Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1909/1912 – August 16, 1938) can arguably be considered as the most famous Delta blues singer and guitarist in history, even though he lived to be only 27 and didn't start recording until three years before his death. Despite having such little time in the music industry, Robert Johnson has become widely acclaimed and popular, and has profoundly influenced a wide spectrum of musicians, some of whom view him as a near demi-god. Among his more well-known fanbase are Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Bob Dylan.
Life
Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. The commonly accepted birthdate is almost certainly in error. School and marriage records, and his death certificate, suggest various dates including 1909 and 1912 —although none support the 1911 date.
Robert Johnson recorded only 29 songs on a total of 42 tracks in two recording sessions in San Antonio, Texas in November 1936 and Dallas, Texas in June 1937. Thirteen of the songs were recorded twice. Notable among these tracks were "Come on in My Kitchen", "Love in Vain", "Sweet Home Chicago", "Cross Road Blues", "Terraplane Blues", and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom", all frequently remade and imitated by other artists.
Many people think that the lyrics "Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago", in "Sweet Home Chicago" are rather strange. There have been two theories proposed for this wording:
- When Johnson wrote this, he was not well travelled (he would later go to Chicago), and may have not understood geography of other parts of the country, or
- "California" was not meant literally, but was was meant as a metaphor for a land of great riches, which Chicago was at the time for a Blues musician.
Popular legend says that Johnson died after drinking whiskey poisoned with strychnine, supposedly given to him by the jealous husband of a lover. He may have recovered from the poisoning initially, only to contract pneumonia and die three days later on the 16 August 1938 in Greenwood, Mississippi. It is rumored that Johnson may have died from syphilis which he would have contracted from his "Bluesman" lifestyle. The precise cause of death remains unknown—his death certificate simply states "no doctor" under cause of death.
A recurring legend says that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 61 and U.S. Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi in exchange for prowess in playing the guitar. Actually, the ___location Johnson made reference to is a short distance away from that intersection. The legend was told mainly by Son House, but finds no corroboration in any of Johnson's work, despite titles like "Me and the Devil Blues" and "Hellhound on My Trail". The older Tommy Johnson (no relation), by contrast, actually did claim to have sold his soul to the Devil.
Influence
Johnson is frequently cited as "the greatest blues singer of all time" or even the most important musician of the 20th century, but many listeners are disappointed by their first encounter with his work. This reaction may be because of their unfamiliarity with the raw emotion and sparse form of the Delta style or because of the thin sound of the recordings when compared to modern music production standards. Johnson's guitar work was adroit and his voice was high-pitched.
Exaggerated claims are sometimes made for Johnson's originality. He certainly did not invent the blues, which had existed on record for over fifteen years before he recorded. His primary influence was the inimitable Son House, who more than anyone else (except his friend Charley Patton) can claim to have invented what is now considered the mainstream of the Delta blues, with his rough voice and searing slide guitar riffs played on a steel-bodied National guitar. But Johnson added to this the keening whimsy of then-obscure Skip James and the jazzy inventiveness of Lonnie Johnson. Indeed, a couple of his songs are nothing other than imitations of his famous namesake. Johnson had also listened to Leroy Carr, who was probably the most popular male blues singer of the time, and based several songs on the records of the urban blues recording stars Kokomo Arnold (source for both "Sweet Home Chicago" and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom") and Peetie Wheatstraw.
What Johnson did with these and other diverse influences was create a new sound that was at once immediate and artful. His use of the bass strings to create a steady, rolling rhythm can be heard on songs like "Sweet Home Chicago". His penchant for strange snatches of melodic invention on the upper strings, mingling with a quite different vocal line, appears on "Walking Blues". Johnson played with the young Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II (who claimed to be present at the fateful night when Johnson was poisoned, and even warned him against taking an open bottle of whiskey!). Johnson trained his own stepson, Robert "Junior" Lockwood, as well. He also acted as mentor to Elmore James, and inspired the young Muddy Waters to take up the blues. All of these musicians and others who created the Chicago style of electric blues in the 1950s were essentially playing the music of Robert Johnson, plugged in. There is thus a direct line of influence from the early blues to post-war blues to early rock and roll and later rock music. "All blues seem to revolve around Robert Johnson", according to modern bluesman Keb' Mo'.
Years after his death, Johnson's fan club grew to include rock stars such as Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. When Keith Richards was first introduced to Johnson's music by his bandmate Brian Jones, he replied, "Who is the other guy playing with him?", not realizing it was all Johnson playing on one guitar. Clapton described Johnson as "the most important blues musician who ever lived. ... His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice". The song "Crossroads" by British blues rock/psychedelic band Cream is a cover version of Johnson's "Cross Road Blues", about the legend of Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at the crossroads, although Johnson's original lyrics ("Standin' at the crossroads, tried to flag a ride") suggest he was merely hitchhiking rather than signing away his soul to Lucifer in exchange for supernatural guitar technique.
Johnson's recordings have remained continuously available since John Hammond convinced Columbia Records to compile the first Johnson LP, King of the Delta Blues Singers, in 1961. A sequel LP, assembling all that could be found of Johnson's surviving efforts, was issued later in the decade. An omnibus CD set was released in the early 1990s.
John P. Hammond (the son of the aforementioned John Hammond) also produced a documentary in the early 1990s about Johnson's life in the Delta area.
Samples
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Songs
- ".32-20 Blues"
- "Come on in My Kitchen" [two versions]
- "Cross Road Blues" [two versions]
- "Dead Shrimp Blues"
- "Drunken Hearted Man" [two versions]
- "From Four Till Late"
- "Hellhound on My Trail"
- "Honeymoon Blues"
- "I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"
- "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"
- "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day"
- "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" [two versions]
- "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"
- "Little Queen of Spades" [two versions]
- "Love in Vain" [two versions]
- "Malted Milk"
- "Me and the Devil Blues" [two versions]
- "Milk Cow's Calf Blues" [two versions]
- "Phonograph Blues" [two versions]
- "Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)"
- "Rambling on My Mind" [two versions]
- "Stones in My Passway"
- "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" [two versions]
- "Sweet Home Chicago"
- "Terraplane Blues"
- "They're Red Hot"
- "Traveling Riverside Blues" [two versions]
- "Walkin' Blues"
- "When You Got a Good Friend" [two versions]
Discography
- Nothing but the Blues: Cross Road Blues (1936)
- King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961)
- King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2 (1970)
- Legacy (1976)
- Delta Blues, Vol. 1 (1990)
- Delta Blues, Vol. 2 (1990)
- Delta Blues: The Alternative Takes (1990)
- The Complete Recordings (1990)
- Hellhound on My Tail (1995)
- All Time Blues Classics (1996)
- King of the Electric Blues Singers [bootleg] (1996)
- King of the Delta Blues (1997)
- Gold Collection (1998)
- Masters (1998)
- Complete Collection (1998)
- Delta Blues Legend: Masterworks, Vol. 13 (1999)
- Steady Rollin' Man (1999)
- Genius of the Blues (2000)
- Me and the Devil Blues [Chrisly] (2000)
- Crossroads Blues [Past Perfect] (2000)
- The Search for Robert Johnsnon (2000)
- Robert Johnson [Dressed to Kill] (2001)
- Crossroad Blues [Legacy] (2002)
- His Recorded Legacy: The 29 Songs (2002)
- Deal With the Devil, Vol. 1 (2002)
- Deal With the Devil, Vol. 2 (2002)
- The Last of the Great Blues Singers (2002)
- San Antonio to Dallas: 1936-1937 (2002)
- Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Robert Johnson (2003)
- Robert Johnson and the Old School Blues (2003)
- From Four Till Late (2004)
- Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 (2004)
- A Proper Introduction to Robert Johnson: Cross Road Blues (2004)
- Presenting Robert Johnson (2004)
- The Best of Robert Johnson: Traveling Riverside Blues (2004)
- The Ultimate Blues Legend (2004)
- Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 (2004)
- Me and the Devil Blues [Synergy] (2004)
- Robert Johnson [Fruit Tree] (2004)
- Guitar & Bass (2004)
- I'm a Steady Rollin' Man (2005)
- Delta Blues Goin' North, Mississippi Country Blues, Vol. 1 (2005)
Artists Who Have Covered Robert Johnson
- Eric Clapton (Love In Vain, Hell Hound On My Trail, 32-20 Blues, Steady Rollin' Man, If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day, Come On In My Kitchen, Kind Hearted Woman Blues, Milkcow's Calf Blues, Stop Breakin' Down Blues, Last Fair Deal Gone Down, Traveling Riverside Blues, Me And The Devil Blues, They're Red Hot, Little Queen Of Spades, When You Got A Good Friend, Walkin' Blues, Malted Milk, Sweet Home Chicago)
- Rolling Stones (Love In Vain, Stop Breaking Down)
- Bob Dylan (Kindhearted Woman Blues)
- Led Zeppelin (Travelling Riverside Blues)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd (Crossroads)
- The Allman Brothers Band (Come On In My Kitchen, Crossroads)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers (They're Red Hot)
- Grateful Dead (Walkin' Blues)
- Ben Harper (Sweet Home Chicago)
- Fleetwood Mac (Hell Hound On My Trail, Kind Hearted Woman)
- Cream (Crossroads, Four Until Late)
- Keb' Mo' (Come On In My Kitchen, Last Fair Deal Gone Down, Kindhearted Woman Blues)
- Rory Block (Come On In My Kitchen, Hell Hound On My Trail, Terraplane Blues)
- Steve Miller (Come On In My Kitchen)
- The White Stripes (Stop Breaking Down)
- Widespread Panic (Me and the Devil Blues)
Books about Robert Johnson
- Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson, Alan Greenberg, Stanley Crouch, Martin Scorsese, 1994, ISBN 030680557X
- Searching for Robert Johnson, Peter Guralnick , 1998, ISBN 0452279496
- Robert Johnson: Lost and Found, Barry Lee Pearson, Bill McCulloch, 2003, ISBN 025202835X
- Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, Elijah Wald, 2004, ISBN 0060524235
- Hellhound on My Trail: The Life of Robert Johnson, Bluesman Extraordinaire, Robert Wolf, 2004, ISBN 1568461461
- Robert Johnson, Mythmaking, and Contemporary American Culture, Patricia R. Schroeder, 2004, ISBN 0252029151
- RL's Dream, a novel by Walter Mosely, 1995 ISBN 0393038025
Films about Robert Johnson
- Crossroads, 1986 (loosely based on the theme of a blues artist selling his soul to the devil)
- The Search for Robert Johnson, 1992
- Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? The Life and Music of Robert Johnson, 1997
- Hellhounds On My Trail: The Afterlife of Robert Johnson, 2000
Other
- "Back to the Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson," a CD from Yazoo records, includes many of the records Johnson himself heard and learned from.
- Currently, a manga running in the Japanese magazine Afternoon called 俺と悪魔ブルーズ(Me and the Devil Blues) is clearly influenced by events of Johnson's life, and the protagonist is named "RJ". However, it is not attempting to be a biography.
- The Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains a character named Tommy Johnson that seems to be a mixed reference to both Robert and Tommy Johnson and their parallel devil story.
- The Sherman Alexie novel "Reservation Blues" has a fictional account of Robert Johnson faking his death and hiding out on an indian reservation.