Blues / Hill country blues singer, songwriter and guitarist R.L. Boyce was born Robert L. Boyce in Como, Mississippi on August 15, 1955. A protégé of R.L. Burnside and Mississippi Fred McDowell, his musical career began in the 1960s as a drummer for his uncle, Othar Turner. He then turned up as a drummer on Jessie Mae Hemphill’s 1990 album Feelin’ Good. He finally came to prominence late in his career, releasing his second album, Ain’t the Man’s Alright, in 2013. The album featured musical assistance from Luther Dickinson, R.L. Burnside’s son Calvin Jackson, and Cedric Burnside (son of Calvin Jackson and grandson of R.L.). R.L. Boyce’s second album, Roll and Tumble (2017), continued his association with Dickinson, Jackson, and Burnside and was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2018, R.L. Boyce released the albums Rattlesnake Boogie and Ain’t Gonna Play Too Long. Continuing his blues journey, he issued the albums True Man (2020) and Boogie 2/RL Boyce Live (2021). In 2023, he released the single “Cruel Black Mattie” and was honored with the National Heritage Fellowship Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. R.L. Boyce died of lung cancer on November 9, 2023, at the age of 68.
