Street in Jackson, Mississippi renamed after Claiborne Parish-born musician

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

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

Rush’s family had no running water or electricity in their home between Homer and Haynesville. He played in NWLA juke joints as a child.

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

Rush would go on to win three Grammy Awards and 12 Blues Music Awards. In October 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 it in 2024.

The boulevard in the city of Jackson, now called “Ellis Avenue,” has another interesting connection to the 90-year-old musician. See, Bobby Rush wasn’t called Bobby Rush when he was a kid. He was born Emmett Ellisjr.

Jackson Councilman Aaron Banks floated the idea of ​​renaming the avenue Rush in early 2022, and in late May 2024, Ellis Avenue was renamed. It is now Bobby Rush Boulevard.

At the street renaming ceremony, Rush said he was the happiest man alive, then repeatedly thanked the state of Mississippi.

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