Album of the Day

One of the true greats of Memphis music, Rufus Thomas, was born on this day in 1917. Though he'd recorded for Sun in the 1950s, it wasn't until the following decade that the singer made the charts, by which time he was in his forties and his daughter Carla was already an established hitmaker (Rufus fashioned himself “the world’s oldest teenager”). Cut at Stax (with a little help from the studio's great house band) and later released through Atlantic, WALKING THE DOG captures Rufus Thomas' raw R&B and sense of humor on a dozen songs split between originals and spirited covers of favorites from the likes of Lee Dorsey, Chris Kenner and John Lee Hooker. Among the originals are the Top 10 title track as well as “Can Your Monkey Do the Dog” - this 1964 collection is filled with good times and tight grooves from the days of dance craze and answer records.