Rufus thomas walking the dog
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#Rufus thomas walking the dog professional#
He made his professional singing debut at the Elks Club on Beale Street, filling in for another singer at the last minute, and during the 1940s became a regular performer in Memphis nightclubs, such as Currie's Club Tropicana. He regarded Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Gatemouth Moore as musical influences. In the early 1940s, Thomas began writing and performing his own songs. King, and others discovered by Thomas later in the 1940s included Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace. He also formed a comedy and dancing duo, Rufus and Bones, with Robert "Bones" Couch, and they took over as MCs at the Palace Theater, often presenting amateur hour shows. Thomas worked a day job in the American Finishing Company textile bleaching plant, which he continued to do for over 20 years. Franklin, the father of Aretha Franklin, and the couple settled in Memphis.
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He married Cornelia Lorene Wilson in 1940, at a service officiated by Rev. In 1936 he joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, an all-black revue that toured the South, as a tap dancer and comedian, sometimes part of a duo, Rufus and Johnny. Thomas began performing in traveling tent shows. After graduating from high school, Thomas attended Tennessee A&I University for one semester, but economic constraints led him to leave to pursue a career as a full-time entertainer. Williams, his high-school history teacher, who was also a pioneer black DJ at radio station WDIA and columnist for black newspapers, as a master of ceremonies at talent shows in the Palace Theater on Beale Street. From the age of 13, he worked with Nat D. By the age of 10, he was a tap dancer, performing on the streets and in amateur productions at Booker T. Thomas made his debut as a performer at the age of six, playing a frog in a school theatrical production. He moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee, around 1920. Thomas was born in the rural community of Cayce, Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper. He was the father of the singers Carla Thomas (with whom he recorded duets) and Vaneese Thomas and the keyboard player Marvell Thomas. He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He later worked as a disc jockey on radio station WDIA in Memphis, both before and after his recordings became successful. He began his career as a tap dancer, vaudeville performer, and master of ceremonies in the 1930s. occupied many important roles in the local scene." According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death . . . He is best known for his novelty dance records, including " Walking the Dog" (1963), " Do the Funky Chicken" (1969) and " (Do the) Push and Pull" (1970). He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records.
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(Ma– December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee.