HOMER, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – A three-time Grammy award-winning musician from Claiborne Parish, La., is now the namesake of an avenue in Jackson, Miss.

Bobby Rush was born in Homer, La., in 1933. He’s a singer-songwriter with a passion for telling stories through music who was raised in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana where he worked in the cotton fields between Homer and Haynesville as a child.

Rush’s family did not have running water or electricity at their home between Homer and Haynesville. He played in NWLA juke joints when he was a child.

When Rush came of age, he left Claiborne Parish and moved to Chicago, where he began a musical career in the blues that has (so far) lasted for more than 40 years.

Rush would grow up to win three Grammy awards and 12 Blues Music Awards. In Oct. 2021, Rush was named the honored legend at the first Louisiana Legends Festival in Homer, Louisiana.

Bobby Rush’s most recent album, All My Love For You, was released in 2023. He won a Grammy for the album in 2024 .

Currently named “Ellis Avenue,” the boulevard in the city of Jackson has another interesting tie to the 90-year-old musician. See, Bobby Rush wasn’t known as Bobby Rush when he was a kid. He was born with the name Emmett Ellis , Jr.

Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks introduced the idea of renaming the avenue after Rush in early 2022, and in late May of 2024 Ellis Avenue was renamed. It’s now known as Bobby Rush Boulevard.

At the street renaming ceremony, Rush said he was the happiest man in the world. He then repeatedly said thank you to the state of Mississippi.

Bobby Rush Boulevard connects West Capitol Street to Interstate 20, another wink at Rush’s legacy. Interstate 20 is the nearest interstate highway to Rush’s childhood home in Claiborne Parish.

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