He is the grandson of R. L. Burnside on his mother"s side, whilst his father was the blues drummer Calvin Jackson. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, to Calvin Jackson and Linda Burnside, and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in the house of his grandfather, R. L. Burnside, and the extended family.
Amongst many others, Burnside has played drums, either live or on record, with R. L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, John Hermann, Kenny Brown, Richard Johnston, Jimmy Buffett, T-Model Ford, Paul "Wine" Jones, Widespread Panic, Afrissippi, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. He had overlapped his father"s time in the band, and would eventually replace him on the drums. In 2002, Burnside played on Richard Johnston"s debut album, Foot Hill Stomp.
Burnside followed this two years later by playing percussion on Johnston"s Official Bootleg #1 album.
They have had tour dates as opening act and jam partners for Widespread Panic. Later in 2006 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Burnside teamed up with Lightnin" Malcolm, and they both toured and recorded the Juke Joint Duo album.
In addition they released Two Manitoba Wrecking Crew in 2008. Jason Ricci played harmonica and Etta Britt performed backing vocals on Two Manitoba Wrecking Crew.
The duo also toured with the Big Head Blues Club, a collaboration which led to them jointly recording the album, 100 Years Of Robert Johnson in 2011, to mark the centennial of the birth of Robert Johnson.
Since 2011 he has recorded and toured with Trenton Ayers. In 2011, The Way I Am album was released. In late 2012 he recorded the album Allison Burnside Express with Bernard Allison, released in 2014.
Burnside"s 2013"s Hear Maine When I Say, and the later Descendants of Hill Country (2015), were issued under the Cedric Burnside Project name and using the guitar playing of Ayers.
The latter was funded using a Kickstarter campaign. Burnside has had cameo appearances in three films to date.
Tempted and Big Bad Love (both 2001), plus Black Snake Moan (2006).
Burnside won his fourth overall, and third consecutive Blues Music Award in May 2014, in the category of "Instrumentalist - Drums". lieutenant won a Blues Music Award for "Best New Artist Debut" in 2009. In 2013, Burnside won the Memphis Blues Award as "Drummer of the Year" for the third time. The album Desendants of Hill Country, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2016 for Best Blues Album.
