Robert Johnson

“King of the Delta Blues Singers”

More than half a century after his death, Robert Johnson, the legendary Mississippi Delta blues singer, remains an enigma. A provocative and influential figure in the blues field, Johnson revealed his remarkable musical skills around the age of 20 in 1931. He completed only two recording sessions--one in 1936 and the other in 1937--prior to his untimely death in 1938. Very little was known about Johnson when his first album was released in 1961. By the time Columbia Records released “Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings” in 1990, slightly more information had come to light, but the mystery endures.

Like that of other early Delta blues singers, the music of Robert Johnson arose from an oral tradition that began with a mixture of field hollers, chants, fiddle tunes and religious music and ended up as the blues. The Mississippi Delta--two hundred miles of fertile lowlands stretching from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south--was one of the primary locales in which the blues originated and developed. Johnson's sound is critically recognized as the culmination of the Delta blues tradition, as exemplified by other Delta blues artists such as Charley Patton, Son House, and Skip James. Typically, Delta blues are sung by a single artist playing an acoustic guitar, often using a bottleneck or similar instrument on the frets to achieve a distinctive sound. The next generation of musicians--and those who outlived Johnson--may have grown up in the Delta, but most left it as adults to go north and sing the city blues of Chicago. Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, two prominent Chicago bluesmen, have their roots in the Delta: both knew Robert Johnson and were heavily influenced by him.

Knowledge of Johnson, like that of his music, has come largely through recollections of musicians and others who knew him. Two of the best sources of information have been legendary Delta singer Son House, himself Johnson's elder, and Johnny Shines, a contemporary who met Johnson in 1935 and traveled with him for a while. Additional information has been uncovered by researchers, who have helped to establish Johnson's birth date as May 8, 1911. Some of the circumstances of Johnson's death remain particularly unclear; there is even a dispute over the true site of his unmarked grave.

Fortunately, the recordings remain, and the 1990 issuance of “Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings,” has refocused attention on the life and artistry of this legendary bluesman. Johnson's posthumous fame and influence on younger musicians stems largely from the power of his recordings. He is said to have been heavily influenced by early blues artists like Skip James, who was recorded in 1931, around the same time that Johnson amazed his elders with his mastery of the guitar. James's eerie, distinctive style is reflected throughout Johnson's recordings, most notably in "32-20 Blues," which he adapted from James's "22-20 Blues."

Johnson first came to the attention of modern musicians, notably the rock generation of the 1960s, with the release of “King of the Delta Blues Singers” in 1961. Due to the country blues revival of the time, older musicians who had sung as young men in the 1930s began to enjoy a second career and renewed popularity among hip, new audiences. Johnson's album contained selections from his 1936 and 1937 recording sessions, some of which had not been previously released. Revealing the artist's tremendous talent on vocals and guitar as well as his uncommon flair for lyrical composition, the album challenged younger rock musicians and showed them what the blues were all about. “King of the Delta Blues Singers” proved so popular that it was reissued in 1969; a second album followed in 1970.

Many of Johnson's compositions had also become blues standards by the 1960s, thanks to Chicago blues artists Waters and Elmore James. In 1951 Elmore James recorded Johnson's "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom," making it a national hit. "Sweet Home Chicago," another Johnson composition, has been played and recorded by countless Chicago bluesmen. As a traveling musician who had crisscrossed the Delta region many times and gone as far north as Detroit and Chicago in the previous six years, Johnson had ample opportunity to refine his lyrics, judging their popularity and impact by his audiences' reactions.

While these types of playing conditions provided Johnson with a means of refining his songs, it was the discipline of the three-minute 78 rpm record that drove him to hone them into a more commercial form. He crafted his songs with a self-conscious artistry; he sang of women, drinking, traveling, and the devil. His lyrics contain haunting metaphors and vivid personifications. Rather than joining interchangeable "floating verses," as many other Delta bluesmen did, Johnson made each song a statement, with intentionally developed themes. Johnson recorded 29 songs for the American Record Company (ARC), which eventually became part of the Columbia Broadcasting System. His complete canon of recordings includes 29 masters, plus 12 surviving alternate takes, all recorded at two ARC sessions held in San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, in Nov. 1936.

Johnson's first session in San Antonio lasted three days. Sixteen songs were recorded in the Gunter Hotel, where ARC had set up equipment to record a number of musical acts. "Kind Hearted Woman" was the first song recorded. Also captured in San Antonio were "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" and "Sweet Home Chicago," both of which became post-war blues standards. "Terraplane Blues," known for its metaphoric lyrics, became a regional hit and Johnson's signature song. Most of the selections were released on Vocalion 78s, but three songs and several interesting alternate takes remained unissued until they appeared on the Columbia albums. About six months later, in June of 1937, Johnson was called back to record. The two-day session took place in a Dallas warehouse where, once again, ARC had set up its recording equipment to capture many different acts. This time 13 songs were recorded and 10 were released during the following year.

While Johnson's professional recording career can be measured in months, his musical legacy has survived more than 70 years. Critics have written a great deal about his genius, his unusual vocal style, his innovative guitar work, and the sensibility of his lyrics.

Robert Johnson's life and music have had a "carefully considered and achieved effect" on his contemporaries, as well as on subsequent generations of musicians. During his life, Johnson was the subject of considerable controversy and inspired frequent conjecture; when he was murdered in 1938, at least three versions of the tragedy were given credibility--that he was stabbed to death by a jealous husband, stabbed by a woman, or poisoned by parties unknown. Subsequent research, based on eyewitness accounts, indicates that he was poisoned by a jealous husband, and indeed died in 1938.

Robert Johnson’s legend is forever entwined with going down to the crossroads to meet the devil at midnight. Folk researchers draw a parallel between the devil in the story and the African Yoruba god, Legba, the trickster, whose favorite haunt was a crossroads. It seems Johnson knew the life he sang about: his songs are rife with devil imagery, and some of his actions while performing were apparently a bit peculiar. It has been said, for instance, that he would often turn his back when he felt the eyes of another musician were watching him too closely--as if he needed to hide the secret to his extraordinary talent. All of which adds to the myth, but takes nothing away from the music of the shadowy blues artist who came to be known as the "King of the Delta Blues Singers." Source: James Nadal
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by Vic Albani
October 14, 2021

Delta Blues Ted Gioia 504 pagine ISBN: # 9788859266044 EDT 2020 Selezionato dal New York Times e da The Economist come uno dei cento migliori libri del 2008 vede la luce, grazie al sempre attento lavoro di Siena Jazz, una delle analisi più interessanti di sempre dedicate al mondo della musica blues. Francesco Martinelli, tra i più nobili nomi della ricerca e della diffusione della cultura musicale e specificamente jazzistica del ...

Book Review

Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson

by C. Michael Bailey
July 18, 2020

Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson Annye C. Anderson, Preston Lauterbach 224 Pages ISBN: # 978-0306845260 Hachette Books 2020 Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson is a slim memoir told by Annye C. Anderson, step-sister of Robert Johnson, to author Preston Lauderbach (The Chitlin' Circuit And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll (Norton, 2012)). While this gentle, but powerful, account will not be the final word in Johnson reportage, it will, ...

Book Review

Robert Johnson: Lost and Found

by C. Michael Bailey
November 23, 2019

Robert Johnson: Lost and Found Barry Lee Pearson & Bill McCulloch Music in American Life Series 160 Pages ISBN: # 978-0252028359 University of Illinois Press 2003 There are two stories surrounding the discovery and marketing of pre-World War II musical recordings in general and 1930s blues musician Robert Johnson, in particular. One is the actual chronology and analysis of events and the second is the research and reportage of the findings surrounding ...

Book Review

Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson by Bruce Conforth & Gayle Dean Wardlow

by C. Michael Bailey
June 29, 2019

Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson Bruce Conforth & Gayle Dean Wardlow 336 Pages ISBN: # 978-1787602441 Omnibus Press 2019 There is a wonderful social media meme that applies to almost all of the writing about Robert Johnson before Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow's long-awaited biography, Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson: There are two types of people in this world:

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by C. Michael Bailey
May 5, 2019

The Country Blues Samuel B. Charters 314 pages ISBN: # 978-0306800146 Da Capo 1959/1975 With the miracle publication of blues researchers Paul Oliver and Mack McCormick's unfinished monolith Blues Come to Texas (Texas A&M University Press, 2019), it is worth reconsidering the first example of blues reportage, Samuel B. Charter's The Country Blues, published 60 years ago. It was 40 years ago when I first read this book and since that time have ...

Book Review

Portrait of a Phantom: The Story of Robert Johnson’s Lost Photograph by Zeke Schein with Poppy Z. Bright

by C. Michael Bailey
August 3, 2018

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The Gospel According to the Blues by Gary W. Burnett

by C. Michael Bailey
June 13, 2015

The Gospel According to the Blues Gary W. Burnett 161 Pages ISBN: #978-1620327258 Cascade Books 2014 Dr. Gary Burnett wears a lot of hats. He teaches courses in New Testament Greek, Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Pauline Epistles and Theology, and Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels at Union Theological College in Belfast. He is also a Chartered IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and runs a business ...

Event

Robert Johnson at 100

Source: Sony Music Entertainment/Legacy
March 1, 2012

All-Star Tribute To Robert Johnson At 100 Adds Macy Gray, Chuck D, Living Colour, Robert Johnson's Grandson Rev. Steven Johnson And More, At Apollo Theater March 6 The Robert Johnson at 100 tribute at the Apollo Theater March 6 has added more A-list talent to the bill for the centennial celebration of the legendary bluesman including Macy Gray, Chuck D, Living Colour, James Blood Ulmer, Savion Glover, Pedrito Martinez Group, Otis Taylor, Sarah Dash, Dough Rollers, Sugar Blue, The Harlem ...
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Event

Robert Johnson Tribute: Roots, Taj Mahal, Keb' MO', Todd Rundgren

Source: JamBase
December 14, 2011

ALL-STAR ROBERT JOHNSON CENTENNIAL TRIBUTE CONCERT CONFIRMED FOR MARCH 6 AT THE APOLLO THEATER Producers announced today the first artists confirmed to play a special March 6 tribute concert at NY's historic Apollo Theater, celebrating the centennial of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. The initial, star-studded lineup includes The Roots, Shemekia Copeland, Bettye LaVette, Taj Mahal, Keb' Mo,' Sam Moore and Todd Rundgren, with more to be announced soon. Net proceeds from the concert, co-produced by Steve Berkowitz, Michael Dorf, Joe ...
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150

Recording

Robert Johnson - The Centennial Collection (Sony, 2011)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
May 14, 2011

It is hard to believe that it has been twenty years since the release of The Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson rocked the music world. Amazingly the recordings of a long dead acoustic bluesman who was not particularly popular or well known in his own time (see Elijah Wald) managed to score a gold record some fifty plus years after his death. Using the hundredth anniversary of his birth as an excuse for a major sonic upgrade of the Johnson ...
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145

Recording

Robert Johnson: Complete Tracks

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
April 26, 2011

There's something haunting about Robert Johnson's voice. The blues singer-guitarist sounds at once cock-sure and frightened, giving his recordings the feel of both perspiration and a cold sweat. As I wrote in Friday's Wall Street Journal review (here), Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (Sony/Legacy) continues to illustrate that given a chance, simplicity and passion will trump technique and quantity every time. Johnson recorded only 29 master tracks, yet he was one of the most powerful influences on jazz, folk and ...
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205

Recording

Big Head Blues Club - 100 Years of Robert Johnson (2011)

Source: Something Else!
March 2, 2011

By Nick DeRiso You could argue that Robert Johnson, the doomed 1920s-era Mississippi bluesman, was the first rock 'n' roll star. Johnson certainly played the role, with his flair for the dramatic, questionable lifestyle choices and early death. More particularly, he sounded the part: Tough and honest, full of vibrancy, danger and rhythm. Whether you've actually ever heard a Robert Johnson record—he put out just 29 songs for the old Vocolion label in 1936-37—is of little importance. If you've been ...
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Performance / Tour

Big Head Blues Club: 100 Years of Robert Johnson

Source: JamBase
January 22, 2011

ALBUM RELEASE MARCH 1, 2011 TO BE SUPPORTED BY NATIONAL TOUR: “BLUES AT THE CROSSROADS: THE ROBERT JOHNSON CENTENNIAL CONCERTS" How do you throw a 100th birthday bash for the most influential bluesman that ever lived? If you're Big Head Todd and The Monsters, you gather some of the greatest living blues musicians and record 100 Years of Robert Johnson (March 1, 2011—Ryko/Big Records), a stirring new tribute album featuring 10 potent interpretations of some of the most vital and ...
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154

Performance / Tour

Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concert Tour

Source: Berklee Public Relations
January 19, 2011

With Big Head Todd and The Monsters and special guest Mississippi Delta and Hill Country Artists David “Honeyboy" Edwards, Hubert Sumlin, and Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm Presented by Subaru of New England at the Berklee Performance Center, Feb. 18 Boston, MA—How do you throw a 100th birthday bash for the most influential bluesman that ever lived? If you're Big Head Todd and The Monsters, you gather some of the greatest living blues musicians and record a tribute album, 100 ...
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Performance / Tour

Robert Johnson Centennial Concerts: Fall Tour and CD

Source: JamBase
October 28, 2010

TOUR STARTS JAN. 28; STUDIO ALBUM TO BE RELEASED EARLY 2011 There's no denying anyone who digs the Blues will really dig the once-in-a-lifetime experience that is Blues at the Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Centennial Concerts. The very special tour (set to launch in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2011) and accompanying studio recording (to be released early 2011) commemorates the 100th Anniversary of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's birth with exhilarating collaborations between Big Head Todd and The Monsters, living ...
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106

Opinion

Another Robert Johnson Mystery

Source: Brilliant Corners, a Boston Jazz Blog
October 25, 2010

Below see the semi-decipherable conversation between professor Chalfen and myself vis a vis the mystery of whether the recordings of blues giant Robert Johnson were recorded at the wrong speed and hence play back at a faster speed than they should. This is important because, if true, it implies Mephistopheles may have been less involved than was heretofore believed. Briliiant Corners readers with views on the subject are welcome to comment. Go here to listen to the demo yourself: http://bit.ly/b5oECMTO ...
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138

Recording

Lucky Peterson Interprets Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Ray Lamontagne, Robert Johnson & Blind Willie McTell

Source: conqueroo
July 9, 2010

Blues singer/keyboardist/guitarist's first album in seven years features Larry Campbell, Scott Petito and Gary Burke, and songs by Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Tom Waits, Ray LaMontagne and Lucinda Williams

WOODSTOCK, N.Y.--Lucky Peterson was discovered by blues legend Willie Dixon when he was three years old, released his first record at five and soon after appeared on The Tonight Show. Trained by keyboardists Bill Doggett and Jimmy Smith, Peterson went on to play behind Little Milton, Bobby “Blue" Bland and ...
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