rising star fife and drum band

Biography

The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band was founded by Othar 'Otha' Turner (1907-2003), a master fife player from northern Mississippi hill country, born in Canton, Mississippi, and later based near Como in Panola County. Turner began making cane fifes at age 13 and formed the band in the 1960s with friends and relatives, including Napoleon Strickland, G.D. Young, 'Cag' Young, and his daughter Bernice Turner, initially performing as the Gravel Springs Fife & Drum Band in the early 1970s. The band's style blended African-derived fife and drum traditions with Hill country blues, featuring a fife leading two kettle drums and a bass drum, playing 'Shimmy She Wobble' repertoire of blues, spirituals, and popular tunes at community picnics on the Fourth of July and Labor Day.[1][4][5][6]

After Turner's death in 2003, his 13-year-old granddaughter Shardé Thomas took over leadership, continuing the legacy by forming her own iteration of the Rising Stars in 2003 while still part of her grandfather's band. Under Thomas, born in 1990 in north Mississippi, the band modernized the sound, mixing traditional fife and drum with blues, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, and pop, releasing albums like Shardé's solo debut 'What Do I Do' (2010), 'Shawty Blues' (2013), and the band's 'Evolution of Fife and Drum Music' (2023). They gained international recognition, performing at venues like Lincoln Center, the Ryman Auditorium, and festivals worldwide, including tours in Africa, France, Switzerland, and the UK.[2][3][4]

The band's legacy preserves one of America's rarest African-rooted music forms, evolving from local farm parties to global stages while honoring Turner's picnics and recordings like 'Everybody Hollerin' Goat' (1998) and 'From Senegal to Senatobia' (1999). Shardé Thomas and her husband Chris Mallory have elevated it into a youthful blues sensation, featured in films like the Grammy-winning 'Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story' and listed on the Mississippi Artist Roster.[3][4]

Fun Facts

• Othar Turner hosted legendary Labor Day picnics starting in the late 1950s, butchering goats cooked in iron kettles, which inspired the album title 'Everybody Hollerin' Goat' (1998).
• At Turner's 2003 funeral, 13-year-old Shardé Thomas led the procession playing fife with the band.
• The band appeared on 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood' episode 1509 in 1982 as the Mississippi Fife and Drum Corps with Turner, Jessie Mae Hemphill, and Abe Young.
• Turner made his first fife at age 13 from ditch-bank cane, boring holes with a red-hot rod to achieve proper intonation.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Othar Turner - Founder and grandfather of Shardé Thomas; taught her fife and drum mastery from a young age (Rising Star Fife and Drum Band performances and picnics) [1960s-2003]

Key Collaborators

• Shardé Thomas - Lead fife player, vocalist, and leader since 2003 (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music (2023), tours with Voices of Mississippi (2022)) [2003-present]
• Chris Mallory - Husband of Shardé Thomas and co-leader (Rising Stars performances and recordings) [Recent years-present]
• Napoleon Strickland - Early band member (Gravel Springs Fife & Drum Band) [Early 1970s]
• Eric Clapton - Noted collaborator (Live performances) [2010s]
• North Mississippi Allstars - Frequent collaborators (Various performances) [2000s-present]

Artists Influenced

• Shardé Thomas - Direct protégé and heir who leads the band and carries on the tradition (What Do I Do (2010), Shawty Blues (2013)) [2003-present]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Amourette (Rêve du troubadour)
2. Glory, Glory, Hallelujah (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music)
3. Mississippi (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music)
4. Rêve du troubadour (Rêve du troubadour)
5. My Baby (New Orleans Bounce Edition) (My Baby (New Orleans Bounce Edition))
6. Fly With Me (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music)
7. You Know That Dog Gon Bite (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music)
8. Sittin on Top of The World (Evolution of Fife and Drum Music)
9. Hens (Evolution Of Fife And Drum Music 2: Hickhala Creek)
10. My Baby (Evolution Of Fife And Drum Music 2: Hickhala Creek)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia