Song:Goin' Down South
Album:Too Bad Jim
Robert Lee Burnside is another Misissippi Delta bluesman who was discovered late in life. He was born Nov. 23, 1926 in Oxford, MS. For the most part, he was a farmer who played at parties on weekends. He learned to play guitar from Mississippi John Hurt. The Burnside family moved to Chicago in the early 50s but Burnside's mother, father and uncle were all murdered and he moved back to Mississippi in 1959 and returned to farming. He served six months for a murder conviction when his boss pulled strings to get him a short sentence. Burnside recorded for Arhoolie in the 60s but music was mostly a part time gig until he was discovered by Fat Possum Records. Fat Possum was owned by Living Blues Magazine owners Peter Redvers-Lee & Matthew Johnson and their mission was to rediscover forgotten bluesmen. Too Bad Jim was his first studio CD in 1994 and was produced by music critic Robert Palmer. It's very basic Mississippi juke joint blues. Burnside got a lot of attention when he toured with Jon Spencer in the 90s. His son Duwayne plays guitar with the North Mississippi All Stars, his other son Garry plays bass and grandson Cedric plays drums. R.L. Burnside had heart surgery in 1999 and his health continued to decline until his death on Sept. 1, 2005 at age 78. Garry & Cedric continue to record as Burnside Exploration. Here's R.L. Burnside performing Rollin' & Tumblin' in the mid 90s.
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