RUFUS THOMAS

Rufus Thomas was an on-air personality on radio station WDIA-AM in Memphis, starting in 1951 while also finding success as a recording artist.

He remained active into the 1990s and as a performer and recording artist was often billed as "The World's Oldest Teenager". He began working as an afternoon R&B show called Hoot and Holler. WDIA-AM featuring an African American format and became an important source of blues and R&B music for a generation. Thomas is known to be the very first black disc jockeys to play Elvis Presley records, which he did until the police made him stop due to segregation.

He performed on stage with Elvis to an all-black audience, and although the police tried to shut it down, the audience stormed through to get to him. After that, the police allowed Elvis songs on black radio stations.

He continued as a DJ at WDIA-AM until 1974 and worked for a period at WLOK-AM before returning to WDIA in the mid-1980s to co-host a blues show.