Hill Country Blues

In the greater Holly Springs area of Mississippi, musicians developed a hill country blues style marked by few chord changes, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on groove and steady, driving rhythm. In the 1990s, local musicians R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough brought this style to wider attention after years of mostly performing at local juke joints and house parties and recording only occasionally, often for field researchers and musicologists. Both had begun recording in the 1960s, but they gained a younger following after appearing in the 1991 documentary Deep Blues and recording for the Oxford-based Fat Possum label, while Kimbrough's juke joint in Chulahoma drew locals, college students, and foreign tourists. Their music reached audiences in blues and alternative rock circles, inspired musicians from Kansas to Norway, and was recorded or adapted by artists including the Black Keys and the North Mississippi Allstars, while remixes of Burnside tracks appeared in films, commercials, and the HBO series The Sopranos. Burnside, born in Lafayette County, was influenced by John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters and also learned directly from local guitarists Mississippi Fred McDowell and Ranie Burnette; he worked mainly as a farmer and fisherman for most of his life and only began performing at festivals and in Europe in the 1970s. His music later took a more modern turn through performances with sons Joseph, Daniel, and Duwayne Burnside and son-in-law Calvin Johnson in his Sound Machine band, and by the early 1990s he was performing internationally with grandson Cedric Burnside and Kenny Brown. After Burnside's death, family members including grandson Kent Burnside and his protege Robert Belfour continued performing his music. Kimbrough, born in Hudsonville into a musical family, formed his first band in the late 1950s, recorded for the Philwood label in Memphis in 1968, played in the 1980s with his Soul Blues Boys featuring bassist Little Joe Ayers, and later performed with his son Kinney on drums and R.L. Burnside's son Garry on bass. Kimbrough's son David Malone also carried on his father's legacy while developing his own style through recordings for Fat Possum and other labels.

Holly Springs, Mississippi · United States