Album Mini-review: Bobby Rush — Chicken Heads: A 50 Year History of Bobby Rush
File next to: James Brown, Buddy Guy, Otis Redding
Bobby Rush‘s musical career has spanned fifty years, at least twenty record labels, and most American popular music genres. He’s tough to pigeonhole: Rush’s music encompasses soul, r&b, funk, blues, and more. He’s earned several awards and scored chart singles. Compiling a career-spanning survey of his work is a daunting task, but that’s exactly what Omnivore Recordings has done here. Seventy-four tracks across four discs cover Rush’s music from a relatively slow start in the mid 1960s through his most fertile period in the 1970s and ’80s. The gorgeous color booklet serves up loads of archival photos along with an informative Bill Dahl essay and a heartfelt introduction from the project’s coproducer Cary Baker. Rush deserves mention in the same breath as names like Otis Redding and James Brown. Still active today at age 82, with Chicken Heads, American treasure Bobby Rush is finally getting his due.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4000-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he is co-teaching a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: 40 Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.