Though he was first recorded by amateur musicologist George Mitchell in the late ‘60s, Otha (sometimes spelled Othar) Turner began his performing career in the early '20s, playing his unique brand of fife & drum music at picnics and parties in and around Senatobia, Mississippi. As the leader of The Rising Star Fife & Drum band, Turner served as a mentor to aspiring musicians including a young R.L. Boyce, who would later become an accomplished blues player in his own right.