BLUES LEGEND OTIS RUSH PASSES AWAY

Otis Rush, one of the most influential of all Chicago blues guitarists, has died at the age of 83 after complications brought on by a stroke.

Born in Mississippi in 1935, Rush’s style inspired the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield and so many others thanks to a sound that became known as West Side Chicago blues.

He first came to prominence in 1956, when his cover of Willie Dixon’s ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ was released. His body of recordings also included ‘Double Trouble, from which Steve Ray Vaughan – another devotee – took the name for his band.

In 1968, Bloomfield told Rolling Stone magazine that in Chicago the rules had been established for any aspiring white blues bands: “You had to be as good as Otis Rush.”

Confirming his death, Rush’s wife Masaki posted the following on his website, “Known as a key architect of the Chicago ‘West Side Sound’ Rush exemplified the modernized minor key urban blues style with his slashing, amplified jazz-influenced guitar playing, high-strained passionate vocals and backing by a full horn section. Rush’s first recording in 1956 on Cobra Records ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ reached Number Six on the Billboard R&B Charts and catapulted him to international acclaim. He went on to record a catalogue of music that contains many songs that are now considered blues classics.”

Listen to Rush playing ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ here: