[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF RUFUS THOMAS, JR.

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                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2012

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the legacy and 
accomplishments of Rufus Thomas, Jr., one of the most charismatic and 
beloved performers of rhythm & blues, funk and soul music. Mr. Thomas 
was born in the tiny hamlet of Cayce, Mississippi on March 27, 1917 and 
moved to Memphis when he was two years old. He passed away in 2001 and 
would have turned 95 years of age this year. Before his passing, he had 
contributed significantly to the Memphis music scene and his legacy 
lives on through his daughter, singer Carla Thomas, and his son, 
keyboardist Marvell Thomas. In 1961, Carla Thomas' ``Gee Whiz (Look at 
His Eyes)'' charted within the Top 10 on the pop chart and within the 
Top 5 on the R&B chart. Marvell Thomas was keyboardist and arranger for 
such greats as The Staple Singers, Etta James and Albert King, and co-
produced Isaac Hayes' album, ``Hot Buttered Soul.''
  Entertaining people came naturally for Rufus. In his youth, Rufus 
earned pocket change by tap dancing on Beale Street. In his teenage 
years, he performed with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a traveling 
vaudeville show, as a tap dancer. He comprised one-half of the comedy 
team known as Rufus and Bones with Robert ``Bones'' Couch. Throughout 
the 1940s and 1950s he hosted Amateur Night at the Palace Theatre, 
where he introduced young performers such as B.B. King, Bobby ``Blue'' 
Bland and countless others.
  In the late 1940s, Memphis radio station WDIA AM emerged as the first 
radio station in the country to target black audiences with black DJs 
playing black-oriented programming. Rufus landed a job there in 1948 
and soon became one of the station's most popular DJs. His 2-hour 
nighttime show, ``Hoot and Holler'' premiered and helped launch the 
careers of music icons such as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Isaac Hayes, 
Roscoe Gordon and Junior Parker. Rufus continued to be an on-air 
personality at WDIA, influencing musicians in the Memphis area for the 
next 40 years, while still creating and performing his own music.
  Rufus played an indispensable role in the birth of Memphis' two great 
record companies, Sun Records and Stax Records. His 1953 single, ``Bear 
Cat,'' an answer to Big Mama Thornton's then-popular record, ``Hound 
Dog,'' became the first national hit for the upstart record label. In 
1959, Rufus and his then-teenage daughter Carla became the first stars 
of the new Stax Records with their single, ``'Cause I Love You.'' Rufus 
would go on to release a string of popular songs for Stax, including 
favorites such as ``Walking The Dog'' (1964) and ``Do The Funky 
Chicken'' (1969). Throughout his career, Rufus appeared on the 
Billboard charts 29 times with the help of such singles as ``Push and 
Pull'' (1970) and ``The Breakdown'' (1971).
  His life and seventy-year career were inextricably linked with the 
development of black entertainment in the 20th century and his work 
earned him an array of accolades. In January 1992, he was honored by 
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, named as an ``Early Influence.'' That 
same year the Rhythm and Blues Foundation honored him with its 
prestigious Pioneer Award. In 1996, he was featured as a performer at 
the Olympic Games in Atlanta. For his 80th birthday in 1997, the city 
of Memphis renamed Hernando Street as Rufus Thomas Boulevard at the 
intersection of Beale Street where the Palace Theater once stood. In 
1998, Rufus received an award from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 
recognition of his five decades of promoting black music on radio.
  Off stage, Thomas was entirely serious about his work as an 
ambassador for Memphis and its music. In his characteristically 
forthright fashion, he told the journalist Richard Knight: ``Memphis 
has made more of a contribution to music than any other one city in the 
whole world, and that includes New York.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask the House 
to join me in remembering the life and legacy of Rufus Thomas, Jr.

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