Top 10 Otis Rush Songs

Photo: Masahiro Sumori, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

Otis Rush was an American Blues player born in Mississippi in 1934. He began his career in 1948 when he relocated to Chicago after being influenced by Muddy Waters. He made a name for himself, performing in local clubs. During this time, he formed a group called Little Otis. In 1956, he started recording for Cobra Records, for whom he produced eight singles, some of which featured Ike Turner and Jody Williams on guitar. His debut single “I Cant Quit You Baby” got to number six on the Billboard Chart. He also recorded some of his other best-known singles during this period.

After Cobra went bankrupt in 1959, he signed a contract with Chess Records the following year. That year, he released two singles on the label. Along with four other tracks, these two singles were included on the album Door to Door in 1969, a compilation album. In 1962, he recorded material for Duke Records, but only one single was released. The single in question, “Homework,” was also released in Britain in 1963. A couple of years later, in 1965, recordings that he made for Vanguard were included on the compilation Chicago/The Blues Today/ Vol 2. In 1969, he released his album Mourning in the Morning.

In 1971, Otis Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time which was not released until five years later in 1976 when he purchased the master tapes from Capitol. Despite its heavily delayed release, the record is considered his best work. He would release a few more albums throughout the seventies, but by the end of the decade, he had retired from the music business.

He came out of retirement in 1985 with the release of the live album Tops. In 1994, he released his first album in sixteen years titled Ain’t Enough Comin. He followed it up four years later with Any Place Im Goin. He continued to tour until 2003, when he suffered a stroke. After suffering from health problems for many years afterward, he died in 2018.

# 10 –It’s My Own Fault

Kicking off our top ten Otis Rush songs list is a song from the excellent album Chicago The Blues Today. The album was released in 1967. Listen to the voice of Otis Rush on this track. So many legendary blues guitarists are often overlooked as vocalists because of their excellent guitar playing. Otis Rush was one of them.

# 9 – Homework

This was the only single issued by the Duke Records label after Rush recorded material for them in 1962. It was backed with “I Have To Laugh.” A year later, it was released in the United Kingdom on the Vocalian label. The version here was released in 1994.

# 8 – Got My Mojo Working

This track is a live recording of a track done initially by Preston Foster and then adapted by Rush’s most significant influence, Muddy Waters. It is taken from the live album Blues Interaction- Live In Japan 1986. The album was recorded with a Japanese band called Breakdown and was panned by critics upon its release due to what many of them perceived as the band’s lack of knowledge of the blues, which they felt came across in the playing.

# 7 – Rainy Night In Georgia

Otis Rush’s vocal performance on this classic song is just off the charts. It was released on the Otis Rush album Right Place, Wrong Time. The album was released in 1976.”Rainy Night in Georgia” was penned by Tony Joe White in 1967 and gained widespread recognition through R&B singer Brook Benton’s rendition in 1970. Tony Joe White first introduced the song on his 1969 album Continued, released by Monument Records, just before the release of Benton’s successful single.

# 6 – Baby I Love You

“Baby I Love You,” was a big hit for Aretha Franklin. Otis Rush does the song true justice on his Morning in the Mourning album. Various musical artists have covered the song over the past fifty years such as Lisa Marie Presley, Donny Hathaway, B.B. King, The Bar Kays, Emma Franklin, Irma Thomas and most recently Christiana Anu.

# 5 – Working Man

Not to be confused with the song of the same name by the similarly named band Rush, this song was featured on Mourning in the Morning. The album was produced by the legendary guitarist Mike Bloomfield. Although the album was poorly received by critics upon its initial release, it has developed a fanbase retrospectively.

# 4 – Right Place Wrong Time

Here is the title track of Rush’s seminal album, which was recorded in 1971 and released in 1976. Upon listening to this track, it is quite frankly baffling that Capitol did not release it until five years after it was recorded. The record is considered to be the pinnacle of Rush’s career. Here, he demonstrates a perfect blend of blues and soul that shows his talent’s extent.

# 3 – All Your Love (I Miss Loving)

The single “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” was released in 1959 It is one of Otis Rush’s most popular recordings. The song was produced by Willie Dixon. “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)” also features Ike Turner on guitar. It was Rush’s last single on Cobra Records. It was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010.

# 2 – Double Trouble

Just off the top spot is this single, released in 1958. Since its release, it has been covered many times, most notably by Eric Clapton, who has recorded several different versions of it. Stevie Ray Vaughan named his band after this song. In 2008, the original version was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.

# 1 – I Can’t Quit You Baby

At the top spot on our Otis Rush songs list is a tune written by Willie Dixon and released in 1956. It was Otis Rush’s debut recording which also gave birth to Cobra Records. It became a chart hit reaching number six on the Billboard Blues Charts. Led Zeppelin recorded their version of it, which appeared on their 1969 debut.