"Cross Road Blues" is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson's most famous songs. The lyrics plainly have the narrator attempting to hitch a ride from an intersection as darkness falls. But in close association with the mythic legend of Johnson's short life and death, it has come to represent the tale of a blues man going to a metaphorical crossroads to meet the devil to sell his soul in exchange for becoming a famous blues player. This article is about the musical composition. ... Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Blues music redirects here. ... Delta blues are named for the Mississippi Delta. ... Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. ... This article is about the musical composition. ... Look up lyrics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the full twelve note chromatic scale plus the microtonal intervals and a characteristic eight and twelve-bar chord progression. ... A crossroads (the word rarely appears in singular) is a road junction, where two or more roads meet (there are three or more arms). ... This is an overview of the Devil. ... Blues music redirects here. ...

Because of the historical significance of "Cross Road Blues", it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.^[1] See also: Grammy Grammy Hall of Fame Award List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients E-I List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients J-P List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Q-Z Alphabetical listing by title Categories: Lists of people | Grammy Hall of Fame... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

Legend and Interpretation

While the legend of the Johnson selling his soul to the Devil is fascinating and evocative, the song itself plainly describes the very real, harrowing situation feared by Johnson and other African Americans in the Deep South in the early 20th century. Historian Leon Litwack has suggested that the song refers to the common fear felt by blacks who were discovered out alone after dark. As late as 1930s in parts of the South, the well-known expression, "Nigger, don't let the sun go down on you here," was, according to Litwack, "understood and vigorously enforced." In an era when lynchings were still common, Johnson was likely singing about the desperation of finding his way home from an unfamiliar place as quickly as possible because, as the song says, "the sun goin' down, boy/ dark gon' catch me here." This interpretation also makes sense of the closing line "You can run/ tell my friend poor Willie Brown/ that I'm standing at the crossroads" as Johnson's appeal for help from a real-life fellow musician."^[2] Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... The states in dark red comprise the Deep South. ... Leon F. Litwack is an American historian and professor of history at the University of California Berkeley. ... Willie Brown (August 6, 1900 - December 30, 1952) was an American Delta Blues guitarist and singer. ...

The legend of Johnson selling his soul to learn to play guitar is said to have taken place in Rosedale, Mississippi, at the intersection of Highway 8 and Highway 1 (33°50′44″N 91°1′39″W / 33.84556, -91.0275). Another, less common, belief is that the crossroad is at the intersection of Highway 49 and Highway 61 in Clarksdale, Mississippi.[1]

Covers

Cream

In 1968, Cream recorded a live version of the song at the Winterland Ballroom, for inclusion on their double album Wheels of Fire. Arranged by guitarist Eric Clapton, the Cream version had a faster tempo than the original, and included two lines borrowed from Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues." Cream were a 1960s British rock band comprising guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Cream were a 1960s British rock band comprising guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... Wheels of Fire is the name of the double album recorded by Cream. ... “B-Sides” redirects here. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-sides, often accompanied by several B-sides—usually remixes or other songs. ... The Winterland Ballroom, often simply referred to as Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400 seat music venue in San Francisco, California. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining elements of the blues with rock and roll, with an emphasis on the electric guitar. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Polydor Records is a record label once headquartered in Germany. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Felix Pappalardi (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) is best known as the producer of the psychedelic, blues-inspired rock trio Cream, beginning with their second album, Disraeli Gears. ... Cream were a 1960s British rock band comprising guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... White Room, written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown, is a single by Cream from their 1968 album Wheels of Fire. ... The 1969 song Badge, by Cream, was penned by Eric Clapton and George Harrison during a collaborative effort between Clapton, Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... The Winterland Ballroom, often simply referred to as Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400 seat music venue in San Francisco, California. ... Wheels of Fire is the name of the double album recorded by Cream. ... Traveling Riverside Blues is a blues song written and performed originally by legendary old-time bluesman Robert Johnson. ...

Many believe the song is about the original songwriter, Robert Johnson, going to the crossroads to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for being able to play the blues and gain fame. Some historians believe the song is actually about an African-American worried about being lynched for being out after dark in an unfamiliar place of the Deep South in the early 20th century. (See Chapter Eight of Leon F. Litwack, Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow (New York: Vintage Books, 1998), especially pages 410 and 411.) For other uses, see Historian (disambiguation). ... Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... The states in dark red comprise the Deep South. ... Leon F. Litwack is an American historian and professor of history at the University of California Berkeley. ... Jim Crow can refer to several subjects: Jim Crow laws, state and local laws in the Southern and border states of the United States from 1876 to 1964 that required racial segregation James F. Crow, Professor Emeritus of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jump Jim Crow, the blackface...

Unlike Cream's usual arrangement with bassist Jack Bruce singing, guitarist Eric Clapton took the vocals on this recording. Clapton's explosive guitar solos cemented his reputation as a guitar legend; his work from the track was named by one critic the greatest live rock solo ever. Bruce's fluid bass playing, blurring the line between rhythm and melody, has been similarly honored as the second-best live bass performance. John Symon Asher Jack Bruce (born May 14, 1943) is a Scottish-born musician, composer and singer. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... Guitar solos are a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ...

It was placed at #409 on the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2004, Rolling Stone listed the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time as polled by musicians, critics, and industry figures. ...

Other cover versions

Other artists who have covered the song range from Elmore James and Cowboy Junkies to Lynyrd Skynyrd (live) and Rush. Elmore James (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario; presently comprised of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. ...

Sample

Crossroad Blues performed by Robert Johnson

First 47 seconds of "Crossroad Blues"

Crossroads. ...

See also

• Traveling Riverside Blues

Traveling Riverside Blues is a blues song written and performed originally by legendary old-time bluesman Robert Johnson. ...

External links

• "Cross Road Blues" lyrics

Notes

1. ^ Grammy Hall of Fame
2. ^ Litwack, Leon F (1998). Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow. New York: Vintage Books, 410-411.