Otha Turner

Otha Turner was born in 1907 to Hollis and Betty Turner, both sharecroppers, in Jackson County, Mississippi. Turner's father left town shortly after he was born, leaving his mother to raise him and his siblings alone. He grew up helping his mother in the fields, and was often put in charge of taking care of the rest of his family. His life of hard work began early, chopping cotton and plowing the fields as a young boy. Turner demonstrated an unusual musical ability as a teenager. He started playing on the tin tub when he was 15 years old and began playing the drums at the age of 17. He also taught himself how to make and play a fife during these years. Turner got his start as a performer by playing the fife and drums at local picnic celebrations. Money he raised playing at these gatherings enabled him to buy the farm where he still lives in the Gravel Springs Community outside Como, Mississippi (pop. 789) and where he and his wife Ada "Moochie" Turner raised four children. At 94 ye