Loretta Wilson says she’s still enjoying performing in Bobby Rush’s band after 18 years, but there’s a lot more she wants to do.
The singer and dancer, who lives in Greenwood, is recording some songs for an album of her own, and she wants to put her own show together. She also has traveled all over the world, and she continues to absorb all the business knowledge she can to take the next step in her career.
She describes her ambition this way: “I want to do something that I know is going to make history.”
Wilson, 45, grew up on Egypt Plantation in Holmes County and later moved to Leflore County. She spends a lot of time on the road performing but comes back to Greenwood often. While in town, she helps her sister, Sharon Johnson, at Klassy Kids Learning Center.
Wilson recently got a thrill when Rush, an 83-year-old blues star, won his first Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for “Porcupine Meat.” Known as the “King of the Chitlin Circuit,” Rush has performed for more than 60 years.
Wilson said Rush chose not to prepare a speech for the Feb. 12 ceremony, speaking off the cuff instead. “His speech was so perfect,” she recalled.
She said she continues to be amazed by what Rush can do.
“He doesn’t have to take any medicine, he loves to exercise, and his mind is like a 40-year-old,” she said. “He remembers more than I remember.”
Rush was born in Louisiana and made a name for himself in Chicago after moving there in the 1950s, but he has been based in Mississippi since the 1980s.
Wilson said the Grammys ceremony and the surrounding events had a Mississippi flavor. Luther Dickinson and Vasti Jackson also were nominated in Rush’s category, and Alphonso Sanders of Mississippi Valley State University performed at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. Wilson said there was also a group from Grenada with ties to the Grammy Museum in Cleveland that took in some of the festivities.
“It was like I was home,” she said.
The Grammys trip — Wilson’s third — was also an opportunity to network and meet with some record industry people. She said Rush has always pushed her to take advantage of that kind of opportunity. She also has more avenues for promotion that he did in his early days, especially through social media.
She said it can be overwhelming to travel in these circles — “sometimes I have to pinch myself” — but she’s not surprised by how far she’s come.
“I knew what league I was in, being around some of the major artists and some of the most important people,” she said. “I just didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I knew it.”
The Grammy win will only help, she said.
“I know the work will pick up, more than what it is now,” she said. “And that’s all we ever do, is work.”
She and Rush were featured a few years ago in “Lowe Down Rush,” a project assembled by the company Delta Music Experience. In addition to performing at locations including Greenwood, Indianola, Cleveland, Clarksdale, Wilson got to do some recording at Sun Studios in Memphis. The musicians for the Sun Studios sessions included Cedric Burnside (son of blues legend R.L. Burnside) and Lightnin’ Malcolm.
Wilson hopes to have her album done by next year, and she intends to put her organizational skills to use in promoting it. She started in Rush’s band as a dancer because that was the only opening available, but she has learned a lot more since.
“Fortunately, I didn’t have to do a lot of singing and writing to get to the top. All I had to do was put on some heels and have the stage appearance for Bobby’s show,” she said.
Having been the main stage dancer in the band for a while, she also has taken on a lot of organizational responsibilities on the road, especially when the manager isn’t around. So she has learned about renting venues, selling tickets and other important tasks.
“I want to be my own promoter,” she said. “I want to be my own booking agent, because I have so much experience. This is what I do when I’m on the road with Bobby.”
Other options being explored for her future include show hosting and even movies. It’s all about building a brand, and she’s determined to do it her way — just as Rush did years ago when others doubted him about wanting to combine blues and funk music.
“If it’s not making history, then I don’t think I want to be associated with it,” she said.
• Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe @gwcommonwealth.com.
