GETTING A RUSH FROM THE BLUES\Performance still key for r&b veteran.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

With more than 200 records under his belt, rhythm-and-blues singer Bobby Rush has been performing for four decades. So, why have so few people outside of his immediate audience heard of him?

In African-American nightclubs throughout the South, Rush and his bawdy 12-person stage show have been a top attraction for years.

"I'm one of the lucky ones because I've been off six weeks in the past 34 years," the singer said. "B.B. King and myself work as much as anyone out there. If I want to work 300 days a year, I can. But most people who come to my show, the next day won't hear what I do on the radio."

Rush admits that isn't always by choice, since many stations across the country that once specialized in soul, blues and r&b now program rap or smooth urban ballads almost exclusively.

"In a place like Mobile, Ala., for example, the radio station plays rap all week and only gives blues an hour on Sunday morning," Rush said this week from his home in Jackson, Miss. "It's a disadvantage. Rap is too phony, and I don't feel good about it."

The son of a preacher, Rush was born 55 years ago in Homer, La. When Rush was a teen-ager, the family relocated to Chicago, where he eventually formed a band that for a time included guitarists Freddie King and Luther Allison. Known for a vocal style that touched on funky blues, bawdy r&b and gritty soul, Rush scored an r&b chart hit in 1971 with the single, "Chicken Heads." The song sparked recording deals with Warner Bros., London Records and Philadelphia International.

Rush's well-received 1979 album, "Rush Hour," was produced and arranged by soul stylist Leon Huff at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, home of the hit-making machine TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia).

"Disc jockeys only play what they're told to play," said Rush, who will bring his show to a Los Angeles club in June. "You don't hear blues or real r&b, and when you don't hear it, you don't know anything about it. The kids don't get a chance to hear it. It's like writing a book - you can only write about what you know."

Rush - whose new album is "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" (Waldoxy/Malaco) - is part of a long line of blues-r&b crooners that includes Jimmy Rushing, Otis Redding, O.V. Wright, Muddy Waters and Otis Clay.

"The white kids who love the blues are the ones keeping the music alive today," said Rush, who also plays blues harp. "It's not the black audiences. I think they like me more than what I do. They like my show. But I'm familiar with all kinds of people. If the numbers are there, that's all that matters. Musicians are color blind. I'm here to do good music and hope people like it."

Rush said he began mentioning his own name on his recordings a few years ago to give himself a little extra promotional push when nightclub disc jockeys play his more dance floor-oriented efforts.

"When I was coming up, if I had one pair of shoes and $2, I was just as rich as anyone around me," he said. "I grew up in a situation where I respected what I did and what my daddy stood for. And when I got anything, I was grateful to get it."

Lately, Rush has found a home on certain college radio stations that have rediscovered blues and soul as authentic American roots music.

"Now, I can go back and do some of the straight blues stuff I've wanted to do ever since I went back to playing the harmonica," he said. "This music is history. History isn't just about the ones who won the war. It's about the ones who lost the war, too."

Rush, who works most weekends throughout the year, said he gets tired of traveling, but enjoys the moments on stage.

"I'm only human," he said. "I get tired of it. But as soon as I'm on that bandstand, I forget about the distances I traveled. When I'm cooking, I'm in another world and forget my problems. I love performing.

"It's been good for my soul, good for me financially and good for my personal direction."

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Photo Bobby Rush "As soon as I'm on that bandstand, I forget about the distances I traveled. When I'm cooking, I'm in another world and forget my problems. I love performing."