Left-handed Blues

Otis Rush performs with his band live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1986.

Otis Rush is left-handed and, unlike many other left-handed guitarists, plays a left-handed instrument strung upside-down with the low E string at the bottom. He played often with the little finger of his pick hand curled under the low E for positioning. It is widely believed that this contributes to his distinctive sound along with his wide-ranging, powerful tenor voice.

In 1971, Rush recorded the album Right Place, Wrong Time in San Francisco, California for Capitol Records, but Capitol decided not to release it. The album was finally released in 1976 when Rush purchased the master from Capitol and had it released by P-Vine Records in Japan. Bullfrog Records released it in the U.S. soon after. The album generally has since gained a reputation as one of the best works by Rush.

He also released some albums on Delmark Records and on Sonet Records in Europe during the 1970s, but by the end of the decade had stopped performing and recording. In 1985 Rush made a come back going on a U. S. tour and releasing the live album “Tops”, recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival.

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