In a review of the Stax Remastered Series deluxe reissue of Rufus Thomas' 1970 album Do the Funky Chicken, PopMatters writer Colin McGuire makes one bold statement:Rufus Thomas is the most overlooked, under-appreciated artist to ever come from the Stax imprint. Period. Done. End of story. There isn't a single other artist who recorded at 926 East McLemore Avenue in the 1960s and 1970s that was as dismissed, discounted and disrespected as the man who gave Stax its first real hit with "Cause I Love You" in the '60s.In addition to the album's 11 original tracks, the reissue, which came out in September in the U.S., includes a number of singles released from 1968 to 1974. McGuire says these sides "pop out of the stereo system here with a 24-bit remastering job, giving life to songs some casual fans may have already considered dead for decades."
PICTURED: Rufus Thomas performs in a photograph taken June 30, 1973. (By Fred Griffith/The Commercial Appeal files)
Rufus was so much more then an artist. He created, encouraged, and nurtured the careers of so many. He was also a great actor.
He was and will always be the greatest ambassador of Memphis.
I agree that Stax disrespected Rufus in more ways then one.
I am proud to have called Rufus a friend and I miss him dearly. I know that he and Cordell Jackson, (another unappreciated Memphis icon) are having a blast.
R.I.P. Rufus and Cordell.