I ain't studdin' ya My American blues story

Review by Booklist Review

He may not be the best-known Chicago bluesman, but he did win a Grammy, for Porcupine Meat, in 2017 at age 83, and Bobby Rush sure has a story to share. His fine memoir consists of short, conversational chapters written in a leisurely, friendly, and down-home style. "I am a proud bluesman," he writes. "And I am a product of the American South." Born Emmett Ellis Jr. in "a shotgun house" in Louisiana, he moved to Chicago in 1953 and began befriending and playing with some of the city's blues greats, including Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed. His story is both unique and emblematic. He writes of experiencing racism at a young age and the never-ending restrictions associated with it ("If you knew someone who had been on the train that went anywhere--he was like an astronaut that had been to Mars and rocketed back to Earth"), but he also writes about the joy of being a part of the Chicago blues scene. In closing he reveals that he survived COVID-19 and is "Glad to be alive." Amen.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

---

Review by Library Journal Review

In a series of snapshot vignettes, musician Rush's memoir, cowritten by Powell (coauthor, My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire), offers an expressive sojourn through the world of American blues and R&B, from the post-World War II era to the present. Rush discusses his hardscrabble childhood; born Emmett Ellis Jr. in 1933, he grew up in Louisiana and Arkansas in a family of 10 children, crafting instruments from broom wire and bottles. His parents were both Black, but he says his mother was "light-passing"; as a boy, he was confused by differences in how his mother and father were treated. The book ends with Rush's 2017 Grammy win and 2006 induction into the Blues Hall of Fame. In between, there are enthralling anecdotes about the greats (Muddy Waters, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner), the challenges of life on the road, and the vagaries of Rush's home bases of Chicago and Jackson, MI. Other intriguing sidelights include Rush's work as a bricklayer and barbecue chef, and his tours across Europe and less-visited areas of the United States. He also discusses the tragic loss of three of his children to sickle-cell anemia. VERDICT Rush describes the rewards and difficulties of the bluesman's life with a refreshing, self-deprecating honesty. His story will appeal to musicians and readers interested in race in the United States.--Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

A richly detailed account of a bluesman's full life. Although Rush (b. 1933) is a Grammy winner and an inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame, the showman hailed as "The King of the Chitlin Circuit" has never achieved the widespread renown of B.B. King, Muddy Waters, or others whose names are sprinkled throughout this vibrant and personable account. This makes his fresh story more intriguing because he didn't really achieve his acclaim until after the turn of the century, as a veteran artist in his 60s and 70s who had returned to his native South after decades knocking around the blues scene of Chicago. He seems somewhat like the last man standing--he and Buddy Guy, with whom he has forged a latter-day friendship, recounted here. The author chronicles an eventful life: formative years in Louisiana, where the son of a preacher first played on homemade instruments; musical apprenticeship in Arkansas, including a stint in a minstrel troupe, after leaving home in his early teens; his move to the blues capital of Chicago before he was old enough to drink. Though he made the right friends and developed something of a following--particularly in smaller cities in the Midwest--he never landed the big hit or lucrative record contracts. "From 1964 to 1971, my first seven years of recording, I had been on seven different labels," writes Rush, who augmented his income with "day jobs, night jobs, a hot dog truck, and a barbecue joint." He found a following in out-of-the-way joints, playing for older Black audiences, while other blues artists were finding favor with a younger, mostly White crowd. He became well known in the juke joints as a flashy entertainer, but his recent career surge has found him and his music returning to a rawer, roots-y sound. This book is an entertaining tale of "how I became an overnight sensation. It just took me fifty years to do so." A fascinating story well told. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---