Rufus Thomas

…hit was “Bear Cat” by Rufus Thomas (1953), an answer record to “Hound Dog,” the rhythm-and-blues hit from Houston, Texas, by Willie Mae (“Big Mama”) Thornton.

…jingles at the station, and Rufus Thomas, a former student of Williams, joined the on-air staff in 1950. Together the three transformed WDIA into the South’s first African-American-oriented radio station, soon to be known throughout the region as the “Mother Station of the Negroes.” Moreover, the station owners established several…