Steeped in his signature blues, southern soul, and funk-blues, Bobby Rush blends vivid storytelling about his life with comical metaphors about love and relationships on his latest release, All My Love For You.
Across the album’s ten tracks on All My Love For You, Bobby Rush puts the breadth of his songwriting capabilities on display and proclaims ,"I've got the shackles off my feet, chains off my mind” on the album opener "I'm Free,” and "I'm the one who put the funk in the blues” on the single, "I'm the One.” On tracks like "You Gonna Need a Man Like Me" and "One Monkey Can Stop A Show,” he digs into the nuance of love and relationships. After earning his second Grammy Award for his solo acoustic blues album Rawer than Raw in 2021, he leans into the soul and funky southern blues that he's known for.
During his renowned stage show Bobby Rush frequently jumps high into the air, arms spread and legs tucked, only to land gracefully and return without a hitch to his dazzling routine. It’s a move you might expect at a contemporary R&B show, but it’s downright shocking when you realize that Rush is in his late 80s.
“I never thought I would be here this long,” says Rush. “I was 83 years old before I won a Grammy, but it’s better late than never. I laugh about it, but I’m so blessed and I surely never thought I’d be making a living doing what I’m doing. I’m not just an old guy on my way out.”
Hardly. Rush’s busy schedule includes headlining European festivals with his band and solo programs at venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, but he still managed to find time to record this album of brand new material, coming out via his own label Deep Rush Records in collaboration with Nashville-based Thirty Tigers. Over the last several years he’s won a second Grammy, re-recorded his 1971 hit "Chicken Heads" together with his old friend Buddy Guy and young blues star Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and written a critically acclaimed autobiography, I Ain’t Studdin’ You: My American Blues Story.
And he has no plans to slow down.
“I’m still in decent health and my mind is pretty keen, and the most blessed thing is that I still have people around me who love what I do. And even if you don’t like me, you’re still going to say, 'I don’t like Bobby Rush, but, damn, he’s good.’"