When Rufus Thomas achieved fame, he was old enough to be the father of pretty much everyone on the Stax roster. That’s not meant as some negative perspective – he was also later christened “the world’s oldest teenager” – but the life he led prior to becoming a staple on the soul and RnB charts was something more akin to a blues player than a Stax singer. Being born in 1917 actually seems to find Thomas primed to be a pre-war II guitar picker – that just wasn’t meant to be though. Instead, working a variety of odd jobs – in and out of entertainment – led to Thomas’ eventual rise to fame.

Born so early in the 20^th century, Thomas’ early proclivity towards entertainment found him performing in a minstrel show during his formative years. And while a variety of comparisons could be made about his stage show during the ‘60s, we’ll just leave that alone. Subsequent to touring and the like, the singer settled down and worked some laborious job up until the ‘50s when he secured a spot on a local radio show. This gig was the preface to his becoming a recording star.

Working in that studio allowed Thomas to acclimate himself to the environs, but when landing a spot on the Stax roster, his life changed dramatically. Being the figure head of that stable of singers began the dominance of the label - only rivaled by Motown, kinda. And while the northern, smooth sounds were aimed at roughly the same audience, it could be argued that Thomas and the Stax sound would go on to influence rock music in a more dramatic manner.

The song most associated with the soul singer, “Walking the Dog,” found a home on albums issued from the Stones, the Sonics a young Aerosmith line-up as well as John Cale. But the original, being released on the eponymous album from Thomas was released in ’64. That one song might have been the hit that sparked his ensuing career, but the rest of Walking the Dog sports a few other memorable moments.

The companion piece to his best known song, “The Dog,” might be a retread of that other track, but it’s a nice additional two minutes of a recognizable melody – and you get to hear Thomas growl like an animal. That’s entertainment. Apart from that a few other tracks end up coming off as attempts at creating dance crazes.

“Mashed Potatoes” sounds like an odd title for a soul track – or maybe not. There’re no doubt songs about gravy and the like, but here Thomas goes in on a thick and syrupy rhythm dominated by a strong sax line. It’s not quite on par with those songs about dogs, but close. Included as well is a jarring cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom, Boom, Boom.” It’s just as bouncy as the original Detroiter’s version, but isn’t able to quite capture the salacious nature of the original.

Regardless of that, though, more producers need to hop on the soul bandwagon to add some bounce to those tracks. Cop it well.