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Tom Rush | |
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 Rush performing in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1941-02-08)February 8, 1941 (age 84) Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Genres | Blues,folk,country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | Elektra,Prestige,Columbia |
| Website | tomrush |
Thomas Walker Rush (born February 8, 1941)[1] is an Americanfolk andblues singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose success helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and who has continued his own singing career for 60 years.[2]
Rush was born inPortsmouth, New Hampshire, United States,[1] the adopted son of a teacher atSt. Paul's School, inConcord, New Hampshire. He began performing in 1961 while studying atHarvard University,[1] after having graduated from theGroton School. He majored in English literature. His early recordings include Southern andAppalachian folk and old-time country songs,Woody Guthrie ballads and acoustic-guitar blues such asJesse Fuller's San Francisco Bay Blues which appeared on his first two LPs.[3] He regularly performed at theClub 47 coffeehouse (now called Club Passim) in Cambridge, the Unicorn in Boston, andThe Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. In the 1970s, he lived inDeering, New Hampshire.[4] As of 2023,[update] Rush lives in theNorth Shore region of Massachusetts not far from his New Hampshire birth place.
Rolling Stone magazine credits him with ushering in the era of the singer-songwriter. In addition to performing his own compositions, he sang songs byJoni Mitchell,Jackson Browne,James Taylor,Murray McLauchlan,David Wiffen andWilliam Hawkins, helping them gain recognition early in their careers.
His 1968 compositionNo Regrets is now a standard,[1] with numerous cover versions having been recorded (Rush did two radically different versions himself). These includeThe Walker Brothers who gave Tom RushTop Ten credit as the songwriter on theUK Singles Chart and whose success Rush credits with putting his two children through college,Emmylou Harris who included the song on her 1988 albumBluebird andMidge Ure whose cover also made the UK Top Ten.[1]
Ten years after it was posted, a YouTube video of him performing Steven Walters' The Remember Song has received over seven million plays. Writing on his website, Rush said,
"I've been waiting 45 years to be an overnight sensation, and it's finally happened! A video clip of my performance of The Remember Song has 'gone viral'. I felt terrible at first, thinking I was being accused of being a musical equivalent ofEbola, but my children explained to me that this was a good thing."
One of the earliest music videos produced, from 1968, for an artist by a record company, Elektra, can be found at his website. It was used to promote his signature song, No Regrets for hisThe Circle Game album. A number of recent videos from a 2010 concert performed inOld Saybrook, Connecticut are also online.
Over the years, Rush has used a number of guitars on stage. His current[when?] primary one is a handcrafted acoustic guitar made by Don Musser. In February 2012, he appeared on stage in Colorado with a new instrument, a cedar-topDreadnought with an inlay of a snake wrapped around a reclining nude woman. The guitar, crafted by McKenzie & Marr Guitars, is a "re-incarnation" of one of Rush's earliest acoustics, the famous Naked Lady.
On December 28, 2012, Rush appeared at Boston'sSymphony Hall to celebrate fifty years in the music business. He had first performed there in 1958 and for many years performed there regularly, often in December.[5]
As of late 2023, Rush continues to perform regularly and to tour regionally.
Rush's latest albums areVoices, released in 2018, andGardens Old, Flowers New (March 1, 2024). In recent years, he has frequently toured the United States, often accompanied on piano by Berklee graduate Matt Nakoa.[6][7][8]
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