Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend. Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll", his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians, including John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Johnny Winter, Jimi Hendrix, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, The Rolling Stones, Paul Butterfield, The Band, Neil Young, Warren Zevon, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, who called Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived".^[1] He was also ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.^[2] He is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[3] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Greenwood is situated in Leflore County, Mississippi at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta, approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Delta blues are named for the Mississippi Delta. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is a manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Delta blues are named for the Mississippi Delta. ... The 27 Club, also occasionally known as the Forever 27 Club, is a popular culture name for a group of influential rock and blues musicians who all died at the age of 27, sometimes under mysterious circumstances. ... This article is about the musician. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... John Dawson Johnny Winter III (born on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, USA) is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. ... Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter. ... Not to be confused with Yard Birds. ... For the bands 1969 eponymous debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... The Allman Brothers Band is a band from Macon, Georgia, labeled by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the principal architects of Southern rock. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Paul Butterfield (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and one of the earliest white exponents of the Chicago-originated electric blues style. ... For other uses, see Band. ... This article is about the musician. ... Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock and roll musician and songwriter. ... For the Scottish football (soccer) player, see Jimmy Page (footballer). ... Geoffrey Arnold (Jeff) Beck (born June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington, Greater London) is an English rock guitarist. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... This article is about the magazine. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ...

Life and career

Johnson's life is not well documented, and the variety of legends that have surrounded him for decades have made scholarship difficult. Serious research was not undertaken until the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably by researchers Mack McCormick and Stephen LaVere. Most of the information on his life has come from the decades-old recollections of surviving family and associates. The two known images of Johnson were located in 1973, in the possession of the musician's half-sister Carrie Thompson, and were not widely published until the late 1980s.

Five significant dates from his career are documented: Monday, Thursday and Friday, November 23, 26, and 27, 1936 at a recording session in San Antonio, Texas. Seven months later, on Saturday and Sunday, June 19–20, 1937, he was in Dallas, Texas at another session. His death certificate was discovered in 1968, and lists the date and location of his death.^[4] Two marriage licenses for Johnson have also been located in county records offices. Other facts about him are less well established. Director Martin Scorsese says in his foreword to Alan Greenberg's filmscript Love In Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson, "The thing about Robert Johnson was that he only existed on his records. He was pure legend." San Antonio redirects here. ... Dallas redirects here. ... Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (b. ...

Early life

Scarcely anything was known of Johnson's origins until Mack McCormick traced and interviewed members of his family. The research has still not been published, so the biography is based entirely on trust. Such is McCormick's reputation among his peers that no blues scholar seriously doubts his findings. Eventually, McCormick pemitted Peter Guralnick to publish a summary in Living Blues (1982), later reprinted in book form as Searching for Robert Johnson. ^[5] Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Peter Guralnick is a music critic and historian of American popular music. ...

Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi sometime around May 8, 1911, the 11th child of Julia Major Dodds, who had previously borne ten children to husband Charles Dodds. Born out of wedlock, Johnson did not take the Dodds name. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Marriage is a relationship and bond, most commonly between a man and a woman, that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ...

Twenty two-year-old Charles Dodds had married Julia Major in Hazlehurst, Mississippi—about 35 miles (56 km) south of Jackson—in 1889. Charles Dodds owned land and made wicker furniture; his family was well off until he was forced out of Hazlehurst around 1909 by a lynch mob following an argument with some of the more prosperous townsfolk. (There was a family legend that Dodds escaped from Hazlehurst dressed in women's clothing.) Over the next two years, Julia Dodds sent their children one at a time to live with their father in Memphis, where Charles Dodds had adopted the name of Charles Spencer. Julia stayed behind in Hazlehurst with two daughters, until she was evicted for nonpayment of taxes. This article is about Jackson, the city and related subjects within the city. ... A wickerwork scratching post A wicker balloon basket capable of holding 16 passengers. ...

By that time she had given birth to a son, Robert, who was fathered by a field worker named Noah Johnson. Unwelcome in Charles Dodds' home, Julia Dodds became an itinerant field worker, picking cotton and living in camps as she moved among plantations. While she worked in the fields, her eight-year-old daughter took care of Johnson. Over the next ten years, Julia Dodds would make repeated attempts to reunite the family, but Charles Dodds never stopped resenting her infidelity. Although Charles Dodds would eventually accept Johnson, he never would forgive his wife for giving birth to him. For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... Look up infidelity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Around 1914, Robert Johnson moved in with Charles Dodds' family, which by that time included all of Dodds' children by Julia Dodds, as well as Dodds' mistress from Hazlehurst and their two children. Johnson would then spend the next several years in Memphis, and it was reportedly about this time that he began playing the guitar under his older half-brother's tutelage.

Johnson did not rejoin his mother until she had remarried several years later. By the end of the decade, he was back in the Mississippi Delta living with his mother and her new husband, Dusty Willis. Johnson and his stepfather, who had little tolerance for music, did not get along, and Johnson had to slip out of the house to join his musician friends. The shared flood plain of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. ...

In the course of these these years, he was known by various names: Robert Dodds and Robert Spencer (his first stepfather's real name and pseudonym), and Little Robert Dusty (after his second stepfather's nickname). Finally he chose to use his birth name Robert Johnson after his natural father. He may also have wished to be associated with the great guitarist Lonnie Johnson. These changes of name largely explain the inability of researchers before McCormack to obtain information.^[6] Alfonzo Lonnie Johnson (February 8, 1894 – June 6, 1970) was a pioneering blues and jazz singer/guitarist born in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

There are conflicting accounts of whether Johnson attended school or not. Later accounts portray him as illiterate or possessing beautiful handwriting. The question was settled with the discovery by Gayle Dean Wardlow of marriage certificates bearing the clear and attractive signature of Robert L Johnson.^[7]

In any case, everyone agrees that music was Johnson's first interest, and that he had his start playing the Jew's harp and harmonica in addition to guitar. Jews harp, from an American Civil War camp near Winchester, Virginia A modern jews harp A metal Jews harp (demir-xomus) from Tuva The Jews harp, jaw harp, or mouth harp is thought to be one of the oldest musical instruments in the world; a musician... A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument. ...

Son House recalled Johnson as a boy had followed him around and tried very unsuccessfully to copy him. He then left the Robbinsville area, but later reappeared with a miraculous guitar technique.^[8] His boast is entirely credible. Johnson later recorded versions of Preaching the Blues and Walking Blues in House's vocal and guitar style. However, Son's chronology is questioned by Guralnick. When House moved to Robbinsville in 1930, Johnson was a young adult, already married and widowed. The following year, he was living near Hazelhurst, where he married for the second time. From this base Johnson began travelling up and down the Delta as an itinerant musician.^[9] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Legend

According to a legend known to modern Blues fans, Robert Johnson was a young black man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi. Branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician, he was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery's plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar from Johnson, tuned the guitar so that he could play anything that he wanted, and handed it back to him in return for his soul. Within less than a year's time, in exchange for his everlasting soul, Robert Johnson became the king of the Delta blues singers, able to play, sing, and create the greatest blues anyone had ever heard. This is an overview of the Devil. ...

This legend was developed over time, and has been chronicled by Gayle Dean Wardlow^[10], Edward Komara ^[11] and Elijah Wald.^[12] Folk tales of bargains with the Devil have long existed in African American and White traditions, and were adapted into literature by Washington Irving in The Devil and Tom Walker in 1824, and by and Stephen Vincent Benet in The Devil and Daniel Webster in 1936. In the 1930s the folklorist Harry Middleton Hart recorded many tales of banjo players, violinists, card sharps and dice sharks selling their souls at the crossroads, along with guitarists and one accordionist. The folklorist Alan Lomax considered that every African American secular musician was "in the opinion of of both himself and his peers, a child of the devil, a consequence of the black view of the European dance embrace as sinful in the extreme".^[13] Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American author of the early 19th century. ... The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story by Washington Irving that first appeared in his 1824 collection of stories and sketches It was part of the Money-Diggers portion. ... Stephen Vincent Benét (July 22, 1898–March 13, 1943) was a United States author, poet, short story writer and novelist, best known for his narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Browns Body, published in 1928. ... For other uses, see The Devil and Daniel Webster (disambiguation). ... Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, sometime between 1939 and 1950. ...

Johnson seems to have claimed occasionally that he had sold his soul to the Devil, but it is not clear that he meant it seriously. Son House once told the story to Pete Welding as an explanation of Johnson's astonishingly rapid mastery of the guitar. Welding reported it as a serious belief in a widely read article in Down Beat in 1966.^[14] However, other interviewers failed to elicit any confirmation from House. Moreover, there were fully two years between House's observation of Robert as first a novice and then a master. In 1982, Guralnick unintentionally added the crossroads details to the legend. He quoted the account given by Ledell Johnson to David Evans of how his brother Tommy Johnson (no relation to Robert) sold his soul to a large black man at a crossroads.^[15] Although Guralnick made it clear that the details belonged to the Tommy Johnson story,^[16] casual readers failed to notice, and the crossroads association passed into oral tradition, and then into popular written accounts. The myth was established in mass consciousness in 1986 by the film “Crossroads’. There are now tourist attractions claiming to be "The Crossroads" at Clarksdale and in Memphis. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... David Evans may mean: David Evans (composer) (1874-1948) David A. Evans (born 1941), organic chemistry professor at Harvard David Allan Evans (born 1940), American poet David C. Evans (1924–1998), computer graphics pioneer David Howell Evans (born 1961), known as The Edge, guitarist with rock band U2 Dave Evans... Tommy Johnson (1896 – November 1, 1956) was an influential delta blues musician. ... Tommy Johnson (1896 – November 1, 1956) was an influential delta blues musician. ... Clarksdale can refer to: Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale, Missouri This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Memphis was the wife of Epaphus, the founder of Memphis, Egypt in Greek mythology. ...

Itinerant career

When Johnson arrived in a new town, he would play for tips on street corners or in front of the local barbershop or a restaurant. He played what his audience asked for — not necessarily his own compositions, and not necessarily blues. With an ability to pick up tunes at first hearing, Johnson had no trouble giving his audiences what they wanted, and certain of his contemporaries, most notably Johnny Shines, later remarked on Johnson's interest in jazz and country. (Many giants of the blues, including Muddy Waters, were not averse to playing the hit songs of the day.) Johnson also had an uncanny ability to establish a rapport with his audience — in every town in which he stopped, Johnson would establish ties to the local community that would serve him well when he passed through again a month or a year later. McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ...

Fellow musician Johnny Shines was 17 when he met Johnson in 1933. He estimated that Johnson was maybe a year older than himself. In Samuel Charters' Robert Johnson, the author quotes Shines as saying: Johnny Shines (1915-1992) was an American blues guitarist. ...

"Robert was a very friendly person, even though he was sulky at times, you know. And I hung around Robert for quite a while. One evening he disappeared. He was kind of peculiar fellow. Robert'd be standing up playing some place, playing like nobody's business. At about that time it was a hustle with him as well as a pleasure. And money'd be coming from all directions. But Robert'd just pick up and walk off and leave you standing there playing. And you wouldn't see Robert no more maybe in two or three weeks.... So Robert and I, we began journeying off. I was just, matter of fact, tagging along."

During this time Johnson established what would be a relatively long-term relationship with Estella Coleman, a woman who was about fifteen years his elder and the mother of musician Robert Lockwood, Jr.. Johnson, however, reportedly also cultivated a woman to look after him in each town he played in. Johnson supposedly asked homely young women living in the country with their families whether he could go home with them, and in most cases the answer was yes—until a boyfriend arrived or Johnson was ready to move on. Robert Junior Lockwood, Jr. ...

Recording sessions

Around 1936, Johnson sought out H. C. Speir in Jackson, Mississippi, who ran a general store and doubled as a talent scout. Speir, who helped the careers of many blues players, put Johnson in touch with Ernie Oertle, who offered to record the young musician in San Antonio, Texas. At the recording session, held on November 23, 1936 in rooms at the landmark Gunter Hotel which Brunswick Records had set up as a temporary studio, Johnson reportedly performed facing the wall. This has been cited as evidence he was a shy man and reserved performer, a conclusion played up in the inaccurate liner notes of the 1961 album King of the Delta Blues Singers. Johnson probably was nervous and intimidated at his first time in a makeshift recording studio (a new and alien environment for the musician), but in truth he was probably focusing on the demands of his emotive performances. In addition, playing into the corner of a wall was a sound-enhancing technique that simulated the acoustical booths of better-equipped studios. In the ensuing three-day session, Johnson played 16 selections, and recorded alternate takes for most of these. When the recording session was over, Johnson presumably returned home with cash in his pocket; probably more money than he'd ever had at one time in his life. H. C. Speir (born Henry C. Speir in Prospect, Mississippi, October 6, 1895; d. ... This article is about Jackson, the city and related subjects within the city. ... San Antonio redirects here. ... is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The King of the Delta Blues Singers was recorded by Robert Johnson (1911-1938), and is considered one of the greatest (and most influential) blues recordings ever. ...

Among the songs Johnson recorded in San Antonio were "Come On In My Kitchen", "Kind Hearted Woman Blues", "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom", and "Cross Road Blues". "Come on in My Kitchen" included the lines: "The woman I love took from my best friend/Some joker got lucky, stole her back again,/You better come on in my kitchen, it's going to be rainin' outdoors." In "Crossroad Blues", another of his songs, he sang: "I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees./I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees./I asked the Lord above, have mercy, save poor Bob if you please./Uumb, standing at the crossroads I tried to flag a ride./Standing at the crossroads I tried to flag a ride./Ain't nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me by." Blues musician Robert Johnson recorded his song Come On In My Kitchen on Monday, November 23rd, 1936 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas - his first recording session. ... Kind Hearted Woman Blues is a blues song by legendary old-time bluesmen Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of his compilation albums, and on its original album, King of the Delta Blues (1937) It was covered by Eric Clapton on his 2004 album, Me and Mr. ... I Believe Ill Dust My Broom Vocalion 03475 Dust My Broom is a blues standard originally recorded by Robert Johnson, the legendary Mississippi Delta blues singer and guiarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. ... Cross Road Blues is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnsons most famous songs. ...

When his records began appearing, Johnson made the rounds to his relatives and the various children he had fathered to bring them the records himself. The first songs to appear were "Terraplane Blues" and "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", probably the only recordings of his that he would live to hear. "Terraplane Blues" became a moderate regional hit, selling 5,000 copies. Terraplane Blues is a blues song recorded 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. ...

In 1937, Johnson traveled to Dallas, Texas, for another recording session in a makeshift studio at the Brunswick Record Building, 508 Park Avenue.^[17] Eleven records from this session would be released within the following year. Among them were the three songs that would largely contribute to Johnson's posthumous fame: "Stones in My Passway", "Me and the Devil", and "Hellhound On My Trail". "Stones In My Passway" and "Me And The Devil" are both about betrayal, a recurrent theme in country blues. The terrifying "Hell Hound On My Trail"—utilising another common theme of fear of the Devil—is often considered to be the crowning achievement of blues-style music. Other themes in Johnson's music include impotence ("Dead Shrimp Blues" and "Phonograph Blues") and infidelity ("Terraplane Blues", "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" and "Love in Vain"). Dallas redirects here. ... One of two known photographs of Robert Johnson Hellhound on My Trail is an original blues song recorded by a young drifter from the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson, in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, July 20, 1937, one of ten songs recorded in his second and last recording session for RCA...

Six of Johnson's blues songs mention the devil or some form of the supernatural. In "Me And The Devil" he began, "Early this morning when you knocked upon my door,/Early this morning, umb, when you knocked upon my door,/And I said, ' Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go,'" before leading into "You may bury my body down by the highway side,/ You may bury my body, uumh, down by the highway side,/So my old evil spirit can get on a Greyhound bus and ride." This is an overview of the Devil. ...

It has been suggested that the Devil in these songs does not solely refer to the Christian model of Satan, but equally to the African trickster god, Legba.^[18] In Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba is the intermediary between the lwa and humanity. ...

Death

One of Robert Johnson's three tombstones

In the last year of his life, Johnson is believed to have traveled to St. Louis and possibly Illinois, and then to some states in the East. He spent some time in Memphis and traveled through the Mississippi Delta and Arkansas. By the time he died, at least six of his records had been released in the South as race records. Image File history File links TombstoneRobert_Johnson. ... Image File history File links TombstoneRobert_Johnson. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: , Country State County Independent City Government  - Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area  - City  66. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Race records were 78 rpm gramophone records made by and for African Americans during the eary 20th century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. ...

His death occurred on August 16, 1938, at the age of twenty-seven at a country crossroads near Greenwood, Mississippi. He had been playing for a few weeks at a country dance in a town about 15 miles (24 km) from Greenwood. is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Greenwood is situated in Leflore County, Mississippi at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta, approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. ...

There are a number of accounts and theories regarding the events preceding Johnson's death. One of these is that one evening Johnson began flirting with a woman at a dance. One version of this rumor says she was the wife of the juke joint owner who unknowingly provided Johnson with a bottle of poisoned whiskey from her husband, while another suggests she was a married woman he had been secretly seeing. Researcher Mack McCormick claims to have interviewed Johnson's alleged poisoner in the 1970s, and obtained a tacit admission of guilt from the man. When Johnson was offered an open bottle of whiskey, his friend and fellow blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson knocked the bottle out of his hand, informing him that he should never drink from an offered bottle that has already been opened. Johnson allegedly said, "don't ever knock a bottle out of my hand". Soon after, he was offered another open bottle of whiskey and accepted it, and it was that bottle that was laced with strychnine. Johnson is reported to have started to feel ill into the evening after drinking from the bottle and had to be helped back to his room in the early morning hours. Over the next three days, his condition steadily worsened and witnesses reported that he died in a convulsive state of severe pain - symptoms which are consistent with strychnine poisoning. Strychnine was readily available at the time as it was a common pesticide, and although it is a very bitter-tasting substance it is extremely toxic, and a small quantity dissolved in a harsh-tasting solution such as whiskey could possibly have gone unnoticed, but (over a period of days due to the reduced dosage) still produced the symptoms and eventual death that Johnson experienced. Sonny Boy Williamson, circa 1964 Aleck Rice Miller (December 5, 1899 - May 25, 1965), a. ... Strychnine (pronounced (British, U.S.), or (U.S.)) is a very toxic (LD50 = 10 mg approx. ...

The precise location of his grave remains a source of ongoing controversy, and three different markers have been erected at supposed burial sites outside of Greenwood. Research in the 1980s and 1990s strongly suggests Johnson was buried in the graveyard of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist church near Morgan City, Mississippi, not far from Greenwood, in an unmarked grave. A cenotaph memorial was placed at this location in 1990 paid for by Columbia Records and numerous smaller contributions made through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. More recent research by Stephen LaVere (including statements from Rosie Eskridge, the wife of the supposed gravedigger) indicates that the actual grave site is under a big pecan tree in the cemetery of the Little Zion Church north of Greenwood along Money Road. Sony Music has placed a marker at this site. Morgan City is a town located in Leflore County, Mississippi. ... The Mount Zion Memorial Fund Inc. ...

In 1938, Columbia Records producer John Hammond, who owned some of Johnson's records, sought him out to book him for the first "From Spirituals to Swing" concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. On learning of Johnson's death, Hammond replaced him with Big Bill Broonzy, but still played two of Johnson's records from the stage.^[19] Robert Johnson has a son, Claude Johnson, and grandchildren who currently reside in a town near Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... John Henry Hammond (December 15, 1910–July 10, 1987) was a record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s. ... From Spirituals to Swing was the title of influential concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall in 1938 and 1939. ... Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street. ... This article is about the state. ... Big Bill Broonzy (1893 or 1898-1958) was a prolific United States composer, recorder and performer of blues songs. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Discography

Eleven Johnson 78s were released on the Vocalion label during his lifetime, with a twelfth issued posthumously. All songs copyrighted to Robert Johnson, and his estate. Manufacturers put records inside protective and decorative cardboard jackets and an inner paper sleeve to protect the grooves from dust and scratches. ... 1921 Vocalion label Vocalion Records was a record label historically active in the United States and in the United Kingdom. ...

After their initial run in the late 1930s, his recordings remained out of print until the appearance of the first Johnson album on Columbia Records in 1961, King of the Delta Blues Singers, compiled at the instigation of John Hammond. It contained three previously unissued tracks. A sequel LP, assembling the rest of the master recordings, an unreleased alternate take and two additional unreleased songs, was issued in 1970 as King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. II. In the UK, both albums were issued as a two-LP set by Blue Diamond Records in 1985 under the same name, King of the Delta Blues Singers. An omnibus two-CD set, The Complete Recordings, was released in 1990 containing 41 known recordings of 29 songs. Johnson's additional five credited compositions to the 24 issued on Vocalion are "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day", "When You Got A Good Friend", "Traveling Riverside Blues", "Phonograph Blues", and "Drunken Hearted Man." Kind Hearted Woman Blues is a blues song by legendary old-time bluesmen Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of his compilation albums, and on its original album, King of the Delta Blues (1937) It was covered by Eric Clapton on his 2004 album, Me and Mr. ... Terraplane Blues is a blues song recorded 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. ... Blues musician Robert Johnson recorded his song Come On In My Kitchen on Monday, November 23rd, 1936 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas - his first recording session. ... Theyre Red Hot is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. ... Sweet Home Chicago is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. ... One of two known photographs of Robert Johnson Hellhound on My Trail is an original blues song recorded by a young drifter from the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson, in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, July 20, 1937, one of ten songs recorded in his second and last recording session for RCA... Love in Vain is a 1937 blues song written by Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of compilation albums of Johnsons work (most notably on the vinyl album , that, along with Vol. ... An album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. ... The King of the Delta Blues Singers was recorded by Robert Johnson (1911-1938), and is considered one of the greatest (and most influential) blues recordings ever. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Traveling Riverside Blues is a blues song written and performed originally by legendary old-time bluesman Robert Johnson. ...

On September 15, 1998, Columbia/Legacy reissued King of the Delta Blues Singers remastered for compact disc, with the second volume appearing on August 10, 2004. They reproduce the original albums, without the alternates and false starts found on the box set Complete collection. The first volume includes an alternate take of "Traveling Riverside Blues" heretofore undiscovered and previously unissued, which brings the number of known Johnson recordings to forty-two. is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Legacy Recordings is Sony BMG Music Entertainments catalog division. ... Remaster (and its derivations, frequently found in the phrases digitally remastered or digital remastering) is a word and concept ushered into the mass consciousness via the digital age, although it had existed before then. ... CD redirects here. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Pitch speed question

Johnson's recorded work has become more widely heard since the Columbia double CD release, and some have opined that the recordings run too fast. Support for this comes from passages of Johnson's songs that some believe his guitar playing sound constrained, and some of his vocals sound odd and robotic. Thus the claim is that some (or all) of Johnson's songs were intentionally or accidentally sped up before or after the recording process. Speeding up recordings has been a common practice in the recording industry, as it tends to make things sound more energetic. However, there has been a lack of definitive proof as to whether or not the recordings have actually been sped up, and this may be a matter of subjective explanation. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... The record industry (or recording industry) is the industry that manufactures and distributes mechanical recordings of music. ...

Some claim that when Johnson's music is slowed down (one article even states slowed down 20%), Johnson's music sounds more "natural."^[20] The guitar sounds warmer, more full, and more in line with other recordings from the late 1930s. His voice becomes more expressive, although it loses some of Johnson's trademark emotional "whine." Conversely, when some songs are slowed down (5-10%), Johnson's guitar playing begins to sound sloppy, and he seems to make tempo mistakes that a professional player would not make at slower speeds, and so there seems to be a lack of clarity about whether the claim is that all or only some of the songs that have been sped up.

A supporting argument for the sped up view is that in many of Johnson's songs, he would be playing extremely high up on the neck of the guitar, and in some cases he is said to be playing higher than there are frets on the guitar. For example, the intro of "Walkin' Blues" sounds like it is played at the fifteenth fret of a guitar in standard tuning. The argument here is that acoustic guitars generally do not have that many frets. This would seem to indicate that the recordings are sped up, since it would be difficult or impossible for Johnson to play this high. However this view is mistaken, because most guitars made since 1910 have at least sixteen frets, and Johnson's Gibson L-1 had 18 frets. It is also quite possible that he tuned his guitar higher than concert pitch. For playing slide guitar, the extra tension from tuning sharp can be an advantage.

This theory also does not take into consideration aspects of how slide guitar is played. By using a slide, the strings do not use frets to make sound, the pitch of the sound is determined by where the slide is placed on the strings, and so a slide guitarist can play extremely high notes that are impossible to play with traditional fretting technique. "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" is an example.

The strongest argument against the position that his work was consistently sped up (or slowed down) is that it would have been impossible: it couldn't have happened at all of the original sessions due to equipment failure, since the sessions were months apart. And it couldn't have happened in some version of post-production, since the tracks were released over the course of years, and many of them were never released on 78 at all. So if there indeed are speed anomalies, they should be consistent only within one session or for a particular group of releases--and the proponents of the speed controversy are all claiming there is some consistent alteration.

There is also controversy over whether the original recording masters were transferred from "wax" onto analog tape before being digitally restored. If this were the case, the tape machine used could quite easily have been out of calibration, thus pitching up the notes and increasing the tempo.

There is a strong possibility that this speed controversy comes from an attempt to explain the tonally tinny, hyper-treble end product of a sub-standard studio recording from the 1930s.

A 1996 plastic jewel-case remaster of the Complete set [Sony/Columbia Legacy 64916] corrected fidelity and pitch problems from the cardboard-packaged box.

Selective awards and recognitions

Grammy Awards

The Complete Recordings: A double-disc box set was released on August 28, 1990, containing everything Robert Johnson ever recorded, contains all 29 recordings, including 12 alternate takes.^[21] is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

Grammy Hall of Fame

Cross Road Blues is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnsons most famous songs. ...

National Recording Registry

The Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson (1936-1937) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2003.^[22] The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The United States National Recording Preservation Board selects recorded sounds for preservation in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... Martin Luther King Jr. ...

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs by Robert Johnson of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.^[23] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ...

Sweet Home Chicago is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. ... Cross Road Blues is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnsons most famous songs. ... One of two known photographs of Robert Johnson Hellhound on My Trail is an original blues song recorded by a young drifter from the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson, in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, July 20, 1937, one of ten songs recorded in his second and last recording session for RCA... Love in Vain is a 1937 blues song written by Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of compilation albums of Johnsons work (most notably on the vinyl album , that, along with Vol. ...

The Blues Foundation Awards

The W. C. Handy Awards (also called The Handys), named in honour of the pioneering blues musician W. C. Handy, were created by the Blues Foundation to recognize the best blues recordings and performances of the previous year. ...

Honors and inductions

On September 17, 1994 the U.S. Post Office issues a Robert Johnson 29 cents commemorative postage stamp. is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... This article lists people who have been featured on United States postage stamps. ...

The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and... The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. ...

Influence

Blues musician and historian Elijah Wald feels that Johnson's major influence is on rock. He has made the controversial appraisal that "As far as the evolution of black music goes, Robert Johnson was an extremely minor figure, and very little that happened in the decades following his death would have been affected if he had never played a note."^[27] Assessments such as Eric Clapton's of Johnson as "the most important blues musician who ever lived", says Wald, are perfectly appropriate, but relate to Johnson's reputation and influence after the appearance of the first LP of his work in 1961. Wald argues that Johnson, although well traveled and always admired in his performances, was little heard by the standards of his time and place, and his records even less so. ("Terraplane Blues", sometimes described as Johnson's only hit record, outsold his others but was still a minor success.) If one had asked black blues fans about Robert Johnson in the first twenty years after his death, writes Wald, "the response in the vast majority of cases would have been a puzzled 'Robert who?'" Musical associates such as Johnny Shines also stated that in live performances, Johnson often did not focus on his dark and complex original compositions, but instead pleased audiences by performing more well-known pop standards of the day.

Although little known to the African American mass market, Johnson was known and admired by small but influential group of white record collectors and writers involved with the New Orleans Jazz Revival. This group included John Hammond, who attempted to book Johnson for his first Spirituals to Swing concert. Hammond loaned his Robert Johnson records to Alan Lomax at the Library of Congress, who included them in a published list of records of interest to folklore scholars. Johnson was quoted by jazz critic Rudi Blesh in 1946, and in 1959 the jazz writer Samuel Charters included a chapter on Johnson in his pioneering book The Country Blues, otherwise devoted to singers who had enjoyed more commercial success. Published with the "English Edition" (sic) of the book in 1960 was an album also titled The Country Blues (RBF 1), which included Johnson's "Preachin' Blues". There are two John Hammonds of note. ... Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, sometime between 1939 and 1950. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... Samuel Charters (born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929; his name also appears as Sam Charters) is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet. ...

Thus there was already considerable interest in Johnson among white jazz and blues enthusiasts when Columbia Records issued the album King of the Delta Blues Singers compiled from Johnson's recordings. The album (and subsequent bootleg recordings) introduced his work to a much wider audience and kick-started a renewal of his influence, this time to a body of largely white fans in the US and in Britain. This new fan base included future rock stars such as Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton. When Keith Richards was first introduced to Johnson's music by his band mate Brian Jones, he replied, "Who is the other guy playing with him?", not realizing it was all Johnson playing on one guitar. Clapton described Johnson's music as "the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice." The song "Crossroads" by British psychedelic blues rock band Cream is a cover version of Johnson's "Cross Road Blues", about the legend of Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at the crossroads, although Johnson's original lyrics ("Standin' at the crossroads, tried to flag a ride") suggest he was merely hitchhiking rather than signing away his soul to Lucifer in exchange for being a great blues musician. The King of the Delta Blues Singers was recorded by Robert Johnson (1911-1938), and is considered one of the greatest (and most influential) blues recordings ever. ... Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... For other persons named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation). ... Cream were a 1960s British rock band comprising guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... // In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ...

"Robert Johnson, to whom we all owed our existence, in some way."—Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, on NPR's Fresh Air, recorded in 2004. Robert Anthony Plant (born August 20, 1948, West Bromwich, West Midlands, England), is an English rock singer and songwriter, famous for his membership in the rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, as well as for his successful solo career. ... For the bands 1969 eponymous debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ...

An important aspect of Johnson's singing, and indeed of all Delta Blues singing styles, and also of Chicago blues guitar playing, is the use of microtonality—his subtle inflections of pitch are part of the reason why his singing conveys such powerful emotion. Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the notes between the cracks of the piano. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ...

John P. Hammond (the son of the aforementioned John Hammond) produced a documentary in the early 1990s about Johnson's life in the Delta area. John Hammond album cover John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942), also known as John Hammond Jr. ...

In the summer of 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Johnson at number five in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.^[2] This article is about the magazine. ...

Tributes

• The Allman Brothers Band have covered in live performances "Drunken Hearted Boy" and others. Their guitarist, Dickey Betts, has covered "Come On In My Kitchen" on his most recent live album.
• The Blues Brothers covered "Sweet Home Chicago" in their eponymous 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
• Rory Block released in 2006 an album consisting solely of covers of Johnson's songs, The Lady and Mr. Johnson. In addition, she had previously performed or recorded "Come on in My Kitchen", "Hellhound on My Trail", "If I Had Possession over Judgment Day", "Rambling on My Mind", "Walking Blues", "Cross Road Blues", "Kindhearted Man" (a reworking of "Kind Hearted Woman Blues"), "Terraplane Blues", "When You Got a Good Friend", "Me and the Devil Blues", "Stones in My Passway", "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and "Traveling Riverside Blues".
• Eric Clapton released in 2004 an album consisting solely of covers of Johnson's songs, Me and Mr. Johnson, and in the following year released a DVD and CD combo entitled Sessions For Robert J. In addition, he had previously performed or recorded "I'm a Steady Rolling Man", "Malted Milk", "Walkin' Blues", "From Four until Late", "Crossroads", "If I Had Possession over Judgment Day", and "Ramblin' on My Mind". While playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, he recorded "Ramblin' on My Mind". With Cream he recorded "Cross Road Blues" (reworked as "Crossroads") and "Four until Late". To quote "I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in a human voice, really."
• Delaney & Bonnie and Friends recorded "Come On in My Kitchen" on their 1970 album To Bonnie from Delaney. In addition, their live album On Tour with Eric Clapton (also 1970) includes the song "Tribute to Johnson", co-authored by Delaney Bramlett (as introduced on the album) about "Robert Johnson, one of our favorite singers".
• Bob Dylan ("Kind Hearted Woman Blues", "Milkcow's Calf Blues", "Rambling On My Mind", "I'm A Steady Rolling Man")
• Fleetwood Mac ("Hellhound On My Trail", "Kind Hearted Woman", "Preachin' Blues", "Dust My Broom", "Sweet Home Chicago")
• The Grateful Dead ("Walkin' Blues") "Deal", a Dead original by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, also hints lyrically at Johnson's "Last Fair Deal Gone Down". "Walkin' Blues" was also performed by Bob Weir solo and with his band Ratdog.
• Hot Tuna ("Walkin' Blues") The song was also performed in solo gigs by Jorma Kaukonen.
• Peter Green Splinter Group (all 29 songs)
• John P. Hammond ("32-20 Blues", "Milkcow's Calf Blues", "Traveling Riverside Blues", "Stones in My Passway", "Crossroads Blues", "Hellbound Blues" ("Hellhound On My Trail"), "Me and the Devil Blues", "Walking Blues", "Come on in My Kitchen", "Preaching Blues", "Sweet Home Chicago", "When You Got a Good Friend", "Judgment Day", "Rambling Blues")
• Keb' Mo ("Come on in My Kitchen", "Last Fair Deal Gone Down", "Kindhearted Woman Blues", "Love in Vain")
• Led Zeppelin ("Traveling Riverside Blues", "The Lemon Song") Zeppelin's version of Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues" consisted of an amalgamation of several Johnson songs (such as "Cross Road Blues" and "Kind Hearted Woman") as well as new material by the band. Furthermore, lyrics from Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues" were used by Zeppelin in "The Lemon Song".
• Robert Lockwood, Jr. ("32-20 Blues", "Stop Breakin’ Down Blues", "Little Queen of Spades", "I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom", "Ramblin’ on My Mind", "Love in Vain Blues", "Kind Hearted Woman Blues", "Walking Blues", "I’m a Steady Rollin’ Man", "Sweet Home Chicago")
• Phish "Alumni Blues", an early Phish original, was influenced by Johnson's "Walking Blues" and both songs share opening lyrics. "Crossroads Blues" was included in Phish's live repertoire from 1993–98.
• Rory Gallagher covered "Walking Blues" many times live. There is one recording of this, Meeting With The G-Man.
• The Radiators have covered many songs in their 4200 known live performances. "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" and "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" are staples of their live shows (having been performed over 100 times each). Other songs that have been covered approximately a dozen times or less include "Come on in My Kitchen", "Cross Roads Blues", "Dead Shrimp Blues", "From Four until Late". "Hellhound on My Trail", "I'm a Steady Rollin' Man", "Love in Vain", "Me and the Devil Blues", "Ramblin' on My Mind", "Sweet Home Chicago'", "Walkin' Blues" "When You Got a Good Friend".
• Tim McGraw refers to Robert Johnson/Devil legend in the opening and closing lines in "How Bad Do you Want it" on the Live Like You Were Dying album .
• The Rolling Stones ("Love in Vain", "Stop Breaking Down") "You know, you think you're getting a handle on the blues, and then you hear Robert Johnson..."—Keith Richards
• Umphrey's McGee ("Sweet Home Chicago") Covered in live shows
• The White Stripes covered "Stop Breaking Down Blues", dropping "Blues" in the title, on their self-titled debut album. They have also recorded "Stop Breaking Down Blues" as the B-side to their 2002 single, "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground". They have covered many Robert Johnson songs on stage, including "Stones in My Passway" and "If I Had Possession over Judgment Day".
• Widespread Panic played "Me and The Devil" on their 1988 debut album Space Wrangler; "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" appeared on the 2005 Live at Myrtle Beach release. They have also played "Crossroads" live.
• Lucinda Williams covered "Stop Breaking Down Blues" on her debut album Ramblin', also dropping the word "Blues" from the title.
• Cassandra Wilson, mostly known as a jazz singer, covered "They're Red Hot" on her blues-influenced album Belly Of The Sun, calling it "Hot Tamales".
• Johnny Winter ("Kind Hearted Woman", "Me and the Devil", "When You Got a Good Friend")
• Red Hot Chili Peppers ("They're Red Hot" appeared on Blood Sugar Sex Magik)
• Gov't Mule ("32/20 Blues" and "If I Had Possession over Judgment Day" )
• Joe Bonamassa did a cover of "Walking Blues" in 2003 on his album Blues Deluxe.
• Steve Miller Band ("Come on in my Kitchen" appeared on The Joker)
• Paul Butterfield Blues Band covered "Walking Blues" on their debut album The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
• The Gun Club covered "Preachin' Blues" on their album Fire of Love, but renamed the song "Preaching the blues".
• Jeff Martin of The Tea Party has long been a fan of the Blues and Robert Johnson in particular. The song "Sun Going Down" from Splendor Solis begins with a quote from "Me and the Devil" ("I woke up this morning, someone was knocking at my door. And I said hello sweet Satan, I believe it's time to go.") and the song "Black Snake Blues" from Exile and the Kingdom is a tribute to Johnson.
• The Mountain Goats ("Hellhound on My Trail" appeared on "Nothing for Juice")
• Patti Smith covered "Come On In My Kitchen", it was released as a b-side in 1996.
• John Mellencamp covered "Stones in My Passway" on his 2003 all-covers studio album, "Trouble No More."
• ZZ Top covered "Dust My Broom" on their 1979 album, Degüello.
• Lynyrd Skynyrd covered "Crossroads" on their 1976 live album, One More from the Road.

The Allman Brothers Band is a band from Macon, Georgia, labeled by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the principal architects of Southern rock. ... Dickey Betts, born Forrest Richard Betts on December 12, 1943 in Jacksonville, Florida, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, most known for his work as a founding member of the southern blues/rock group The Allman Brothers Band. ... A live album – commonly contrasted with a studio album – is a recording consisting of material (usually music) recorded during stage performances. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sweet Home Chicago is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. ... The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a Saturday Night Live musical sketch. ... Rory Block is a female blues guitarist and singer, one of the most notable exponents of the country blues style in the present era. ... Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE[2] (born 30 March 1945) [3], nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... DVD Cover DVD cover Me and Mr. ... Cream were a 1960s British rock band comprising guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... For the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony song, covered by Blazin Squad, see Tha Crossroads Crossroads, from Creams 1968 album Wheels of Fire, is a famous and influential blues-rock song. ... Delaney, Bonnie & Friends was a group started by Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, which featured artists such as Eric Clapton, Carl Radle, Bobby Whitlock and Jim Gordon. ... To Bonnie from Delaney is the 1970 album by Delaney & Bonnie. ... On Tour with Eric Clapton is the third release of the husband and wife team of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... This article is about the band. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Jerome John Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician, songwriter, and artist best known for being the lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. ... Robert Hunter may refer to: In politics: General Robert Hunter (1664/1666–1734), Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Colony, Governor of New York, New Jersey, Jamaica Robert C. Hunter (born 1944), U.S. judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals Robert E. Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter... Robert Hall Weir (October 16, 1947–) is an American guitar player, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. ... Ratdog, also known as Bob Weir and Ratdog, is an American rock band. ... Hot Tuna at Merlefest, 2006. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Peter Green Splinter Group was a band of guitarist and singer, Peter Green, of Buxton in Derbyshire. ... John Hammond album cover John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942), also known as John Hammond Jr. ... Keb Mo is a noted blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... For the bands 1969 eponymous debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... Robert Junior Lockwood, Jr. ... This article is about the band. ... Rory Gallagher (2 March 1948–14 June 1995) was an Irish blues/rock guitarist, born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, grew up in Cork City in the south of Ireland. ... The Radiators, also known as The New Orleans Radiators, are a rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, who have combined the traditional musical styles of their native city with more mainstream rock and R&B influences to form a bouncy, funky variety of swamp-rock they call fish head music... For the song by Taylor Swift, see Tim McGraw (song). ... Live Like You Were Dying is an album by country music superstar Tim McGraw. ... Rolling Stones redirects here. ... Umphreys McGee is a progressive rock / jam band from Chicago, Illinois whose music is often referred to as progressive improvisation. ... This article is about the American duo. ... The White Stripes is the self-titled debut album by American rock band, The White Stripes, and was released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). ... “B-Sides” redirects here. ... Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground is a single by the White Stripes from their album White Blood Cells. ... Widespread Panic is a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia. ... For other persons named Lucinda Williams, see Lucinda Williams (disambiguation). ... Ramblin is a cover album by Lucinda Williams. ... Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. ... John Dawson Johnny Winter III (born on 23 February 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, USA) is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. ... The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. ... Singles from Blood Sugar Sex Magik Released: 1991 Released: 1991 Released: 1992 Released: 1992 Released: 1993 Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. ... Govt Mule is a southern rock/jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project, but has taken on a life of its own. ... Joe Bonamassa (born May 8, 1977) is an American blues guitarist/singer, well known for his gritty voice and technically accomplished playing; Guitar One Magazine has stated that he just might be the best guitarist of his generation. ... The Steve Miller Band (1967-present) is a Blues & Classic Rock band, led by rock singer, Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. ... The Joker is the title of the eighth album by The Steve Miller Band, released in 1973. ... Paul Butterfield (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and one of the earliest white exponents of the Chicago-originated electric blues style. ... The Gun Club were a rock band from Los Angeles in the 1980s led by the flamboyant singer, ex-rock critic Jeffrey Lee Pierce. ... Jeff Martin was the guitarist, vocalist, and main producer of the Canadian rock band The Tea Party. ... The Tea Party was a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock and Middle Eastern influences. ... Splendor Solis (1993) is The Tea Partys second album, and their first release on a major record label. ... Exile and the Kingdom (2006) is the debut solo album from Canadian singer/songwriter Jeff Martin. ... The Mountain Goats is the name of prolific American singer-songwriter John Darnielles long-running musical project. ... Patricia Lee (Patti) Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American musician, singer, and poet. ... John Mellencamp, also known as John Cougar and John Cougar Mellencamp, (born October 7, 1951) is a Grammy-winning American rock singer-songwriter and occasional actor. ... ZZ Top (pronounced ) is an American hard rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. ... I Believe Ill Dust My Broom Vocalion 03475 Dust My Broom is a blues standard originally recorded by Robert Johnson, the legendary Mississippi Delta blues singer and guiarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. ... Degüello is the sixth studio album by American blues-rock band ZZ Top, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music). ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... Cross Road Blues is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnsons most famous songs. ... One More From the Road is a live album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ...

Songs

Most of the collection, minus one song, is available on The Complete Recordings (1990, 1996)

• "32-20 Blues" (.32-.20 is a revolver or rifle cartridge)
• "Come on in My Kitchen" (two versions)
• "Cross Road Blues" (two versions)
• "Dead Shrimp Blues"
• "Drunken Hearted Man" (two versions)
• "From Four Till Late"
• "Hellhound on My Trail" (see also: Hellhound)
• "Honeymoon Blues"
• "I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"
• "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" (sometimes called "I Believe My Time Ain't Long")
• "If I Had Possession over Judgment Day"
• "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" (two versions)
• "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"
• "Little Queen of Spades" (two versions)
• "Love in Vain" (two versions)
• "Malted Milk" (malted milk is a sweet beverage)
• "Me and the Devil Blues" (two versions)
• "Milk Cow's Calf Blues" (two versions)
• "Phonograph Blues" (two versions)
• "Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)"
• "Rambling on My Mind" (two versions)
• "Stones in My Passway"
• "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (two versions)
• "Sweet Home Chicago"
• "Terraplane Blues"
• "They're Red Hot"
• "Traveling Riverside Blues" (two versions—only one appears on The Complete Collection. Both versions of the song appear on Snapper Music's 2007 Robert Johnson and the Last of the Great Mississippi Blues Singers 6 CD set)
• "Walkin' Blues"
• "When You Got a Good Friend" (two versions)

Table of selected pistol, sub-machine gun, rifle and machine gun cartridges by year. ... Blues musician Robert Johnson recorded his song Come On In My Kitchen on Monday, November 23rd, 1936 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas - his first recording session. ... Cross Road Blues is one of Delta Blues singer Robert Johnsons most famous songs. ... One of two known photographs of Robert Johnson Hellhound on My Trail is an original blues song recorded by a young drifter from the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson, in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, July 20, 1937, one of ten songs recorded in his second and last recording session for RCA... For other uses, see Hellhound (disambiguation). ... I Believe Ill Dust My Broom Vocalion 03475 Dust My Broom is a blues standard originally recorded by Robert Johnson, the legendary Mississippi Delta blues singer and guiarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. ... Kind Hearted Woman Blues is a blues song by legendary old-time bluesmen Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of his compilation albums, and on its original album, King of the Delta Blues (1937) It was covered by Eric Clapton on his 2004 album, Me and Mr. ... Love in Vain is a 1937 blues song written by Robert Johnson, and can be found on a number of compilation albums of Johnsons work (most notably on the vinyl album , that, along with Vol. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Sweet Home Chicago is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. ... Terraplane Blues is a blues song recorded 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. ... Theyre Red Hot is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. ... Traveling Riverside Blues is a blues song written and performed originally by legendary old-time bluesman Robert Johnson. ...

Films

• Crossroads (1986) which is loosely based on the theme of a blues artist selling his soul to the devil and, more specifically, about a young white blues guitarist's search for Johnson's 'missing' thirtieth song (there are only 29 individual songs in Johnson's recorded repertoire). Johnson is played by Tim Russ, while Joe Seneca plays Willie Brown (a contemporary of Johnson's mentioned in the song "Cross Road Blues"). Some scenes in the movie are meant to portray moments in Johnson's career as flashbacks, e.g. a recording session at the very start of the movie, and a portrayal of the "selling his soul to the devil"—events which are part of the legend about him. Johnson's music for the film was played & orchestrated by Ry Cooder and Steve Vai, and in some cases Johnson's actual recordings are heard in the film. While the film is almost entirely a fictitious creation based on the crossroads myth associated with Robert Johnson, those associated with it especially director Walter Hill have remarked that it was made with complete respect and admiration for the legend of the real performer.^{[citation needed]}
• The Search for Robert Johnson (1992)
• Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? The Life and Music of Robert Johnson (1997)
• Hellhounds On My Trail: The Afterlife of Robert Johnson (2000, directed by Robert Mugge)
• Eric Clapton – Sessions for Robert Johnson (2004, documentary)
• Supernatural – Crossroad Blues (2006)

Crossroads is a 1986 cult film inspired by the legend of Robert Johnson. ... Timothy Darrell Russ (born on June 22, 1956 in Washington, DC)[1] is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and musician. ... Ryland Ry Peter Cooder (born 15 March 1947, in Los Angeles, California) is an American guitarist, singer and composer, known for his slide guitar work, his interest in the American roots music and, more recently, for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries. ... Steven Steve Siro Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, composer, vocalist, and record producer. ... Walter Hill (born California 1942) is a prominent American film director. ... Robert Mugge (b. ...

Samples

Image File history File links Traveling_Riverside_Blues_sample. ... Crossroads. ...

Notes

This article is about the magazine. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Blues World - Booklet No.1 - Robert Johnson - Four Editions, First published 1967
• Blesh, Rudi (1946) "Jazz Begins" quoted in Marybeth Hamilton (below).
• Charters, Samuel B (1959). The Country Blues. Rinehart.
• Charters, Samuel B (1967). The Bluesman. The story of the music of the men who made the Blues Oak Publications.
• Charters, Samuel B (1973). Robert Johnson. Oak Publication. ISBN 0-8256-0059-6
• Evans, David( 1971). Tommy Johnson. Studio Vista. SBN 289 70150
• Greenberg, Alan (1983). Love in Vain: The Life and Legend of Robert Johnson. Doubleday Books, ISBN 0-385-15679-0
  • 1994 revised edition retitled Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson, with foreword by Martin Scorsese, Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80557-X
• Guralnick, Peter (1989). Searching for Robert Johnson (1989). E. P. Dutton hardcover: ISBN 0-525-24801-3, Plume 1998 paperback: ISBN 0-452-27949-6
• Hamilton, Marybeth (2007). In Search of the Blues. Black Voices, White Visions. Jonathan Cape. ISBN 0-224-06018-X
• Lomax, Alan (1993). The Land Where the Blues Began. Methuen. 0-413-67850-4
• Pearson, Barry Lee; McCulloch, Bill (2003). Robert Johnson: Lost and Found. University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0-252-02835-X
• Schroeder, Patricia R. (2004). Robert Johnson, Mythmaking, and Contemporary American Culture. University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0-252-02915-1
• Wald, Elijah (2004). Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues. Amistad. ISBN 0-06-052423-5
• Wardlow, G., & Komara, E. M. (1998). Chasin' that devil music: searching for the blues. San Francisco, Calif: Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0879306521
• Welding, Pete (1966). Robert Johnson. Hell hound on his trail. In Down Beat Music '66: 73-76, 103
• Wolf, Robert (2004) Hellhound on My Trail: The Life of Robert Johnson, Bluesman Extraordinaire. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions. ISBN 1-56846-146-1

Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (b. ...

External links

• Robert Johnson official website
• LA Times article regarding Johnson's life and legacy, and the legal battle over it
• A Revolutionary Critique of Robert Johnson
• The Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery dedicated to the life and music of Robert Johnson
• Website at the University of Virginia
• Currently available recordings
• 'Trail of the Hellhound' website by the National Park Service
• Site for "Escaping the Delta" with links to related material
• Delta Guitar Player Robert Johnson
• Robert Johnson at Find-A-Grave
• Deal with the Devil: Understanding Robert Johnson, His Music and His Impact by the Soul of Rock 'n' Roll
• 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame induction
• The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation
• http://www.djohnsonblues.com, musician that performs 1930s Mississippi Delta Blues in style of Son House and Robert Johnson
• Playwright David Walter Hall, whose 2003 play, "Cross Road Blues" is an enactment of the Faustian legends surrounding Robert Johnson.