R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005 Harmontown, MS) was an American bluessinger, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for much of his life but received little recognition before the early 1990s. In the latter half of that decade, Burnside recorded and toured with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fan base in the punk and garage rock scenes. e played the harmonica and dabbled with playing guitar, beginning at the age of 16. He said he first played in public at age 21 or 22. He learned mostly from Mississippi Fred McDowell, who had lived near Burnside since Burnside was a child. He first heard McDowell playing at age 7 or 8 and eventually joined his gigs to play a late set. Other local teachers were his wife’s brother, his uncle-in-law Ranie Burnette, who was a popular player from Senatobia, the mostly unknown Henry Harden, Son Hibbler, Jesse Vortis, and possibly Stonewall Mays. Burnside cited church singing and fife-and-drum picnics as elements of his childhood’s musical landscape, and he credited Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and John Lee Hooker as influences in adulthood.