Bobby Rush was the first blues man to play the Great Wall of China. He also wrote “Chicken Head,” which is below. So it is genius of Rhodes to make him the Curb Visiting Scholar in the Arts. Rush will be on campus this week and later in April to share his unique perspective on blues and R&B. Rush will also play at Elvis’ old house on Audubon in March and perform with the Rhodes Jazz Band in April. That’s just how he visits scholastically.
The Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes College was founded “to foster awareness and understanding of the distinct musical traditions of the South and to study the effect music has had on its culture, history, and economy.”
Rush is the first visiting scholar. For more about Rush, see Preston Lauterbach’s history of the Chitlin’ circuit.
Chicken Heads:
Bowlegged Woman:
I’d hate to insinuate that Rhodes students ever smoke weed. So, they do. I’ve seen it. To commemorate that, here’s this one:
Which leads inevitably to this:
