Cedric Burnside on keeping country blues real – and why he plays guitars built by a brain surgeon

Cedric Burnside’s musical DNA is defined by tradition and authenticity. Born in Memphis, Tennessee into a heritage of hill country blues musicians, the 45-year-old’s career – which saw him transition from drummer to bandleader – has been all about “keeping the music alive”, but doing it in his own way.

“My big daddy, R. L. Burnside, opened the door for the Burnside family and I’m grateful for that,” he says. “But I also think that, in the midst of keeping the hill country blues alive, he would want me to make my own way. This music has been embedded in my heart since I was a kid watching R. L. play, but you have to change with the times.” 

Cedric can’t read music, and so his music is the epitome of ‘heart over head’. For him, the blues isn’t a genre – it’s the telling of his story. A great example of his reinterpretation of his family’s music, from his latest album, Hill Country Love, is Funky. It injects a danceable guitar groove into the style’s often-peculiar rhythmic template.

“It’s totally different from any song on the album,” he says. “I was debating not putting it on the album, but I couldn’t stop playing it, so I thought, ‘What the hell!’”

This track offers an easier entry point – and a rare usage of a I-IV-V progression in his repertoire – into a blues style which can otherwise be a little discombobulating. “I always tell people that hill country blues is something within itself. You either get it or you don’t,” he believes. “To me, the unorthodox rhythms make it sound and feel different than any other style of blues. It’s all off-beat on purpose.”

Originating in Mississippi, hill country blues places great emphasis on West African rhythms, brought over to the US on slave ships. Playing it is all about feel, even if it’s unusual.

“I don’t knock anybody who’s been to music school,” Cedric says, “but playing music by the book is a bit different to coming up with music from your heart. Musicians have gotten on stage with the kings and queens of hill country blues and not known what to do because they were so by-the-book, and this music isn’t in there! All the notes are broken. They don’t match up how you’d think they would.”

A total of five guitars were used across the new record. Front and centre are two guitars custom-made for the guitarist by a brain surgeon called Mike Aronson. “He’s a good friend of mine,” Cedric explains. “He makes guitars as a hobby and he made me two. I love the feel and tone of them.”

His first is based off a Les Paul, and features a more PRS-styled headstock. Comprising twin humbuckers fashioned after P-90s, it’s become his electric of choice for standard tuning songs. He told Aronson not to bother with a tone knob, saying all he needed was a control for “turning the volume up.”

The second build, meanwhile, traces the shape of a Stratocaster and offers a twangy trio of single coil pickups. It’s employed for open G songs, whilst two Martins, an EST 1883 and a 000-15M are his acoustic guitars of choice. However, he quickly turns the conversation towards his latest purchase.

“I’ve always wanted a Resonator,” he purrs. “I only got one recently and this one in particular – it has a very rough but warm feeling. When I practised You Gotta Move on it, which is my version of a Mississippi Fred McDowell song, I was stunned by how raw it sounded. It sounded good on the Martins, but this felt different. I used to love hearing R. L. play that song. He always made it sound so gritty and warm. So playing it on the Resonator made me think of him.”

Cedric plugs his electrics into an A/B box, allowing him to run a bass and lead amp simultaneously. An Ampeg PF-500/115HE head and cab and Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb are the weapons of choice here.

“It’s all the power I’ll ever need,” he says, adding, “the only pedal I have connected to them is a tuner. When it comes down to it, all I want is to get loud enough without feeding back. I don’t need much to get my point across and I’m glad of that.”

Asked why hill country blues is the perfect vehicle for his storytelling, he says: “Life is always gonna throw you something to write about. That could be good or bad. The most important thing is that you write about it. If you look at the Book of Psalms, they’ve all got the blues, whether they want to call it that or not. They’re talking about what they’re going through, and that’s all I’m doing, telling my story and being present in the moment.

“I know that the blues is classified as a genre, but I don’t see it like that. The blues is feelings and that’s why it’s here to stay. I don’t just play the blues – I’ve lived it. I know what it’s like to wake up and not having anything to eat, and walk four miles to haul water. My blues comes out differently than somebody who just plays the blues because they like it.”

While his greatest inspirations have now sadly passed, he’s quick to mention two names under whose fingertips the future of the blues is safe and sound. “Kingfish [Ingram] is keeping it going and I’m very proud of him, especially being so young. He’s so humble, and talented, so I definitely look up to him. Jontavious Willis, too – he’s an acoustic player and a really good musician. I listen to those guys a lot.”

However, Cedric isn’t about to pass the torch just yet, and Hill Country Love is a testament to keeping the family’s legacy alive in a way that no one else could.

• Hill Country Love is out now via Provogue.