Bobby Rush

GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is pleased to welcome 3 time GRAMMY winner Bobby Rush back to the Sanders Soundstage for an intimate performance and discussion about his 60-plus year career.

Bobby Rush has been making records for nearly 70 years and has more than 400 recordings, 75 career releases and now 28 studio albums to his name. A three-time GRAMMY winner, Rush most recently won the Best Traditional Blues Album GRAMMY for his 2023 album All My Love For You. As one of the last Black bluesmen to emerge out of and triumph in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s in Chicago, Rush has recorded for more than 20 labels, from Checker/Chess and ABC to Philly Int’l and Rounder/Concord. In 2023, Rush released his 28th studio album All My Love For You, which was released via his own label Deep Rush Records in collaboration with Nasvhille-based Thirty Tigers.

Born Emmett Ellis, Jr. outside Homer, La., Rush became a professional blues musician while still a teenager, adopting his stage name Bobby Rush so as to not disrespect his preacher father. Among the artists Rush has worked with include legendary slide guitarist Elmore James, harmonica ace Little Walter, guitarist Freddie King, and blues greats Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, among others. Rush has also won numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. He’s won 16 Blues Music Awards including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award at the 36th annual Blues Music Awards. Rush was the first bluesman to perform at the Great Wall of China, attracting an audience of more than 40,000 and earning him the title of “China's Ambassador of the Blues.” In 2008, he was honored with a marker on Mississippi Blues Trail. In 2020, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi honored Rush with the annual Crossroads of American Music Award, which honors an artist who has made significant musical contributions influenced by the creativity born in the cradle of American music. Most recently, Bobby took home the GRAMMY award for "Best Traditional Blue Album" at this year's 66th Annual GRAMMY awards for his album "All My Love For You".