Napolian Strickland (1924-2001) was one of Mississippi's most gifted musicians in the fife and drum and country blues traditions. A lifelong resident of the Como-Senatobia area, he excelled on the homemade cane fife and also played harmonica, guitar, the one-string diddley bow, and various percussion instruments. For several decades he was Mississippi's most in-demand fife player, enlivening hill country picnics, reunions, family gatherings, church socials, and celebrations sponsored by local farmers and businesses by leading processions of drummers through the crowds and performing with uninhibited movement. He made his first recordings in 1967 for George Mitchell and later recorded for David Evans, Bill Ferris, Chris Strachwitz, and Alan Lomax, with his music appearing on labels including Arhoolie, Testament, Blue Thumb, Southern Culture, and the Library of Congress. In 1978 Lomax filmed him for The Land Where the Blues Began and later devoted several pages to him in the book of the same name. Strickland first joined Otha Turner's band, and Turner later became the area's most celebrated fife player and picnic host. Born a few miles east of Como, Strickland recalled teaching himself fife while walking country roads and said he was inspired by a fife player in drummer John Tyler's group in Sardis; he also spoke of learning music by following his grandfather's instruction to sit on a grave in a cemetery at midnight. He spent most of his life doing farm work, often living with and working alongside his mother, Dora Tuggle, and occasionally traveling to play festivals. Though different birth dates and spellings of his first name appeared in official records, his birth certificate gave October 6, 1924, and family sources used Napolian at his funeral. He spent his final years in a convalescent home and died at North Oak Regional Medical Center in Senatobia on July 21, 2001. Events in Como, including Napoleon Strickland Day, have honored him.