Rufus Thomas (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was a rhythm and blues an… Read Full Bio ↴Rufus Thomas (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was a rhythm and blues and soul singer from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, who recorded on Sun Records in the 1950s and on Stax Records in the 1960s and 1970s. He was the father of soul singer Carla Thomas (best known for the classic song "B-A-B-Y") and keyboard player Marvell Thomas. A third daughter, Vaneese, a former French teacher, for years had a recording studio in upstate New York where she sang for television commercials.

The above biography taken from: Wikipedia - Rufus Thomas

The Crown Prince of Dance; an early rock & roll DJ, Memphis soul icon and creator of the Funky Chicken.

Artist Biography (below) by Richie Unterberger

Few of rock & roll's founding figures are as likable as Rufus Thomas. From the 1940s onward, he has personified Memphis music; his small but witty cameo role in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, a film which satirizes and enshrines the city's role in popular culture, was entirely appropriate. As a recording artist, he wasn't a major innovator, but he could always be depended upon for some good, silly, and/or outrageous fun with his soul dance tunes. He was one of the few rock or soul stars to reach his commercial and artistic peak in middle age, and was a crucial mentor to many important Memphis blues, rock, and soul musicians.

Thomas was already a professional entertainer in the mid-'30s, when he was a comedian with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He recorded music as early as 1941, but really made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few black-owned stations of the era. He also ran talent shows on Memphis' famous Beale Street that helped showcase the emerging skills of such influential figures as B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.

Thomas had his first success as a recording artist in 1953 with "Bear Cat," a funny answer record to Big Mama Thornton's "Hound Dog." It made number three on the R&B charts, giving Sun Records its first national hit, though some of the sweetness went out of the triumph after Sun owner Sam Phillips lost a lawsuit for plagiarizing the original Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller tune. Thomas, strangely, would make only one other record for Sun, and recorded only sporadically throughout the rest of the 1950s.

Thomas and his daughter Carla would become the first stars for the Stax label, for whom they recorded a duet in 1959, "'Cause I Love You" (when the company was still known as Satellite). In the '60s, Carla would become one of Stax's biggest stars. On his own, Rufus wasn't as successful as his daughter, but issued a steady stream of decent dance/novelty singles.

These were not deep or emotional statements, or meant to be. Vaguely prefiguring elements of funk, the accent was on the stripped-down groove and Rufus' good-time vocals, which didn't take himself or anything seriously. The biggest by far was "Walking the Dog," which made the Top Ten in 1963, and was covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album.

Thomas hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five. As the song titles themselves make clear, funk was now driving his sound rather than blues or soul. Thomas drew upon his vaudeville background to put them over on-stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his 50s. The collapse of the Stax label in the mid-'70s meant the end of his career, basically, as it did for many other artists with the company. In 2001, Rufus Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Later that year, on December 15, he died at St. Francis hospital in Memphis, TN.

The above biography taken from: All Music Biography - Rufus Thomas by Richie Unterberger

Why Did You Deegee?
Rufus Thomas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I didn't believe my gal would leave me
Didn't believe my gal would lie
Didn't believe my gal would leave me
Didn't believe my gal would lie
Now my heart is breaking
All night long I cry

I've cried so much about you Deegee

Till I can't cry no more
I've cried so much about you baby
Till I can't cry no more
You are my sunshine
Don't put darkness in my door

Why did you do it Deegee?
Please tell me reason why
Why did you do it baby?
Tell your daddy the reason why

Well you got me feeling so bad
I want to lay down and die

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Rufus Thomas's song "Why Did You Deegee?" express the emotional pain and confusion caused by a lover's betrayal. The singer of the song is devastated by the fact that their partner, Deegee, has left them and lied to them. The repetition of the lines "Didn't believe my gal would leave me / Didn't believe my gal would lie" highlights the singer's disbelief and shock at the betrayal. The heartbreak is further emphasized by the lines "Now my heart is breaking / All night long I cry."

The singer's sadness is so deep that they have cried so much that they can't cry anymore. They refer to Deegee as their sunshine and plead with them not to bring darkness into their life. The chorus of the song asks Deegee to explain why they did it, and the singer seems to genuinely want to understand the reasons behind the betrayal. However, the pain is overwhelming, and the singer feels so bad that they want to "lay down and die."

Overall, "Why Did You Deegee?" is a poignant expression of the pain caused by a lover's betrayal. The repetition of lines and the use of the name "Deegee" make the song memorable and emotionally powerful.

Line by Line Meaning

I didn't believe my gal would leave me
I thought that my girlfriend was truthful and would never leave me

Didn't believe my gal would lie
I trusted that my girlfriend would not lie to me

Now my heart is breaking
I am heartbroken due to my girlfriend leaving me

All night long I cry
I cry all night long because of the pain of losing my girlfriend

I've cried so much about you Deegee
I have shed an enormous amount of tears because of my separation from my girlfriend named Deegee

Till I can't cry no more
I have cried so much that I have run out of tears

You are my sunshine
You used to bring joy to my life

Don't put darkness in my door
Don't bring pain and sadness into my life

Why did you do it Deegee?
Please tell me why you left me, Deegee

Please tell me reason why
I need to know why you left me

Why did you do it baby?
Why did you leave me, my dear?