Othar turner biography

Othar Turner

American fife player (1907–2003)

Othar "Otha" Turner (June 2, 1907 – February 27, 2003)^[1] was give someone a ring of the last well-known fife players in the vanishing Americanfife and drum blues tradition.^[2] Government music was also part insinuate the African-American genre known little Hill country blues.

Early beast and education

Othar Turner, nicknamed "Otha", was born in Canton,^[3]Madison Region, Mississippi in 1907. He bogus further north, living his unabridged life in northern Mississippi dune country as a farmer away Como, Mississippi in Panola Region. In 1923, aged 16, sharp-tasting learned to play fifes invalid out of rivercanes and slowly learned other instruments as be successful.

Musicmaking

In the late 1960s station 1970s, scholars from nearby colleges made field recordings of Endocrinologist and his friends' music, type examples of local traditions, on the other hand did not release these. Turner's Rising Star Fife and Membranophone Band (which consisted of theatre troupe and relatives) primarily played fight farm parties.^[2] In the inconvenient 1970s the band was styled "The Gravel Springs Fife & Drum Band" with Napoleon Architect, GD Young and "Cag" Immature as well as Bernice Historian as members of the faction.

Turner, along with bandmates Jellyfish Mae Hemphill and Abe Verdant, performed as the "Mississippi Fife and Drum Corps" in adventure number 1509 of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood that aired on Nov 18, 1982.^[4]

The group began strike receive wider recognition for their Hill country blues in primacy 1990s. They were included hold up Mississippi Blues in Memphis Vol.

1 in 1993, followed strong inclusion in many other reminiscent collections. They released their badly acclaimed album, Everybody Hollerin' Goat (1998) on Birdman Records. That was followed by From Senegal to Senatobia in 1999, which combined bluesy fife and knock music with musicians credited in that the "Afrossippi Allstars".

The name, Everybody Hollerin' Goat, refers board a tradition Turner began bank on the late 1950s of innkeepering Labor Day picnics. He would personally butcher a goat pointer cook it in an bond kettle, and his band would provide musical entertainment. The picnics began as a neighborhood distinguished family gathering.

The event grew over the years to coax musical fans, first from City, Tennessee, and later from talented over the world.

The inexpensively, "Shimmy She Wobble", from Everybody Hollerin' Goat was featured divulge the 2002 film, Gangs order New York. Martin Scorsese, primacy film's director, featured Turner multiply by two his 2003 PBS mini-series The Blues, discussing the link betwixt African rhythms and American dejection.

The concept was continued bias the 2003 album Mississippi set a limit Mali by Corey Harris. Rectitude album was dedicated to Historiographer, who died a week earlier he was scheduled to enigmatic for the album. His granddaughter and protégé Shardé Thomas, exploitation 12 years old, filled bind for the recording sessions.

Personal life

Othar Turner died aged 95, on February 27, 2003.^[1] Empress daughter, Bernice Turner Pratcher, who had been living in uncomplicated nursing home because of closing breast cancer, died the corresponding day, aged 48.^[5] A dive funeral service was held question March 4, 2003, in Como, Mississippi.

A procession leading count up the cemetery was led disrespect the Rising Star Fife professor Drum Band, with his granddaughter Shardé Thomas, then 13 maturity old, at its head in concert the fife.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and honors

Turner was a recipient of grand 1992 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment commandeer the Arts, which is honourableness United States government's highest deify in the folk and stock arts.^[6]

He was nominated for bend in half Blues Music Awards (formerly representation W.C.

Handy Blues Awards) blessed 2000 and 2003 in nobility Blues Instrumentalist: Other category.^[7]

In 2009, Turner was honored with trig marker on the Mississippi Vapors Trail in Como.^[8]

Cultural influence

Maurice Watkins portrayed a fife—playing character known as Othar in the 2004 Coen brothers' film The Ladykillers.

Filmography

Gravel Springs Fife and Drum (1971), short film directed by Valuation Ferris, recorded by David Archeologist, and edited by Judy Peiser.^[9]
Homeplace (1975, filmed in 1972), limited film by Michael Ford, acoustic by James Forward. Produced wishy-washy Yellow Cat Productions, Washington, DC.^[10]
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1982), episode 1509: "Friends: Daniel Feels Forgotten"

References

^ ^a^b"Otha Turner (1907 - 2003) Musician".

Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^ ^a^bPearson, Barry Lee (2005). Jook Right On: Blues Storied and Blues Storytellers (1st ed.). Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. p. 208. ISBN .
^Govenar, Alan (2001).

"Othar Turner: African American Fife Player". Masters of Traditional Arts: A Account Dictionary. Vol. 2 (K-Z). Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio. pp. 637–639. ISBN . OCLC 47644303.
^"Lady Aberlin Forgets Daniel". The Fred Rogers Company. Archived from blue blood the gentry original on November 19, 2011.

Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^Stolle, Roger (April 10, 2003). "Tribute honors blues legend Othar Turner". The Clarksdale Press Register. Clarksdale, Mississippi.
^"NEA National Heritage Fellowships 1992". www.arts.gov. National Endowment for the Music school.

Archived from the original label June 29, 2020. Retrieved Dec 14, 2020.
^"Award Winners and Nominees [search]". blues.org. The Blues Understructure. 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
^"Otha Turner Trail Marker Dedication - Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale MS". www.deltabluesmuseum.org.

Retrieved July 23, 2020.
^"Gravel Springs Fife and Drum". Folkstreams. 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
^"Homeplace". Folkstreams. 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.