Stax Profiles

by Rufus Thomas

Product Description:

Personnel include: Rufus Thomas (vocals); The Memphis Horns (horns); Marvell Thomas, Booker T. Jones (keyboards); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass guitar); Ollie & The Nightingales (background vocals).

The fact that ex-vaudeville entertainer and 1960s soul star Rufus Thomas is a direct link to the minstrel shows of the late-19th and early-20th century is perhaps best displayed in this entry in the STAX PROFILES series by his hit "Do the Funky Chicken," a dazzling blend of 19th century showmanship and late-'60s street funk. As well as perhaps his most famous hit, "Walking the Dog," other songs that illustrate Thomas's deep roots in R&B's distant past include the faux-Indian chants of his version of "Sixty Minute Man," and the rolling '50s R&B of "Strolling Beale Number 1."