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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 HR 1038 3
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By: Representative Duffield 5
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HOUSE RESOLUTION 8
TO HONOR BLUES MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, RECORD PRODUCER, 9
AND SINGER BOBBY RUSH FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSIC 10
AND TO THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO HONOR BLUES MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, 15
RECORD PRODUCER, AND SINGER BOBBY RUSH 16
FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSIC AND TO 17
THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. 18
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush, who spent his teenage years in Pine Bluff and 20
began his musical career there, is a Grammy Award -winning musician and 21
inductee into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, the 22
Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of 23
Fame; and 24
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush was born Emmett Ellis, Jr. near Homer, Louisiana, 26
on November 10, 1933, and began experimenting with music as a young child by 27
using a sugarcane syrup bucket and a broom -wire "diddley bow" zither; and 28
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WHEREAS, in 1947, Bobby Rush moved with his family to Pine Bluff, where 30
Rush befriended musicians including Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore, and Johnny 31
"Big Moose" Walker; and 32
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush soon formed his own band, Bobby Rush and the Four 34
Jivers, featuring Boyd Gilmore and Johnny "Big Moose" Walker as well as Joe 35
Willie "Pinetop" Perkins and Robert Plunkett; and 36 HR1038
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WHEREAS, through Boyd Gilmore, Bobby Rush became friends with soon -to-2
be globally famous musician Izear Luster "Ike" Turner; and 3
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush moved with his family to Chicago in 1953, where he 5
began performing on a circuit with Jamesetta "Etta James" Hawkins, Chester 6
Arthur "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett, McKinley "Muddy Waters" Morganfield, Freddie 7
King, and Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed; and 8
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush's song "Chicken Heads" became his breakout record 10
and his first gold-certified record, meaning that five hundred thousand 11
(500,000) or more copies were sold, and it reached number thirty -four (34) in 12
1971 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart and reemerged as a Billboard hit 13
in 2006 after being featured in the film "Black Snake Moan"; and 14
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush's song "I Wanna Do the Do" reached number seventy -16
five (75) on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues chart in 1979, and his 1981 album 17
"Sue" as well as his 1991 album "I Ain't Studdin' You" both became gold -18
certified; and 19
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush was honored by Rolling Stone magazine for his fifty 21
(50) years of relentless world touring and his colorful live show, and 22
performed twice for former President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton; and 23
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary film 25
series "The Blues" and the Daniel Cross documentary "I Am the Blues", and 26
also appeared as himself in the 2019 film "Dolemite is My Name" performing 27
his hit song, "I Ain't Studdin' You"; and 28
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WHEREAS, Bobby Rush won Grammy Awards in 2017, 2021, and 2024 in the 30
category of Best Traditional Blues Album for his albums "Porcupine Meat", 31
"Rawer than Raw", and "All My Love for You", 32
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NOW THEREFORE, 34
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL 35
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 36 HR1038
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THAT the House of Representatives honor blues musician, composer, 2
record producer, and singer Bobby Rush for his contributions to music and to 3
the State of Arkansas. 4
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon adoption, a copy of this resolution be 6
presented to Bobby Rush by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. 7
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