One commentator noted that Burnside, along with Big Jack Johnson, Paul "Wine" Jones, Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes and James "Super Chikan" Johnson, were "present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound."
Early life and career
Burnside was born in Harmontown, Mississippi, in Lafayette County. He spent most of his life in North Mississippi, working as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman, as well as playing guitar at weekend house parties. He was first inspired to pick up the guitar in his early twenties, after hearing the 1948 John Lee Hooker single, "Boogie Chillen" (which inspired numerous other rural bluesmen, among them Buddy Guy, to start playing). He learned music largely from Mississippi Fred McDowell, who lived nearby in an adjoining county. He also cited his cousin-in-law, Muddy Waters, as an influence.
During the 1950s, Burnside grew tired of sharecropping and moved to Chicago in the hope of finding better economic opportunities. But things did not turn out as he had hoped. Within the span of one year his father, brother, and uncle were all murdered in the city, a tragedy that Burnside would later draw upon in his work, particularly in his interpretation of Skip James's "Hard Time Killing Floor" and the talking blues "R.L.'s Story", the opening and closing tracks on Burnside's 2000 album, Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down.
Around 1959, he left Chicago and went back to Mississippi to work the farms and raise a family. Burnside was convicted for murder and sentenced to six months' incarceration (in Parchman Prison) for the crime. Burnside's boss at the time reputedly pulled strings to keep the murder sentence short, due to having need of Burnside's skills as a tractor driver. Burnside later said "I didn't mean to kill nobody ... I just meant to shoot the sonofabitch in the head. Him dying was between him and the Lord."
His earliest recordings were made in the late 1960s by George Mitchell and released on Arhoolie Records. Another album of acoustic material was recorded that year and little else was released before Hill Country Blues, in the early 1980s. An album's worth of singles followed, released on ethnomusicology professor Dr. David Evans' Highwater Records record label in Memphis, Tennessee.
Later life and career
In the 1990s, he began recording for the Oxford, Mississippi, label Fat Possum Records. Founded by Living Blues magazine editor Peter Redvers-Lee and Matthew Johnson, the label was dedicated to recording ageing North Mississippi bluesmen such as Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. Burnside remained with Fat Possum from that time until his death, and he usually performed with his friend and understudy, the slide guitarist Kenny Brown, with whom he began playing in 1971 and claimed as his "adopted son."
Burnside attracted the attention of Jon Spencer, the leader of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, touring and recording with this group and gaining a new audience in the process.
After the death of Kimbrough and the burning of Kimbrough's juke joint in Chulahoma, Mississippi, Burnside quit recording studio material for Fat Possum, though he did continue to tour. After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.
Members of his large extended family continue to play blues in the Holly Springs area: grandson Cedric Burnside tours with Kenny Brown and most recently with Steve 'Lightnin' Malcolm as part of the 'Juke Joint Duo', while his son Duwayne Burnside has played guitar with the North Mississippi Allstars (Polaris; Hill Country Revue with R. L. Burnside). Duwayne's solo career began when "Duwayne Burnside and the Mississippi Mafia" recorded "Live At the Mint" in October 1997. Members included Cedric Burnside, Eddie Batos, Joe Hill from Alien Ant Farm, and David Kimbrough, Jr. (Junior Kimbrough's son) with Duwayne's father sitting in on a few tracks. Duwayne and the Mississippi Mafia released "Under Pressure" in March 2005, which was recorded at Delta Studios in Clarksdale, Mississippi featuring Jimbo Mathus, rhythm guitar (Squirrel Nut Zippers), Roy Cunningham on drums (Stax Sessions), and Burnside's son Garry Burnside on bass guitar. In 2004, the Burnside sons opened Burnside Blues Cafe, located 30 miles southeast of Memphis at the intersection of U.S. Highway 78 and Mississippi Highway 7 in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
In January 2006, Garry and Cedric released The Record under the moniker "Burnside Exploration".
Death
Burnside had been in declining health since heart surgery in 1999. He died at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on September 1, 2005 at the age of 78.[4] Services were held at Rust College in Holly Springs [which is also where services were held for his friend, Junior Kimbrough, who died in 1998], with burial in the Free Springs Cemetery in Harmontown. Around the time of his passing, he resided in Byhalia, Mississippi and his immediate survivors included:
His wife: Alice Mae Taylor Burnside (married 1951); died November 16, 2008
Daughters: Mildred Jean Burnside, Linda Jackson, Brenda Kay Brooks, and Pamela Denise Burnside;
Sons: Melvin Burnside, R.L. Burnside Jr., Calvin Burnside, Joseph Burnside, Daniel Burnside, Duwayne Burnside, Dexter Burnside, Garry Burnside, and Rodger Harmon
Sisters: Lucille Burnside, Verelan Burnside, and Mat Burnside
Brother: Jesse Monia
35 Grandchildren
32 Great-Grandchildren
Style
Burnside had a powerful, expressive voice and played both electric and acoustic guitars (both with a slide and without). His drone-based style was a characteristic of North Mississippi hill country blues rather than Mississippi Delta blues. Like other country blues musicians, he did not always adhere to 12- or 16-bar blues patterns, often adding extra beats according to his preference. He called this "Burnside style" and often commented that his backing musicians needed to be familiar with his style in order to be able to play along with him.
His earliest recordings, like those of John Lee Hooker, sound very similar in their vocal and instrumental style. Many of his songs do not have chord changes, but use the same chord or repeating bass line throughout, giving his music a hypnotic feel. His vocal style is characterized by a tendency to "break" into falsetto briefly (usually at the ends of long notes).
Like the bluesman T-Model Ford, Burnside utilized the stripped-down element of his music, playing up the rawness, emphasizing his image as a lifelong hard-drinking man, and singing songs of swagger and rebellion. Burnside collaborated in the late 1990s with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on the album A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. Consequently, he gained the attention of many within this underground music scene, cited as an influence by Hillstomp[9] and covered on record by The Immortal Lee County Killers. Burnside's "Skinny Woman" was also interpolated into the song "Busted" by fellow Fat Possum musicians The Black Keys, a band associated with the punk blues scene in their early years.
He also knew many toasts (African American narrative folk poems such as "Signifying monkey" and "Tojo Told Hitler") and frequently recited them between songs at his live concerts and on his recordings.
Selected albums
First Recordings (recorded in the late 1960s by George Mitchell; re-released by Fat Possum Records in 2003)
Too Bad Jim (produced in 1992 by Robert Palmer)
Well, Well, Well (songs and interviews from 1986-1993, released in 2001 on MC Records)
A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (1996, featuring the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion)
Mr. Wizard (1997)
Acoustic Stories (1997)
My Black Name A-Ringin' (1999)
Burnside on Burnside (a critically acclaimed 2001 live album recorded in the Crystal Ballroom on Portland, Oregon's Burnside Street)
Come On In, Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down, and A Bothered Mind (three albums of remixed material, often featuring guest artists, released in 1998, 2000 and 2004, respectively)
Films
Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads (1991). Directed by Robert Mugge
American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America, part 3: "The Land Where the Blues Began" (1990). Written, directed, and produced by Alan Lomax; developed by the Association for Cultural Equity at Columbia University and Hunter College. North Carolina Public TV; A Dibb Direction production for Channel Four. This is a lightly re-edited version of "The Land Where the Blues Began" (1978) made by Alan Lomax, John Bishop, and Worth Long in Association with Mississippi Authority for Educational Television
You See Me Laughin': The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen (2003; released by Fat Possum Records in 2005). Produced and directed by Mandy Stein. Oxford, Mississippi: Plain Jane Productions, Inc; Fat Possum Records.
In popular culture
The 2007 Samuel L. Jackson / Christina Ricci film, Black Snake Moan is infused with countless Burnside nods, including: the Reverend R. L. character and when Jackson plays the blues toward the end of the film, he thanks "Ced" and "Kenny" - Cedric Burnside (Burnside's grandson) and Kenny Brown (Burnside's "adopted son"), who were primary sidemen through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cedric and Kenny are also part of Jackson's band in the juke joint scene.
"It's Bad You Know," and "Shuck Dub" were featured in the HBO series The Sopranos.
"Got Messed Up" was featured in the FX series Rescue Me during an opening montage on Season 5 Episode 18, "Carrot".
A Burnside poster can be seen on a wall in brothers Drake and Josh's room in the Nickelodeon sitcom, Drake & Josh.
Out On The Road
R.L. Burnside Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're gonna light the largest match right under the world, uh huh
Well, could you help me up
Cause I'm legless
I'm a downright hollow-eyed son of a gun
Now the water is bubbling
We've been losing control
I hope that somebody knows
So what good is struggling
We're tangled up in a rope
You say you need to escape
But you keep digging a hole
You got nowhere to go
We're gonna run out of road
Come on, light me up
Lend me a spark
Go ahead and throw a match right under the rood, yeah
Come on and help me up
I feel weightless
I'm the last sad happenstance under the sun
Now the water is bubbling
We've been losing control
Some of the children were mislead
I hope that somebody knows
So what good is struggling
We're tangled up in a rope
You say you need to escape
But you keep digging a hole
You got nowhere to go
We're gonna run out of road
We're gonna run out of road
Now the water is bubbling
We've been losing control
Some of the children were mislead
I hope that somebody knows
So what good is struggling
We're tangled up in a rope
You say you need to escape
But you keep digging a hole
You got nowhere to go
We're gonna run out of road
We shot a hole in the boat
We're gonna run out of road
The lyrics of R.L. Burnside's "Out On The Road" convey a feeling of desperation and hopelessness, using vivid imagery and metaphors to describe a futile struggle. The lines "To start a fire we need a spark, we're gonna light the largest match right under the world" suggest a desire for change or revolution, but the singer feels inadequate and helpless, symbolized by being "legless" and "downright hollow-eyed." This imagery represents feeling powerless and lacking the means to bring about any significant change.
The repetition of the line "Now the water is bubbling, we've been losing control" creates a sense of chaos and turmoil. The singer observes that some of the children have been misled, highlighting a sense of societal betrayal and a lack of guidance for future generations. The line "I hope that somebody knows" reflects a plea for someone to understand the gravity of the situation and take action.
The lyrics also emphasize the futility of struggling against the constraints of a difficult situation. The line "So what good is struggling, we're tangled up in a rope" conveys a sense of being trapped and unable to find a way out. The paradox of wanting to escape but continuing to dig oneself deeper into a hole is emphasized, indicating a self-destructive cycle that leads to nowhere.
The repeated phrase "We're gonna run out of road" highlights the inevitable outcome of the situation. It suggests an imminent end or a point of no return. The singer acknowledges that they have "shot a hole in the boat," symbolizing a destructive action that further exacerbates their predicament. This line reinforces the theme of running out of options and resources, resulting in a bleak outlook.
Overall, the lyrics of "Out On The Road" paint a grim picture of a struggle with no resolution in sight. They depict a sense of powerlessness, societal disillusionment, and a cycle of self-destruction. The song captures the frustration and despair of trying to navigate a world that seems to offer no escape or hope for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
To start a fire we need a spark
In order to initiate any change or provoke action, we need a small catalyst.
We're gonna light the largest match right under the world, uh huh
We intend to make a significant impact or cause a major transformation that affects the entire world.
Well, could you help me up
Would you be kind enough to assist me in my current predicament?
Cause I'm legless
Because I am powerless and unable to move forward or take action.
I'm a downright hollow-eyed son of a gun
I am completely exhausted and worn out, feeling empty and defeated.
Now the water is bubbling
The situation is becoming increasingly chaotic or uncontrollable.
We've been losing control
We have been unable to maintain authority or manage the situation effectively.
Some of the children were mislead
Certain individuals, particularly the younger generation, have been deceived or led astray.
I hope that somebody knows
I long for someone to possess the understanding or knowledge to guide us out of this situation.
So what good is struggling
In such a desperate situation, is it even worthwhile to continue fighting?
We're tangled up in a rope
We find ourselves trapped or entangled in a difficult or restricting circumstance.
You say you need to escape
You claim to desire liberation from this situation.
But you keep digging a hole
Yet, you persistently engage in actions that only worsen or reinforce the problem.
You got nowhere to go
You have no viable alternative or escape route available.
We're gonna run out of road
Our options and possibilities are diminishing rapidly, leaving us with no more paths to take.
Come on, light me up
I implore you to ignite or inspire me.
Lend me a spark
Please grant me a small flicker of enthusiasm or motivation.
Go ahead and throw a match right under the rood, yeah
Take the initiative and apply a significant catalyst to initiate change or disruption within the system.
I feel weightless
I experience a sense of liberation or freedom, unburdened by the weight of my troubles.
I'm the last sad happenstance under the sun
I am the unfortunate outcome or event, filled with melancholy, that remains as the final occurrence in existence.
We shot a hole in the boat
We have irreparably damaged or sabotaged our means of escape or survival.
We're gonna run out of road
Our limited options and possibilities will soon be completely exhausted, leaving us with no path forward.
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