Essential Collection: The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956–1958

Rush, Otis

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The Revolution of Rush

Save this for a second stage of blues exploration. After you've heard renowned blues practitioners like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf, and have a sense of what the music sounded like in its heyday, the mighty left-handed guitarist and singer Otis Rush will astound you. Though little known outside of blues circles, Rush is hugely admired within that world, largely as a result of the singles he recorded for the Cobra label between 1956 and 1958. They're among the most satisfying pleasures in the music's deep history.

Rush was inspired to learn the guitar shortly after hearing Muddy Waters at a Chicago club. Not knowing much about the instrument, young Rush bought himself a guitar and played it left-handed, without changing the strings as some southpaw guitarists do. He began to develop a following in the clubs on the city's West Side; one night, the bassist, composer, and producer Willie Dixon, then working for the upstart Cobra label, heard Rush and convinced him to record. The first session, in the summer of 1956, yielded the steady-rolling Dixon tune "I Can't Quit You Baby," which reached the Top 10 on Billboard's R&B charts.

This track and others establish Rush's signature—stinging, steady-handed guitar that frames a wild-eyed and almost unhinged vocal delivery. Rush sounds most at home doing slow blues—see "Groaning the Blues"—where his vibrating guitar sneaks into the spotlight one patient phrase at a time. But he's equally effective on the faster stuff, particularly hard-driving shuffles like "If You Were Mine." In fact, virtually everything here screams with the urgency that defined electric Chicago blues in the late '50s and early '60s. Though he recorded frequently after Cobra folded, Rush never got near this heat again.

Genre: Blues
Released: 2000, Fuel 2000
Key Tracks: "I Can't Quit You Baby," "Groaning the Blues," "If You Were Mine," "Double Trouble."
Catalog Choice: Mourning in the Morning.
Next Stop: Magic Sam: West Side Soul
Book Page: 664

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