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R.L. Burnside, RIP

One of the things we hope to do with these new-fangled blogs is make this site a little more timely. This isn't the sort of news I relish posting, but it's part of the tapestry of life, and a good reminder to enjoy the moment -- if any of us needed that reminder.

Here's the Fat Possum press release:

R.L. Burnside
November 21, 1926-September 1,2005

We at Fat Possum are sad to announce that R.L. Burnside died today at his hospital room in Memphis.

Blues artist R.L. Burnside, who redefined the blues genre by incorporating indie rock acts and hip-hop production, died September 1, 2005, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Burnside was born November 21, 1926, in Harmontown, Mississippi, and spent most of his life in the north Mississippi hill country, where he worked as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman and played guitar at weekend house parties. In 1968, noted folklorist George Mitchell recorded Burnside for the first time. In 1991 Burnside was the first artist signed to then-fledging Fat Possum Records in Oxford, Mississippi. His debut, "Too Bad Jim," was produced by former New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer. Along with his friend, neighbor, and label-mate Junior Kimbrough, Burnside was one of the most popular and important blues musicians to emerge in the last two decades. He recorded the crossover collaboration "A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey" with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1996 and became a cult hero. In 1998, music from "Come On In" was featured in several movies and television shows, including "The Sopranos." Burnside sold hundreds of thousands of records in his lifetime. He is survived by his wife Alice Mae, twelve children and numerous grandchildren.

Those wishing to help should send donations to:

Freeland & Freeland Trust Account
Burnside Memorial
P.O. Box 269
Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 234-3414
All proceeds will go directly to RL's widow, Alice Mae.

Now, there are one or two things in that press release with which I might disagree on another today, but just now let's leave that be.

Posted by grant on September 2, 2005 9:58 AM | Permalink