On a hot night in June, 91-year-old Louisiana-born bluesman Bobby Rush staged a PG-13 solo show at Chickie Wah Wah, the intimate Canal Street music venue.

He picked and strummed a guitar, blew on a harmonica, ventured out among the tables to interact with the ladies and spun a colorful tale about being tied up in bed.

“I’m an entertainer,” he explained the next day. “I find ways to make people laugh and have fun and feel good about themselves for the moment.”

Himself included. At Chickie Wah Wah, he sang the lyric, “You better take a good look, people/this could be the last time you see me.”

Don’t bet on it.

Rush’s version of 91 is akin to most people’s 61. Not long after that Chickie Wah Wah date, he jetted off to Europe for several concerts with Louisiana blues-rock guitarist Kenny

See Full Page