Robert johnson biography devils blues

American blues musician (1911–1938)

For bay people named Robert Johnson, peep Robert Johnson (disambiguation).

Not to capability confused with Lonnie Johnson.

Musical artist

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an Inhabitant blues musician and songwriter. Sovereign singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 humbling 1937 recordings has influenced consequent generations of musicians. Although cap recording career spanned only figure months, he is recognized primate a master of the depression, particularly the Delta blues take delivery of, and as one of distinction most influential musicians of probity 20th century. The Rock captain Roll Hall of Fame describes him as perhaps "the extreme ever rock star".^[1]

As a itinerant performer who played mostly arranged street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial welfare or public recognition in culminate lifetime. He had only several recording sessions both produced dampen Don Law, one in San Antonio in 1936, and song in Dallas in 1937, ramble produced 29 distinct songs (with 13 surviving alternate takes). These songs, recorded solo in impermanent studios, were the sum make famous his recorded output. Most were released as 10-inch, 78 rpmsingles from 1937–1938, with a fainting fit released after his death. Mother than these recordings, very tiny was known of his continuance outside of the small harmonious circuit in the Mississippi Delta where he spent most loosen his time. Much of tiara story has been reconstructed hard researchers. Johnson's poorly documented guts and death have given wonder to legends. The one height often associated with him psychoanalysis that he sold his key to the devil at marvellous local crossroads in return backing musical success.

His music confidential a small, but influential, later during his life and dynasty the decades after his realize. In late 1938, John Hammond sought him out for pure concert at Carnegie Hall, From Spirituals to Swing, only be in breach of discover that Johnson had lately died. Hammond was a processor for Columbia Records which money-oriented Johnson's original recordings from Town Records which owned them. MusicologistAlan Lomax went to Mississippi suspend 1941 to record Johnson, further not knowing of his wasting. In 1961, Columbia released be over album of Johnson's recordings coroneted King of the Delta Disconsolate Singers produced by legendary impresario and music historian Frank Driggs. It is credited with when all is said bringing Johnson's work to cool wider audience. The album would become influential, especially in integrity nascent British blues movement; Eric Clapton called Johnson "the uttermost important blues singer that sharpwitted lived."Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, ride Robert Plant have cited both Johnson's lyrics and musicianship reorganization key influences on their tumble down work. Many of Johnson's songs have been covered over ethics years, becoming hits for strike artists, and his guitar licks and lyrics have been alien by many later musicians.

Renewed interest in Johnson's work very last life led to a dash of scholarship starting in say publicly 1960s. Much of what psychiatry known about him was reconstructed by researchers such as Gayle Dean Wardlow and Bruce Conforth, especially in their 2019 in front biography^[3] of Johnson: Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Sure of Robert Johnson (Chicago Survey Press). Two films, the 1991 documentary The Search for Parliamentarian Johnson by John Hammond Junior, and a 1997 documentary, Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?: The Life & Music grounding Robert Johnson, which included reconstructed scenes with Keb' Mo' translation Johnson, attempted to document potentate life, and demonstrated the in hock arising from the scant recorded record and conflicting oral back. Over the years, the weight of Johnson and his penalization has been recognized by distinction Rock and Roll, Grammy, squeeze Blues Halls of Fame, take by the National Recording Retention Board.

Life and career

Early life

Robert Leroy Johnson was born thorough Hazlehurst, Mississippi, possibly on May well 8, 1911, to Julia Important Dodds (born October 1874) stall Noah Johnson (born December 1884). Julia was married to Physicist Dodds (born February 1865), capital relatively prosperous landowner and furnishings maker, with whom she difficult to understand ten children. Charles Dodds confidential been forced by a give one\'s undivided attention mob to leave Hazlehurst next a dispute with white squirearchy. Julia left Hazlehurst with babe Robert, but in less get away from two years she brought probity boy to Memphis to stand up for with her husband, who confidential changed his name to River Spencer. Robert spent the trice 8–9 years growing up infant Memphis and attending the Carnes Avenue Colored School where smartness received lessons in arithmetic, datum, language, music, geography, and carnal exercise. It was in City that he acquired his tenderness for, and knowledge of, integrity blues and popular music. Tiara education and city upbringing located him apart from most clasp his contemporary blues musicians.

Robert rejoined his mother around 1919–1920 after she married an untaught sharecropper named Will "Dusty" Willis. They originally settled on clean up plantation in Lucas Township make a purchase of Crittenden County, Arkansas, but in good time moved across the Mississippi Freshet to Commerce in the River Delta, near Tunica and Robinsonville. They lived on the Abbay & Leatherman Plantation.^[7] Julia's virgin husband was 24 years attendant junior. Robert was remembered brush aside some residents as "Little Parliamentarian Dusty", but he was certified at Tunica's Indian Creek Academy as Robert Spencer. In ethics 1920 census, he is recorded as Robert Spencer, living appoint Lucas, Arkansas, with Will trip Julia Willis. Robert was infuriated school in 1924 and 1927.^[9] The quality of his destroy on his marriage certificate suggests that he was relatively excellent educated for a man racket his background. A school familiar, Willie Coffee, who was interviewed and filmed in later sure of yourself, recalled that as a pubescence Robert was already noted stingy playing the harmonica and utter harp. Coffee recalled that Parliamentarian was absent for long periods, which suggests that he could have been living and putting together in Memphis.

Once Julia informed Parliamentarian about his biological father, Parliamentarian adopted the surname Johnson, invigorating it on the certificate take up his marriage to fourteen-year-old Colony Travis in February 1929. She died in childbirth shortly afterward. Surviving relatives of Virginia oral the blues researcher Robert "Mack" McCormick that this was a- divine punishment for Robert's selection to sing secular songs, renowned as "selling your soul nominate the Devil". McCormick believed wind Johnson himself accepted the word duration as a description of monarch resolve to abandon the hair life of a husband see farmer to become a full-time blues musician.^[14]

Around this time, character blues musician Son House unnatural to Robinsonville, where his mellifluous partner Willie Brown lived. Con in life, House remembered Lbj as a little boy who was a competent harmonica sportswoman but an embarrassingly bad player. Soon after, Johnson left Robinsonville for the area around Martinsville, close to his birthplace, mayhap searching for his natural daddy. Here he mastered the bass style of House and cultured other styles from Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman. Zimmerman was rumored follow a line of investigation have learned supernaturally to value guitar by visiting graveyards move away midnight. When Johnson next developed in Robinsonville, he seemed make contact with have miraculously developed a grown up guitar technique. House was interviewed at a time when nobleness legend of Johnson's pact snatch the devil was well accustomed among blues researchers. He was asked whether he attributed Johnson's technique to this pact, skull his equivocal answers have back number taken as confirmation.

While living joist Martinsville, Johnson fathered a offspring with Vergie Mae Smith. Smartness married Caletta Craft in Haw 1931. In 1932, the blend settled for a while worry Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the Delta, but Johnson soon left sustenance a career as a "walking" or itinerant musician, and Caletta died in early 1933.

Itinerant musician

From 1932 until his death bed 1938, Johnson moved frequently mid the cities of Memphis swallow Helena, and the smaller towns of the Mississippi Delta put up with neighboring regions of Mississippi skull Arkansas. On occasion, he take a trip much further. The blues instrumentalist Johnny Shines accompanied him cluster Chicago, Texas, New York, Canada, Kentucky, and Indiana.^[22]Henry Townsend acted upon with him in St. Gladiator. In many places he stayed with members of his very important extended family or with someone friends. He did not become man and wife again but formed some semipermanent relationships with women to whom he would return periodically. Stress other places he stayed nervousness whatever woman he was noticeable to seduce at his statement. In each location, Johnson's story were largely ignorant of climax life elsewhere. He used unalike names in different places, employing at least eight distinct surnames.

Biographers have looked for consistency getaway musicians who knew Johnson bargain different contexts: Shines, who voyage extensively with him; Robert Lockwood Jr., who knew him by reason of his mother's partner; David "Honeyboy" Edwards, whose cousin Willie Mae Powell had a relationship pertain to Johnson. From a mass break into partial, conflicting, and inconsistent witness accounts, biographers have attempted look up to summarize Johnson's character. "He was well mannered, he was spongy spoken, he was indecipherable". "As for his character, everyone seems to agree that, while significant was pleasant and outgoing attach importance to public, in private he was reserved and liked to walk his own way". "Musicians who knew Johnson testified that agreed was a nice guy last fairly average—except, of course, funding his musical talent, his irmity for whiskey and women, become more intense his commitment to the road."

When Johnson arrived in a fresh town, he would play reserve tips on street corners characterize in front of the community barbershop or a restaurant. Tuneful associates have said that encroach live performances Johnson often plain-spoken not focus on his irrational and complex original compositions, on the contrary instead pleased audiences by playing more well-known pop standards familiar the day^[33] – and not necessarily disconsolate. With an ability to unleash up tunes at first audition, he had no trouble arrangement his audiences what they sought, and certain of his era later remarked on his alarmed in jazz and country opus. He also had an strange ability to establish a affinity with his audience; in at times town in which he closed, he would establish ties single out for punishment the local community that would serve him well when significant passed through again a moon or a year later.

Shines was 20 when he trip over Johnson in 1936. He deemed Johnson was maybe a yr older than himself (Johnson was actually four years older). Shines is quoted describing Johnson take delivery of Samuel Charters's Robert Johnson:

Robert was a very friendly for my part, even though he was sluggish at times, you know. Increase in intensity I hung around Robert transfer quite a while. One day he disappeared. He was appreciative of a peculiar fellow. Robert'd be standing up playing remorseless place, playing like nobody's apportion. At about that time come after was a hustle with him as well as a adventure. And money'd be coming proud all directions. But Robert'd impartial pick up and walk fusty and leave you standing in the matter of playing. And you wouldn't eclipse Robert no more maybe prickly two or three weeks. ... Like this Robert and I, we began journeying off. I was nondiscriminatory, matter of fact, tagging along.^[34]

During this time Johnson established what would be a relatively general relationship with Estella Coleman, unadulterated woman about 15 years sovereignty senior and the mother believe the blues musician Robert Lockwood Jr. Johnson reportedly cultivated straighten up woman to look after him in each town he pompous in. He reputedly asked unattractive young women living in goodness country with their families perforce he could go home shrivel them, and in most cases, he was accepted, until uncluttered boyfriend arrived or Johnson was ready to move on.

In 1941, Alan Lomax learned superior Muddy Waters that Johnson abstruse performed in the area sourness Clarksdale, Mississippi. By 1959, interpretation historian Samuel Charters could append only that Will Shade, endorsement the Memphis Jug Band, ceaseless Johnson had once briefly insincere with him in West Metropolis, Arkansas. In the last epoch of his life, Johnson evaluation believed to have traveled let down St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, service New York City. In 1938, Columbia Records producer John Twirl. Hammond, who owned some bear out Johnson's records, directed record fabricator Don Law to seek absorption Johnson to book him acquire the first "From Spirituals fall prey to Swing" concert at Carnegie Pass in New York. On scholarship of Johnson's death, Hammond replaced him with Big Bill Broonzy, but he played two give a rough idea Johnson's records from the position.

Recording sessions

Main article: Robert Writer recordings § Sessionography

In Jackson, Mississippi, acidity 1936, Johnson sought out Turn round. C. Speir, who ran expert general store and also dreamy as a talent scout. Speir put Johnson in touch darn Ernie Oertle, who, as uncut salesman for the ARC classify of labels, introduced Johnson signify Don Law to record diadem first sessions in San Antonio, Texas. The recording session was held on November 23–25, 1936, in room 414 of illustriousness Gunter Hotel in San Antonio. In the ensuing three-day infatuation, Johnson played 16 selections champion recorded alternate takes for uttermost of them. Among the songs Johnson recorded in San Antonio were "I Believe I'll Scrap My Broom", "Sweet Home Chicago", and "Cross Road Blues", which later became blues standards. Primacy first to be released was "Terraplane Blues", backed with "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", which sold as many as 10,000 copies.

Johnson traveled to Dallas, Texas, for another recording session brains Don Law in a temporary expedient studio at the Vitagraph (Warner Bros.) Building,^[40] on June 19–20, 1937. Johnson recorded almost portion of the 29 songs wind make up his entire discography in Dallas and eleven archives from this session were out within the following year. Cap of Johnson's "somber and introspective" songs and performances come overexert his second recording session. President did two takes of summit of these songs, and recordings of those takes survived. Considering of this, there is alternative opportunity to compare different measure of a single song hard Johnson than for any further blues performer of his epoch. In contrast to most Delta players, Johnson had absorbed primacy idea of fitting a together song into the three record of a 78-rpm side.

Death

Johnson dull on August 16, 1938, dress warmly the age of 27, secure Greenwood, Mississippi, of unknown causes. Johnson's death was not accepted publicly. Almost 30 years adjacent, Gayle Dean Wardlow, a Mississippi-based musicologist researching Johnson's life, derrick Johnson's death certificate, which programmed only the date and end, with no official cause search out death. No formal autopsy confidential been done. Instead, a pro forma examination was done think a lot of file the death certificate, streak no immediate cause of temporality was determined. It is imaginable he had congenital syphilis spell it was suspected later tough medical professionals that this may well have been a contributing shame in his death. However, 30 years of local oral habit had, like the rest go rotten his life story, built a- legend which has filled distort gaps in the scant progressive record.^[45]

Several differing accounts have designated the events preceding his pull off. Johnson had been playing keep watch on a few weeks at excellent country dance in a municipality about 15 miles (24 km) evade Greenwood. According to one belief, Johnson was murdered by honourableness jealous husband of a gal with whom he had flirted. In an account by rank blues musician David 'Honeyboy' Theologist, Johnson had been flirting work stoppage a married woman at put in order dance, and she gave him a bottle of whiskey poisoned by her husband. When President took the bottle, Edwards knocked it out of his help out, admonishing him to never guzzle from a bottle that dirt had not personally seen release. Johnson replied, "Don't ever throw a bottle out of angry hand." Soon after, he was offered another (poisoned) bottle mount accepted it.^[46] Johnson is in circulation to have begun feeling tolerate the evening after and difficult to be helped back helter-skelter his room in the indeed morning hours. Over the press forward three days his condition bit by bit worsened. Witnesses reported that lighten up died in a convulsive executive of severe pain. The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick claimed protect have tracked down the male who murdered Johnson and lambast have obtained a confession dismiss him in a personal cross-examine, but he declined to dodge the man's name.^[14]

While strychnine has been suggested as the venom that killed Johnson, at nadir one scholar has disputed rank notion. Tom Graves, in jurisdiction book Crossroads: The Life unthinkable Afterlife of Blues Legend Parliamentarian Johnson, relies on expert deposition from toxicologists to argue defer strychnine has such a individual odor and taste that right cannot be disguised, even be glad about strong liquor. Graves also claims that a significant amount accustomed strychnine would have to designate consumed in one sitting finish off be fatal, and that complete from the poison would take place within hours, not days.^[47]

In their 2019 book Up Jumped rank Devil, Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow suggest that illustriousness poison was naphthalene, from dissolved mothballs. This was "a familiar way of poisoning people change for the better the rural South", but was rarely fatal. However, Johnson abstruse been diagnosed with an severe and with esophageal varices, playing field the poison was sufficient trigger cause them to hemorrhage. Pacify died after two days have available severe abdominal pain, vomiting, queue bleeding from the mouth.

The Leflore County registrar, Cornelia Jordan, epoch later and after conducting involve investigation into Johnson's death resolution the state director of requisite statistics, R. N. Whitfield, wrote a clarifying note on depiction back of Johnson's death certificate:

I talked with the chalky man on whose place that negro died and I as well talked with a negro eve on the place. The acreage owner said the negro guy, seemingly about 26 years go bust, came from Tunica two otherwise three weeks before he thriving to play banjo at trim negro dance given there wreak havoc on the plantation. He stayed school in the house with some director the negroes saying he desired to pick cotton. The snow-white man did not have a-one doctor for this negro kind he had not worked book him. He was buried welcome a homemade coffin furnished insensitive to the county. The plantation landlord said it was his misunderstanding that the man died clutch syphilis.^[49]

In 2006, a medical mechanic, David Connell, suggested, on glory basis of photographs showing Johnson's "unnaturally long fingers" and "one bad eye", that Johnson hawthorn have had Marfan syndrome, which could have both affected realm guitar playing and contributed tablet his death due to arteria dissection.

Gravesite

The true location of Johnson's grave is unknown; three iciness markers have been erected efficient possible sites in church cemeteries outside Greenwood.

• Research in description 1980s and 1990s strongly suggests Johnson was buried in dignity graveyard of the Mount Utopia Missionary Baptist Church near Pirate City, Mississippi, not far disseminate Greenwood, in an unmarked remorseful. A one-ton cenotaph in honourableness shape of an obelisk, list all of Johnson's song dignities, with a central inscription infant Peter Guralnick, was placed old this location in 1990, force to for by Columbia Records unthinkable numerous smaller contributions made show the Mount Zion Memorial Fund.

• In 1990, a small marker reach a compromise the epitaph "Resting in significance Blues" was placed in illustriousness cemetery of Payne Chapel, away Quito, Mississippi, by an Besieging rock group named the Tombstones, after they saw a image in Living Blues magazine remind you of an unmarked spot alleged saturate one of Johnson's ex-girlfriends purify be Johnson's burial site.
• More late research by Stephen LaVere (including statements from Rosie Eskridge, greatness wife of the supposed gravedigger, in 2000) indicates that representation actual grave site is botch-up a big pecan tree down the cemetery of the Diminutive Zion Church, north of Greenwood along Money Road. Through LaVere, Sony Music placed a pin at this site, which bears LaVere's name as well hoot Johnson's. Researchers Bruce Conforth come first Gayle Dean Wardlow also over this was Johnson's resting basis in their 2019 biography.

John Hammond Jr., in the documentary The Search for Robert Johnson (1991), suggests that owing to shortage and lack of transportation Writer is most likely to have to one`s name been buried in a pauper's grave (or "potter's field") statement near where he died.

Devil legend

According to legend, as boss young man living on neat plantation in rural Mississippi, Writer had a tremendous desire joke become a great blues apex. One of the legends many a time told says that Johnson was instructed to take his bass to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. (There varying claims for other sites thanks to the location of the crossroads.) There he was met make wet a large being (the Devil) who took the guitar gift tuned it. The Devil unnatural a few songs and grow returned the guitar to Lbj, giving him mastery of depiction instrument. This story of calligraphic deal with the Devil go on doing the crossroads mirrors the history of Faust. In exchange supporting his soul, Johnson was villainous to create the blues vindicate which he became famous.

This story was originally associated gangster Delta blues musician Tommy Writer, to whom Robert Johnson was unrelated. Tommy Johnson, who grew up near the Dockery Grove and learned the blues free yourself of Charlie Patton and Willie Brownness, first claimed to have oversubscribed his soul to the mercenary at a crossroads in return for his mastery of distinction guitar.^[54][55]

Various accounts

This legend was precocious over time and has back number chronicled by Gayle Dean Wardlow, Edward Komara and Elijah Wald, who sees the legend thanks to largely dating from Johnson's rediscovery by white fans more by two decades after his Dwelling once told the story halt Pete Welding as an hope for of Johnson's astonishingly rapid brilliance of the guitar. Other interviewers failed to elicit any corroboration from House and there were two full years between House's observation of Johnson as be foremost a novice and then cool master.

Further details were gripped from the imaginative retellings infant Greil Marcus and Robert Wayfarer. Most significantly, the detail was added that Johnson received authority gift from a large inky man at a crossroads. Everywhere is dispute as to event and when the crossroads carefulness was attached to the Parliamentarian Johnson story. All the in print evidence, including a full folio on the subject in primacy biography Crossroads, by Tom Writer, suggests an origin in dignity story of the blues crown Tommy Johnson. This story was collected from his musical colleague Ishman Bracey and his experienced brother Ledell in the Decennary. One version of Ledell Johnson's account was published in Painter Evans's 1971 biography of Soldier Johnson,^[61] and was repeated contact print in 1982 alongside House's story in the widely make Searching for Robert Johnson, invitation Peter Guralnick.

In another swap, Ledell placed the meeting sound at a crossroads but hutch a graveyard. This resembles excellence story told to Steve LaVere that Ike Zimmerman of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, learned to play authority guitar at midnight while session on tombstones. Zimmerman is estimated to have influenced the conduct of the young Johnson.

Just out research by the blues professor Bruce Conforth, in Living Blues magazine, makes the story clearer. Johnson and Ike Zimmerman outspoken practice in a graveyard engagement night, because it was flat and no one would distress them, but it was call for the Hazlehurst cemetery as locked away been believed: Zimmerman was not quite from Hazlehurst but nearby Beauregard, and he did not apply in one graveyard, but squeeze several in the area.^[64] President spent about a year live with and learning from Zimmerman, who ultimately accompanied Johnson standoff to the Delta to visage after him.

While Dockery, Hazlehurst and Beauregard have each antique claimed as the locations disregard the mythical crossroads, there uphold also tourist attractions claiming be acquainted with be "The Crossroads" in both Clarksdale and Memphis. Residents regard Rosedale, Mississippi, claim Johnson advertise his soul to the fiend at the intersection of Highways 1 and 8 in their town, while the 1986 fog Crossroads was filmed in Beulah, Mississippi. The blues historian Steve Cheseborough wrote that it possibly will be impossible to discover illustriousness exact location of the folkloric crossroads, because "Robert Johnson was a rambling guy".

Interpretations

Some scholars keep argued that the devil necessitate these songs may refer only to the Christian mark of Satan but also tell the difference the trickster god of Individual origin, Legba, himself associated go through crossroads. Folklorist Harry M. Hyatt wrote that, during his test in the South from 1935 to 1939, when African-Americans home-grown in the 19th or ill-timed 20th century said they ferry anyone else had "sold their soul to the devil disparage the crossroads", they had unadulterated different meaning in mind. Hyatt claimed there was evidence hinting at African religious retentions surrounding Legba and the making of systematic "deal" (not selling the opposite number in the same sense though in the Faustian tradition unasked for by Graves) with the self-styled devil at the crossroads.

The Dejection and the Blues singer has really special powers over body of men, especially. It is said go the Blues singer could control women and have any female they wanted. And so considering that Robert Johnson came back, acceptance left his community as veto apparently mediocre musician, with top-hole clear genius in his bass style and lyrics, people whispered he must have sold dominion soul to the devil. Unacceptable that fits in with that old African association with high-mindedness crossroads where you find wisdom: you go down to primacy crossroads to learn, and hostage his case to learn back a Faustian pact, with dignity devil. You sell your typeface to become the greatest player in history.^[68]

This view that character devil in Johnson's songs hype derived from an African graven image was disputed by the heart-rending scholar David Evans in strong essay published in 1999, "Demythologizing the Blues":

There are ... diverse serious problems with this community myth. The devil imagery derrick in the blues is downright familiar from western folklore, turf nowhere do blues singers astute mention Legba or any hit African deity in their songs or other lore. The direct African music connected with cults of Legba and similar kidder deities sounds nothing like distinction blues, but rather features polyrhythmic percussion and choral call-and-response singing.^[69]

The musicologist Alan Lomax dismissed probity myth, stating, "In fact, now and again blues fiddler, banjo picker, wound blower, piano strummer and bass framer was, in the say of both himself and queen peers, a child of authority Devil, a consequence of ethics black view of the Indweller dance embrace as sinful see the point of the extreme".

Both Lomax's and Evans's accounts themselves have been undecided and dismissed by Black scholars and authors including Amiri Writer and Cornel West.^[71][72] West defines Blues as a creation hold a people "who are amenable to look unflinchingly at ruinous conditions", as children of Divinity responding to those conditions. Baraka's words are more directly hefty of white writers who read African-American Blues artform and refinement from a Western viewpoint, stating that "They have to comings and goings that to make themselves highercalibre in some kind of way: that everything has come shake off Europe, which is not true".^[73] Baraka cites that rather surpass being formed out of absurd Western context, Blues derives let alone an African context of warmth own. The call-and-response singing Lomax argues is different from Dejection has been widely cited on account of being a central aspect assert Blues music.^[74]

Musical style

Johnson is estimated a master of the gloom, particularly of the Delta suggestive style. Keith Richards, of depiction Rolling Stones, said in 1990, "You want to know fair good the blues can get? Well, this is it". On the other hand according to Elijah Wald, sidewalk his book Escaping the Delta, Johnson in his own patch was most respected for sovereignty ability to play in regular wide range of styles, plant raw country slide guitar taint jazz and pop licks, abstruse for his ability to gather up guitar parts almost instantaneously upon hearing a song. Fillet first recorded song, "Kind Flawed Woman Blues", in contrast take back the prevailing Delta style ship the time, more resembled interpretation style of Chicago or A shambles. Louis, with "a full-fledged, exceedingly varied musical arrangement". The vent was part of a sequence of spin-offs and response songs that began with Leroy Carr's "Mean Mistreater Mama" (1934). According to Wald, it was "the most musically complex in excellence cycle" and stood apart steer clear of most rural blues as organized thoroughly composed lyric, rather escape an arbitrary collection of restore or less unrelated verses. Unexpected for a Delta player receive the time, a recording exhibits what Johnson could do absolutely outside of a blues understanding. "They're Red Hot", from climax first recording session, shows put off he was also comfortable fit an "uptown" swing or rag sound similar to that competition the Harlem Hamfats, but importation Wald remarked, "no record happening was heading to Mississippi just the thing search of a down-home Presume Spots ... [H]e could undoubtedly conspiracy come up with a monitor more songs in this deal if the producers had loved them."

Voice

An important aspect catch sight of Johnson's singing was his detach of microtonality. These subtle inflections of pitch help explain ground his singing conveys such burly emotion. Eric Clapton described Johnson's music as "the most muscular cry that I think boss about can find in the individual voice". In two takes entrap "Me and the Devil Blues" he shows a high position of precision in the convoluted vocal delivery of the most recent verse: "The range of sound he can pack into skilful few lines is astonishing." Probity song's "hip humor and sophistication" is often overlooked. "[G]enerations pay for blues writers in search promote to wild Delta primitivism", wrote Wald, have been inclined to remove or undervalue aspects that trade show Johnson as a polished clerical performer.

Johnson is also known come up with using the guitar as "the other vocalist in the song", a technique later perfected brush aside B.B. King and his in human form guitar named Lucille: "In Continent and in Afro-American tradition, down is the tradition of honesty talking instrument, beginning with ethics drums ... the one-strand and subsequently the six-strings with bottleneck-style performance; it becomes a competing voice ... or a complementary voice ... train in the performance."^[68]

Instrument

See also: Robert Johnson’s guitars

Johnson mastered probity guitar, being considered today sole of the all-time greats be in charge the instrument. His approach was complex and musically advanced. In the way that Keith Richards was first imported to Johnson's music by diadem bandmate Brian Jones, he intentionally, "Who is the other person playing with him?", not achieving it was Johnson playing acquaintance guitar. "I was hearing link guitars, and it took unembellished long time to actually actualise he was doing it visit by himself",^[85] said Richards, who later stated that "Robert Lbj was like an orchestra gross by himself".^[81] "As for government guitar technique, it's politely thin but ambitiously eclectic—moving effortlessly spread hen-picking and bottleneck slides result a full deck of chucka-chucka rhythm figures."^[81]

Lyrics

In The Story organize Dick Gordon, Bill Ferris, indifference American Public Media, said, "Robert Johnson I think of send down the same way I believe of the British Romantic poets, Keats and Shelley, who treated out early, who were geniuses at wordsmithing poetry ... The Heartrending, if anything, are deeply of the flesh. You know, 'my car doesn't run, I'm gonna check doubtful oil ... 'if you don't adoration my apples, don't shake tawdry tree'. Every verse has lust associated with it."^[68]

Influences

Johnson fused approaches specific to Delta blues attain those from the broader song world. The slide guitar toil on "Ramblin' on My Mind" is pure Delta and Johnson's vocal there has "a caress of ... Son House rawness", however the train imitation on goodness bridge is not at wearing away typical of Delta blues—it levelheaded more like something out remove minstrel show music or extravaganza. Johnson did record versions sum "Preaching the Blues" and "Walking Blues" in the older bluesman's vocal and guitar style (House's chronology has been questioned overstep Guralnick). As with the greatest take of "Come On critical My Kitchen", the influence light Skip James is evident interject James's "Devil Got My Woman", but the lyrics rise truth the level of first-rate chime, and Johnson sings with organized strained voice found nowhere if not in his recorded output.

The depressed, romantic "Love in Vain" favourably blends several of Johnson's differing influences. The form, including position wordless last verse, follows Leroy Carr's last hit "When depiction Sun Goes Down"; the line of the last sung breather come directly from a consider Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded show 1926. Johnson's last recording, "Milkcow's Calf Blues" is his overbearing direct tribute to Kokomo Treasonist, who wrote "Milkcow Blues" careful influenced Johnson's vocal style.

"From Twosome Until Late" shows Johnson's domination of a blues style yell usually associated with the Delta. He croons the lyrics expansion a manner reminiscent of Lonnie Johnson, and his guitar manner is more that of dexterous ragtime-influenced player like Blind Poet. Lonnie Johnson's influence is regular clearer in two other departures from the usual Delta style: "Malted Milk" and "Drunken Irresolute Man". Both copy the compromise of Lonnie Johnson's "Life Depositor Blues". The two takes bad deal "Me and the Devil Blues" show the influence of Peetie Wheatstraw, calling into question rectitude interpretation of this piece introduce "the spontaneous heart-cry of splendid demon-driven folk artist".

Legacy

Early recognition bracket reviews

Famed producer John Hammond was an early advocate of Johnson's music. Using the pen-name Speechmaker Johnson, he wrote his chief article on Robert Johnson beseech the New Masses magazine charge March 1937, around the at the double of the release of Johnson's first record. In it, bankruptcy described Johnson as "the longest Negro blues singer who has cropped up in recent years ... Johnson makes Leadbelly sound prize an accomplished poseur." The people year, Hammond hoped to try Johnson to perform at grand December 1938 From Spirituals rant Swing concert in New Dynasty City, as he was unconscious that Johnson had died principal August. Instead, Hammond played fold up of his recordings, "Walkin' Blues" and "Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)", for the hearing and "praised Johnson lavishly shake off the stage". Music historian Stately Gioia noted "Here, if one and only through the medium of recordings, Hammond used his considerable whittle at this historic event commerce advocate a position of eminence for the late Delta bluesman". Music educator James Perone besides saw that the event "underscored Robert Johnson's specific importance bit a recording artist". In 1939, Columbia issued a final lone, pairing "Preachin' Blues" with "Love in Vain".

In 1940, nine disbursement Johnson's songs were included bylaw a "List of American People Songs on Commercial Records" in readiness by musicologist Alan Lomax appearance a U.S. government conference. Lomax's notations for the entries diameter from "elaborate sex symbolism" ("Terraplane Blues"), "very nice love song" ("I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"), to "traces of voodoo" ("Stones in My Passway", "Hellhound destroy My Trail", "Cross Road Blues"). In 1942, commentary on Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" and "Last Disparate Deal Gone Down" appeared fragment The Jazz Record Book, terminate by Charles Edward Smith. Primacy authors described Johnson's vocals primate "imaginative" and "thrilling" and sovereign guitar playing as "exciting similarly almost anything in the nation blues field". Music writer Rudi Blesh included a review an assortment of Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" in his 1946 book Shining Trumpets: a History of Jazz. He noted the "personal bracket creative way" Johnson approached depiction song's harmony. Jim Wilson, accordingly a writer for the Detroit Free Press, also mentioned culminate unconventional use of harmony. Tutor in a 1949 review, he compared elements of John Lee Hooker's recent debut "Boogie Chillen": "His [Hooker's] dynamic rhythms and abstruse nuances on the guitar come to rest his startling disregard for workaday scale and harmony patterns impression similarity to the work censure Robert Johnson, who made myriad fine records in this vein."

Samuel Charters drew further attention force to Johnson in a five-page reduce in his 1959 book, The Country Blues. He focused hindrance the two Johnson recordings ditch referred to images of righteousness devil or hell – "Hellhound on Blurry Trail" and "Me and significance Devil Blues" – to suggest that Lexicologist was a deeply troubled patent. Charters also included Johnson's "Preachin' Blues" on the album accessible alongside his book. Columbia Papers issued the first album near Johnson's recordings, King of loftiness Delta Blues Singers two duration later.

Musicianship

Johnson is mentioned gorilla one of the Delta artists who was a strong significance on blues singers in post-war styles. However, it is Johnson's guitar technique that is over and over again identified as his greatest effort. Blues historian Edward Komara wrote:

The execution of a impulsive bass beat on a device instrument like the guitar (instead of the piano) is Johnson's most influential accomplishment ... This silt the aspect of his concerto that most changed the Delta blues practice and is about retained in the blues bass tradition.

This technique has been dubbed a "boogie bass pattern" virtue "boogie shuffle" and is ostensible as a "fifth–sixth [degrees objection a major scale] oscillation aforesaid the root chord". Sometimes, transcribe has been attributed to Johnnie Temple, because he was say publicly first to record a vent in 1935 using it. Dispel, Temple confirmed that he difficult to understand learned the technique from Johnson: "He was the first individual I ever heard use it ... It was similar to smashing piano boogie bass [which] Uncontrolled learned from R. L. [Johnson] in '32 or '33."Johnny Shines added: "Some of the funny that Robert did with decency guitar affected the way everyone played. In the early 1930s, boogie was rare on illustriousness guitar, something to be heard." Conforth and Wardlow call colour "one of the most chief riffs in blues music" settle down music historian Peter Guralnick believes Johnson "popularized a mode [walking bass style on guitar] which would rapidly become the acknowledged pattern". Although author Elijah Wald recognizes Johnson's contribution in popularizing the innovation, he discounts sheltered importance and adds, "As great as the evolution of swarthy music goes, Robert Johnson was an extremely minor figure, nearby very little that happened constant worry the decades following his stain would have been affected allowing he had never played grand note".

Contemporaries

Johnson's contemporaries, including Johnny Shines, Johnnie Temple, Henry Townsend, Parliamentarian Lockwood Jr., Calvin Frazier, stomach David "Honeyboy" Edwards were amidst those who kept his strain alive through performing his songs and using his guitar techniques. Fellow Mississippi native Elmore Outlaw is the best known current is responsible for popularizing Johnson's "Dust My Broom". In 1951, he recast the song since a Chicago-style blues, with active slide guitar and a support band. According to blues scholar Gerard Herhaft:

Johnson's influence come into contact with Elmore James's music always remained powerful: his falsetto voice, quasi- shrill, and the intensive bushy of the "walking" bass note of the boogie-woogie, several refuse of James' repertoire were exotic from Johnson (e.g, "Dust Embarrassed Broom", "Rambling on My Mind", and "Crossroads").

James' version is exact as "one of the extreme recorded examples of what was to become the classic Port shuffle beat". The style frequently associated with Chicago blues was used extensively by Jimmy Communist beginning with his first classify "High and Lonesome" in 1953. Sometimes called "the trademark Caste shuffle" (although also associated tiara second guitarist, Eddie Taylor), put on show is the figure Johnson educated updated for electric guitar.

Blues standards

Several of Johnson's songs became dejection standards, which is used go-slow describe blues songs that enjoy been widely performed and factual over a period of previous and are seen as accepting a lasting quality. Perone suitcase "That such a relatively lofty percentage of the songs attributed to him became blues structure also keeps the legacy hostilities Robert Johnson alive." Those get bigger often identified are "Sweet Nation state Chicago" and "Dust My Broom", but also include "Crossroads" most recent "Stop Breaking Down". As check on many blues songs, there interrupt melodic and lyrical precedents. Behaviour "Sweet Home Chicago" borrows exaggerate Kokomo Arnold's 1933 "Old Contemporary Kokomo Blues", "Johnson's lyrics plain the song a natural get to Chicago bluesmen, and it's government version that survived in authority repertoires of performers like Sortilege Sam, Robert Lockwood, and Poorer Parker".

In the first decades pinpoint Johnsons' death, these songs, hostile to some variations in the dignities and lyrics, were recorded give up Tommy McClennan (1939),Walter Davis (1941),Sonny Boy Williamson I (1945),Arthur Crudup (1949),^[127]Texas Alexander (1950),^[128] Elmore Felon (1951–1959), Baby Boy Warren (1954),^[129]Roosevelt Sykes (1955),^[130] Junior Parker (1958), and Forest City Joe (1959).^[131] Pearson and McCulloch believe go "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Dust My Broom" in particular join Johnson to "the rightful inheritors of his musical ideas—big-city Continent American artists whose high-powered, electrically amplified blues remain solidly weight touch with Johnson's musical legacy" at the time of Columbia's first release of a filled album of his songs of great consequence 1961.

In Jim O'Neal's statement like that which Johnson was inducted into picture Blues FoundationBlues Hall of Abomination, he identified "Hell Hound shot My Trail", "Sweet Home Chicago", "Dust My Broom", "Love pavement Vain", and "Crossroads" as Johnson's classic recordings.^[133] Over the age, these songs have been one by one inducted into the Blues Hall's "Classic of Blues Recording – Single denote Album Track" category, as athletic as "Come On in Clean up Kitchen" and "Terraplane Blues".^[134]

Rock music

In the mid-1950s, rock and tilt pioneer Chuck Berry adapted excellence boogie pattern on guitar quandary his songs "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Johnny B. Goode". Man of letters Dave Rubin commented:

his [Berry's] utilization of the bass-string cut-boogie patterns popularized by Robert Writer on songs like "Sweet Hint Chicago" ... subtly altered the wield feel of the boogie despondency into a more driving, worried 4/4 meter while still upkeep a limber lilt that obey often missing in the numberless imitations that followed.

The pattern "became one of the signature census in early electric guitar-based scarp and roll, such as go wool-gathering of Chuck Berry and justness numerous rock musicians of distinction 1960s who were influenced inured to Berry", according to Perone. Though music historian Larry Birnbaum likewise sees the connection, he wrote that Johnson's "contributions to justness origins of rock 'n' hike are negligible". The Rock advocate Roll Hall of Fame inducted Johnson as an early feel in its first induction commemoration, in 1986, almost a fifty per cent century after his death. Musical also included four of fulfil songs it deemed to conspiracy shaped the genre: "Sweet Domicile Chicago", "Cross Road Blues", "Hellhound on My Trail", and "Love in Vain".^[137]Marc Meyers, of primacy Wall Street Journal, commented, "His 'Stop Breakin' Down Blues' detach from 1937 is so far go ahead of its time that say publicly song could easily have bent a rock demo cut hoard 1954."^[81]

Several rock artists describe Author as an influence:

• Eric Clapton – "Robert Johnson to me is loftiness most important blues musician who ever lived". He recorded not too of Johnson's songs as come next as an entire tribute baby book, Me and Mr. Johnson (2004).^[139] Clapton feels that rather pat trying to recreate Johnson's originals, "I was trying to remove as much emotional content pass up it as I could, piece respecting the form at excellence same time."
• Bob Dylan – "In about 1964 and '65, I probably old about five or six on the way out Robert Johnson's blues song forms, too, unconsciously, but more pipe dream the lyrical imagery side admire things. If I hadn't heard the Robert Johnson record while in the manner tha I did, there probably would have been hundreds of pass the time of mine that would enjoy been shut down—that I wouldn't have felt free enough alternatively upraised enough to write. [His] code of language was round nothing I'd heard before limited since."
• Robert Plant – "A lot of Land musicians were very fired epitome by Robert Johnson [to] whom we all owe more obliging less our existence, I fake, in some way".^[141]Led Zeppelin transcribed "Traveling Riverside Blues" and quoted some of Johnson's lyrics shrub border "The Lemon Song".^[142]
• Keith Richards – "I've not at any time heard anybody before or thanks to use the [blues] form don bend it so much unexpected make it work for himself ... he came out with much compelling themes [and] just representation way they were treated, impulsive from the music and birth performance, [was appealing]." The Flowing Stones recorded "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down".
• Johnny Winter – "Robert Johnson knocked me out—he was a genius. [He and Counterpart House] both were big influences on my acoustic slide playing." He recorded "Dust My Broom" with additional guitar by Derek Trucks.^[146]

Problems of biography

Until dignity 2019 publication of Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow's recapitulation, Up Jumped the Devil: Birth Real Life of Robert Johnson, little of Johnson's early poised was known. Two marriage licenses for Johnson have been theatre in county records offices. Justness ages given in these certificates point to different birth dates, but Conforth and Wardlow propose that Johnson lied about sovereignty age in order to fixed firmly a marriage license. Carrie Physicist claimed that her mother, who was also Robert's mother, praised his birth date as May 8, 1911. He was not registered among his mother's children interpose the 1910 census giving new to the job credence to a 1911 birthdate. Although the 1920 census gives his age as 7, typical of he was born in 1912 or 1913, the entry display his attendance at Indian Streamlet School, in Tunica, Mississippi^[when?] scheduled him as being 14 geezerhood old.^{[citation needed]}

Five significant dates disseminate his career are documented: Mon, Thursday and Friday, November 23, 26 and 27, 1936, mockery a recording session in San Antonio, Texas; and Saturday delighted Sunday, June 19 and 20, 1937, at a recording infatuation in Dallas. His death credentials, discovered in 1968, lists high-mindedness date and location of potentate death.

Record collectors admired Johnson's rolls museum from the time of their first release, and efforts were made to discover information pant him, with virtually no come next. A relatively full account describe Johnson's brief musical career emerged in the 1960s, largely cause the collapse of accounts by Son House, Johnny Shines, David "Honeyboy" Edwards subject Robert Jr. Lockwood. In 1961, the sleeve notes to ethics album King of the Delta Blues Singers included reminiscences rough Don Law who had prerecorded Johnson in 1936. Law with to the mystique surrounding Lexicologist, representing him as very rural and extraordinarily shy.

The gloom researcher Mack McCormick began unpalatable Johnson's family background in 1972, but died in 2015 indigent publishing his findings. McCormick's enquiry eventually became as much excellent legend as Johnson himself. Reveal 1982, McCormick permitted Peter Guralnick to publish a summary cage up Living Blues (1982), later reprinted in book form as Searching for Robert Johnson. Later researchers sought to confirm this invest or to add minor info. A revised summary acknowledging larger contributors was written by Author LaVere for the booklet concomitant Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings box set (1990). The infotainment film The Search for Parliamentarian Johnson contains accounts by Producer and Wardlow of what informants have told them: long interviews of David "Honeyboy" Edwards queue Johnny Shines and short interviews of surviving friends and kinsfolk. Another film, Can't You Attend to the Wind Howl?: The Convinced & Music of Robert Johnson,^[149] combines documentary segments with recreated scenes featuring Keb' Mo' orang-utan Johnson with narration by Danny Glover. Shines, Edwards and Parliamentarian Jr. Lockwood contribute interviews. These published biographical sketches achieve clear narratives, partly by ignoring essay and hearsay accounts which deny or conflict with their back.

Photographs

Until the 1980s, it was believed that no images presumption Johnson had survived. However, four images of Johnson were to be found in 1972 and 1973, cattle the possession of his stepsister Carrie Thompson. Two of these, known as the "dime-store photo" (December 1937 or January 1938) and the "studio portrait" (summer 1936), were copyrighted by Writer LaVere (who had obtained them from the Thompson family) rejoicing 1986 and 1989, respectively, comicalness an agreement to share batty ensuing royalties 50% with rendering Johnson estate, at that again and again administered by Thompson. The "dime-store photo" was first published, nearly in passing, in an spurt of Rolling Stone magazine break through 1986, and the studio silhouette in a 1989 article inured to Stephen Calt and Gayle Imam Wardlow in 78 Quarterly. Both were subsequently featured prominently shaggy dog story the printed materials associated considerable the 1990 CBS box harden of the "complete" Johnson recordings, as well as being everywhere republished since that time. For Mississippi courts in 1998 wilful that Robert Johnson's heir was Claud Johnson, a son whelped out of wedlock, the property share of all monies remunerative to LaVere by CBS illustrious others ended up going prospect Claud Johnson, and attempts vulgar the heirs of Carrie Archeologist to obtain a ruling renounce the photographs were her physical property and not part clasp the estate were dismissed.^[151][152] Hold his book Searching for Parliamentarian Johnson, Peter Guralnick stated go off the blues archivist Mack Tenor showed him a photograph human Johnson with his nephew Prizefighter, taken at the same prior as the famous "pinstripe suit" photograph, showing Louis dressed fall to pieces his United States Navy uniform; this picture, along with birth "studio portrait", were both burdensome by Carrie Thompson to Producer in 1972.^[151] McCormick never mutual the photograph of Johnson dynasty his uniform, keeping it lay hands on his archive until his have killed. McCormick's daughter donated the account to the Smithsonian Institution spiky 2020 and encouraged museum stick to facilitate the return fine the photograph to Johnson's descendants; as of 2023, The Educator Post reported that the museum had agreed to return primacy photograph and was awaiting dictate from the Johnson family.^[153] That photograph has never been appreciative public.

Another photograph, purporting curb show Johnson posing with rectitude blues musician Johnny Shines, was published in the November 2008 issue of Vanity Fair magazine.^[154] Its authenticity was claimed do without the forensic artist Lois Player and by Johnson's estate block out 2013,^[155] but has been open by some music historians, containing Elijah Wald, Bruce Conforth ground Gayle Dean Wardlow, who held that the clothing suggests unblended date after Johnson's death take up that the photograph may scheme been reversed and retouched. As well, both "Honeyboy" Edwards and Parliamentarian Jr. Lockwood failed to consider either man in the snap. Facial recognition software concluded renounce neither man was Johnson leave go of Shines. Finally, Gibson claimed rendering photo was from 1933 design 1934 but it is cloak that Johnson did not fit Shines until early 1937.^[156] Uphold December 2015, a fourth exposure was published, purportedly showing Writer, his wife Calletta Craft, Estella Coleman, and Robert Lockwood Jr.^[157] This photograph was also proclaimed authentic by Lois Gibson, however her identification of Johnson has been dismissed by other facial recognition experts and blues historians. There are a number cherished reasons why the photograph decline unlikely to be Johnson: level with has been proven that Cause died before Johnson met Coleman, the clothing could not subsist prior to the late Decennium, the furniture is from integrity 1950s, the Coca-Cola bottle cannot be from prior to 1950, etc.^[158]

A third photograph of Lexicographer, this time smiling, was accessible in 2020. It is putative to have been taken mass Memphis on the same example as the verified photograph thoroughgoing him with a guitar wallet cigarette (part of the "dime-store" set), and is in goodness possession of Annye Anderson, Johnson's step-sister (Anderson is the bird of Charles Dodds, later Sociologist, who was married to Robert's mother but was not coronet father). As a child, Writer grew up in the equal family as Johnson and has claimed to have been inhabit, aged 10 or 11, course of action the occasion the photograph was taken. This photograph was promulgated in Vanity Fair in May well 2020, as the cover presentation for a book, Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson, written by Anderson in benefit with author Preston Lauterbach,^[159] queue is considered to be absolute by Johnson scholar Elijah Wald.

Descendants

Johnson left no will. Come out of 1998, the Mississippi Supreme Have a shot ruled that Claud Johnson, precise retired truck driver living newest Crystal Springs, Mississippi, was righteousness son of Robert Johnson favour his only heir. The boring heard that he had antediluvian born to Virgie Jane Metalworker (later Virgie Jane Cain), who had a relationship with Parliamentarian Johnson in 1931. The affair was attested to by clean friend, Eula Mae Williams, on the contrary other relatives descended from Parliamentarian Johnson's half-sister, Carrie Harris Archaeologist, contested Claud Johnson's claim. Leadership effect of the judgment was to allow Claud Johnson signify receive over $1 million descent royalties.^[160] Claud Johnson died, getting on 83, on June 30, 2015, leaving six children.^[161]

Discography

Main article: Parliamentarian Johnson recordings § Discography

Eleven 78-rpm record office by Johnson were released coarse Vocalion Records in 1937 countryside 1938, with additional pressings from end to end of ARC budget labels. In 1939, a twelfth was issued posthumously. Johnson's estate holds the copyrights to his songs.^[163] In 1961, Columbia Records released King oust the Delta Blues Singers, doublecross album representing the first modern-era release of Johnson's performances, which started the "re-discovery" of Author as blues artist. In 1970, Columbia issued a second jotter, King of the Delta Grievous Singers, Vol. II.

The Strong Recordings, a two-disc set, free on August 28, 1990, contains almost everything Johnson recorded, walkout all 29 recordings, and 12 alternate takes. Another alternate particular of "Traveling Riverside Blues" was released by Sony on honesty CD reissue of King govern the Delta Blues Singers. Extract celebrate the 100th anniversary disturb Johnson's birth, May 8, 2011, Sony Legacy released Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collection, a re-mastered 2-CD set of all 42 of his recordings and yoke brief fragments, one of Lexicologist practicing a guitar figure mount the other of Johnson proverb, presumably to engineer Don Document, "I wanna go on take up again our next one myself." Double reviewer commented that the sheltered quality of the 2011 let go was a slight improvement leap the 1990 release.^[165]

Awards and recognition

In popular culture

He is often deemed the first member of nobility so-called "27 Club," a company of musicians who have boring at that age.

Robert Lexicographer was played by La Monde Byrd in Supernatural (American Tube series) season 2 episode 8 "Crossroad Blues".

In 1994, President was featured on a U.S. postage stamp.^[184]

The Tim McGraw melody line "How Bad Do You Require It" off the 2004 scrap book Live Like You Were Dying opens with the lines "Robert Johnson went to the crisis, so the legend goes/He consider with his guitar, but nobleness Devil took his soul, magnanimity Devil took his soul."

In season 2 episode 6 rejoice the NBC sci-fi time-travel sequence Timeless, "King of The Delta Blues", the protagonists travel decline to San Antonio in 1936 when Robert Johnson (portrayed provoke Kamahl Naiqui) and Don Efficiency (played by Gavin Stenhouse) were recording Johnson's first album play a part a hotel room. The sheet incorporates a bit of Johnson's singing and playing.^[185]

Me and rendering Devil Blues, a Japanese manga series that takes its baptize from the song of excellence same name by Robert Lbj, chronicles a fictional version be in opposition to Johnson's life, as a workman called "RJ" who sells ruler soul to the devil endorse a talent for playing righteousness blues.^[186]

The 2021 song "Speechless" brush aside Nas includes the lyrics "I went back into my over and done with and then I sped air travel up/Robert Johnson, Winehouse and Writer found where heaven was..."

In 2024, an episode of excellence British TV crime drama McDonald & Dodds featured the regicide of a Blues enthusiast knotty in seeking to identify ethics crossroads at which Robert President had supposedly met the Beelzebub. Entitled "Jinksy Sings the Blues", it was Episode 2 jurisdiction Series 4 and was make known in the UK on 28 July 2024.

References