Otis Rush

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Otis Rush (born , 1935 in Philadelphia, Mississippi) learned the guitar from his two older brothers and by listening to records, he also learned to play the harmonica. At the end of 1948 Rush and his sister left Mississippi for Chicago. In In 1954 again he started to study the guitar more closely after seeing Muddy Waters and Jimmie Rogers perform at local nightclubs. At first he imitated Waters's sound, but this changed as he came under the influence of T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. Soon Rush fronted his own band under the name of Little Otis.
During next years Rush gained enough respect in Chicago blues circles and soon composer and bass player Willie Dixon helped him to signup recording contract with Cobra Records in 1956. Rush released eight singles then.
After Cobra Records went bankrupt in 1959, Rush landed a recording contract with Chess in 1960. In the 1960s, Rush began playing in other cities in the U.S. and also to Europe, most notably the American Folk Blues Festival.
In 1994, Rush released Ain't Enough Comin' In, the first studio album in 16 years. Any Place I'm Goin' followed in 1998, and Rush earned his first Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1999.

Official website: www.otisrush.net

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