He danced in notable revues, including Darktown Follies (1914), Tan Town Topics (1926), Blackbirds of 1928, Hot Rhythm (1930), Rhapsody in Black (1931), Blackberries of 1932, and Yeah Man (1932).
According to Constance Vallis Hill's biography on the Library of Congress Tap Dancing America database, Rector started at age 15 in Mayme Remington's Vaudeville troupe.
He partnered with Toots Davis, dancing “over the tops and in the trenches,” a particular dynamic step juxtaposing upright jumping over the legs, with bending at the waist almost touching the floor and sliding the feet back.
As described in the Baltimore Afro-American, “their raccoon coats were the talk of the fashion-conscious.”[8] Eddie Rector performed with some of the biggest names in the business.
He performed with Duke Ellington at the Ziegfeld Theatre in 1922[9] with Fats Waller in Tan Town Topics in 1926,[10] and alongside Ethel Waters in 1925.
[15] Hot Rhythm (1930) received scathing reviews from the critics, but Eddie Rector's dancing described as “the best,”[16] “one of the best dancers on the boards,”[16] and “unquestionably the peak attraction of the show.
Eddie Rector sets a high standard, while Roy and Rastus, the Stepping Quintette and three acts of Lindy Hoppers work hard to maintain.”[18] In 1957 Dar Burley listed Rector as #7 in the 12 greatest tap dancers of all time, after Bill Bojangles Robinson, John Bubbles, Teddy Hale, Derby Wilson, Bill Bailey, Baby Lawrence, and Honi Coles.
[19] Eddie Rector replaced the noted tap dancer Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson in the musical Blackbirds when it toured in Paris.
On February 19, 1934, Rector was arrested in the office of manager Frank Schiffman of the Lafayette Theater for carrying a loaded gun.
[25] Schiffman reportedly called the police concerned because Rector had suffered a previous mental health issues and was advised to take a week off.
While his former partner, Ralph Cooper, went on to Hollywood fame, Eddie Rector sadly continued to suffer from mental health issues and substance abuse.
The Bambalina was “a traveling time step that used the whole body and emphasized clean and precise footwork.”[2] Eddie Rector was a master of the sand dance.
The American Tap Dance Foundation lists Eddie Rector as an influencer of the soft shoe styles of the Nicolas Brothers and Pete Nugent.
[30] Rector's soft shoe influenced the Copasetics, a group of male tap dance artists formed to honor the legacy of Bill Bojangles Robinson.