX Records. With daughter Carla Thomas, he gave STAX their first hit, the duet, Cause I Love You. Rufus world famous hits continued under this label, pouring songs out such as Memphis Train, Can Your Monkey Do The Dog, The foregoing is merely a scratch on the surface of a remarkable man, who has dedicated most of his life to the entertainment business. Its kept short and sweet so you know what you are dealing with. Rufus was quoted as saying, I aint a star, I dont want to be a star. Stars have a habit of falling. Im like the moon. Clouds may come and cover it occasionally, but its always there, and always shining. Its just sometimes you dont see it for a while but itll be back. If it wasnt for Rufus, Soul Music would be missing one of its loudest sons. If he didnt exist, somebody would have to get up and invent him. And Funk? The man practically invented the stuff with James Brown. Now at the age of 75 The Oldest Teenager Alive check him out on this recording of Timeless Funk. Well agree and leave you with this note: Rufus is the Moon that brought us what was Funky then to what is Funky now. So let us get Buck Wild on the Funky side of things.