Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson is the undisputed “King of the Delta Blues”. Ask any worthy rock musician about Robert Johnson and they could go on for hours. Mick, Keith, Eric Clapton and Dickey Betts are all huge Robert Johnson fans. Some say he made a pact with the devil while “standing at the crossroads”. Whatever the folklore may be, his impact on blues and rock music is immeasurable. Much research has been conducted on his life with conflicting accounts but this much is known. Robert Johnson was born the son of a sharecropper in Hazelhurst , Mississippi on May 8th, 1911. He frequented the “jook joints” on the Mississippi Delta were he would watch Son House, Charlie Patton and Willie Brown do their thing. He would often grab one of the guitars and try to play it before being run off. One day he showed-up at the “jook joint” with a guitar and played the “Terraplane Blues” and blew the roof off the place. From then on he rode the “blinds” (train), traveling from city to city playing were ever he could for pocket money. He hooked-up with Johnny Shines and Calvin Frazier and took Highway 51 to Chicago were they went to play the blues . His slide guitar playing still remains as some of the most haunting today and is standard learning material for any serious acoustic slide guitar player. The songs Robert Johnson recorded on a wire recorder in a Dallas hotel room are all considered classics.Here is a complete list of every Robert Johnson song he wrote and recorded: “Kind Hearted Woman Blues”,”Dust My Broom”,”Sweet Home Chicago”,”Rambling On My Mind”,”When You’ve Got a Good Friend”,”Come On Into My Kitchen”,”Terraplane Blues”,”Phonograph Blues”,”32-20 Blues”,”The’re Red Hot”,”Dead Shrimp Blues”,”Crossroad Blues”,”Walking Blues”,”Last Fair Deal Gone Down”,”Preaching Blues”,”If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day”,”Stones In My Passway”,”I’m a Steady Rolling Man”,”From Four Till Late”, “Hellhound On My Trail”,”Little Queen of Spades”,”Drunken-hearted Man”,”Stop Breakin’ Down”, “Traveling Riverside Blues”,”Honeymoon Blues”,”Love In Vain”, “Milkcow Calf Blues”, “Malted Milk” and “Me and the Devil”. Aside from the music, there are only two photographs of Robert Johnson that are known to exist. He had a reputation as a ladies man which eventually would lead to his untimely demise. Son House told him never to drink from an open bottle but he didn’t listen, because a jealous husband spiked his booze with poison at a gig one night. According to interviews with “Honeyboy” Edwards who was present that night, there was more then one out to get Johnson. Everytime Johnson said he felt ill others in on the conspiracy encouraged him to take another drink. After he collapsed “Honeyboy” Edwards and a couple of others carried him to a friend’s couch. He hung on for three days before finally passing away on August 16th, 1938 at the age of 27. (the official death certificate lists his age at 26, while others maintain he was 29). His legend lives on to this day.