The King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson Still Stands at the Crossroads

Probably the most enigmatic Singer and Guitarist of the twentieth Century is now one of the most revered and respected of all Musicians who make up the Genre of the 'Blues'. I speak of course about the wonderful Robert Leroy Johnson. Born in 1911 in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, in a Deep South plantation, he, in his pitifully short life, has become one of the founding Fathers of the Blues.

He recorded only 36 sides over a period of a couple of months between November 1936 and June 1937 in San Antonio Texas. These remarkable recordings still bring tears to the eyes of Blues aficionados the world over and shaped the face of the music of today.

The post-war Blues of Chicago owe a great debt to Robert Johnson and it is sad to think what might have been had he lived! In just a few short years he matured from a young black guitarist into a superstar of his day. The often repeated legend was perpetuated by his contemporaries that he sold his soul to the Devil in return for his amazing guitar techniques.

His story is one of hardship tinged with great success in his own locality of the Delta and women were said to be rendered helpless as he sang his compositions. His death at the hand of a jealous husband at the age of twenty seven robbed the world of one of Americas finest ever Musicians and Blues artists.

Years after his death, in 1938, a photograph was unearthed, one of only two in existence. It shows not only his inimitable style of dress but quite remarkable slender fingers which helped him to achieve his unique mastery of the bottleneck guitar technique. He is pictured in a chalk?stripe suit which would have been somewhat overstated for a man in his position at that time. When I first saw that photograph the one thing above all else, that stood out were his beautiful long fingers that enveloped the guitar fingerboard and obviously caressed it as though it was a Woman helpless in his arms!

What about his subject matter? well nothing much has changed in the passing of time; the age old, painful process of unrequited love; of restless yearnings to move on down the line to pastures new; to unfaithful liaisons; and of course much sexual innuendo.

Robert Johnson's skill as a poet of the time and place is absolutely unsurpassed in my estimation! For sure he borrowed words, phrases, and guitar licks from his peers, but moulded them into something quite unique that not only stands the test of time but has a relevance to today's Rock music.

There cannot be any Blues Band on this Planet that has not been influenced by Johnson and his music and this is a testament to the greatness of the man! The list of recordings of Johnson's songs by modern artists is endless and forms the backbone of the resurgence of the Blues in the early sixties in Britain and continues to this day! Most of the long lasting Bands of the R,n,B revolution of 62, 63, and on into the seventies have recorded several of Roberts songs. Notable amongst these would be The Rolling Stones, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream,The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Elmore James, and many more. Johnson's songs transcribed particularly well to the new Electric guitar line-ups of the fifties and on into the sixties. Probably one of the most popular of his songs, which I can't imagine anyone not having heard in a modern format, is of course Crossroad Blues.

This song was recorded live at the Fillmore in San Francisco in 1968 by the great Eric Clapton, and his two buddies, Jack Bruce on bass and stickman, Ginger Baker. This song also featured in Cream's farewell concert at the Albert Hall in London in 1969. I doubt whether Johnson envisaged this treatment of his song when he wrote it or that his poetry would one day be the cornerstone of the Blues Revival of the Sixties.

It is a poignant end to his story that the great impresario John Hammond, who later went onto sign ?up a young Bob Dylan in 1962, was just too late when he searched for Robert to appear in the momentous concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Robert Johnson was dead but his spirit and his music will live on for ever in the hearts and minds of the lovers of the music we call THE BLUES.

© Robin Piggott 2004 Key to the Highway Publications.

Robin Piggott is a professional Driving Instructor based in Limerick,Ireland.He is a life-long disciple of the Blues and is hard put to choose between his Gibson and his Car as the most treasured possession.His web site is designed for Learner Drivers and visitors to Ireland.

http://www.astralmotoring.ie

---

College Radio: The Most Important Radio Level for Musicians

For the self-promoting independent artist, the idea of taking on... Read More

Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making... Read More

Piano Playing and Performance Anxiety

I'll never forget the first time I played the piano... Read More

Rickenbacker 4003 Electric Bass Guitar

The Rickenbacker 4003 electric bass guitar is one of the... Read More

Micing a Kick Drum

This months tip deals with micing kick drums.You wouldn't believe... Read More

RIAA Files Second Wave of Lawsuits

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has launched a... Read More

Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions

Piano arranging is the process by which you take a... Read More

Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar

To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a... Read More

Born to sing, Britney Spears is as big as ever today

Britney Spears was born December 2 1981 as Britney Jean... Read More

How to Remove DRM from WMA - Is It Legal and Worth the Effort?

Technically, it's illegal to remove DRM from WMA protected music.... Read More

Social Networking and Music: MySpace Puts It All Together in a Virtual Community

Today's music fan interacts with a "community" that is far... Read More

Benatar and Geraldo - Still Rockin on a High Note

Most people look forward to the summer months because they... Read More

Win Friends & Influence People Through Music -- Is It Possible?

The idea that studying music improves the social development of... Read More

The Irish Harp

The harp that once through Tara's halls the soul of... Read More

Music & Citizenship: Can Playing a Musical Instrument Help Your Child Become a Better Citizen?

Disregard the popular image of rappers with their ghetto blasters,... Read More

How to Download Music From The Internet

Most of you have probably heard of the RIAA's quest... Read More

CD Review: Amber - My Kind of World

Pop/Rock Recording Artist Amber, who has scored seven #1 Billboard... Read More

Guitar Performance - Make The Most of It!

Getting ready for any type of guitar performance can be... Read More

The Post-rock Revolution (Explosions in the sky)

A lot has been said about the 'post-rock' revolution as... Read More

How To Play The Violin

This article gives the essential basics for how to play... Read More

The Music Industry and Its Lack of Talent

So it has come to this... what we see overrides... Read More

The Revolution of Electric Guitars

Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the... Read More

Learn Piano the Easy Way!

There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note... Read More

Singing: The Tonic of Life

Most people these days would associate singing with the popular... Read More

Be An Organized Church Pianist

Playing in front of a congregation each Sunday is no... Read More

Learn to Read Music Online

If you or anyone you know wants to learn to... Read More

A Brief History Of Gibson Guitars

Gibson guitars have been around forever. It's funny, but although... Read More

An Introduction to CD Mastering

While many people think that the mixing of the separate... Read More

Fiddle Tab Makes Learning Fiddle Fast and Easy

Learning fiddle tab is so intuitive and so easy that... Read More

Music Mini Course: Learn The Basics Of Reading Music On A Keyboard Instrument

Welcome to the wonderful world of music. As you begin... Read More

If Setting The Gain Correctly is So Important, Why Dont Mic Preamplifiers Have Meters?

When you first learn how to use a mixing console,... Read More

Quick and Easy Violin Mute

One of the reasons I picked up the violin was... Read More

The Dos and Donts of Getting Your Child to Love Learning an Instrument

We all know that music can be inspiring, entertaining, and... Read More