Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues Singers (1911? – 1938)
According to his mentor, Son House, Robert Johnson vanished one day. Upon his return, a once mediocre playing morphed into the type of blues no one had ever heard before. All of sudden, only the Devil could be behind someone’s such musical superiority and the crossroads of highways 61 and 49 witnessed the exchange of a man’s soul for unprecedented blues talent. Many historians argue his influence is mostly in Rock’n Roll. The reason is, his music didn’t reach many audiences while he was still alive and during the immediate years following his death. His international notoriety rose when his work was re-discovered and published in the album King of the Delta Blues Singers Even if those theories are correct, his music emerges from the deepest roots of the Mississippi Delta Blues. Robert Johnson’s guitar playing was way above his peers. To this day, whoever ventures into studying his art will be unable to recreate his sound, let alone have the talent to conceive his music. "I went down to the crossroads and fell down on my knees, asked the Lord up above for mercy, save poor Bob if you please." – Crossroads Blues, Robert Johnson.
Like I mentioned above, this is the purest form of Mississippi Delta Blues: an acoustic, steel-string guitar mixed with passionate vocals. Like most Delta blues musicians, the rhythm might sound irregular and following the expressiveness of the music instead. However, Robert Johnson would play very clear rhythmic accents purposely off-beat. This style creates a very particular effect on the music.
He covered a full range of notes at the same time: bass, rhythm, chords and tasteful ways to fill the spaces. It is hard to tell what takes more relevance in his music: vocals or guitar playing. They’re both at the same level and they find their own space throughout the songs. He constantly alternated between slide and rhythm in a way that sounds seamless and almost effortless. This technique is quite complicated and most guitar players of his time did not have such a sophisticated style. He was a musical genius and perhaps did not realize the fact that he created music that would be admired, followed and embraced by the best guitar players in generations to come. See Robert Johnson’s Guitar Family Tree!
The first compilation of Robert Johnson’s works was released in 1961 by Columbia Records: King of the Delta Blues Singers The songs in this album are original recordings taken between 1936 and 1937. 23 years after his death, this album brought Robert Johnson’s music back to life and is attributed to change the face of Rock’n Roll. Guitar legends such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards became instant fans early in their musical careers.
Few years later, in 1970, King of the Delta Blues Singers Vol. II was released. This album contains additional alternate takes, but is not substantially different from the original album.
Multiple guitarists and rock bands have recorded cover versions of Robert Johnson’s songs. These are some examples:
There are only two known photographs of Robert Johnson and no known film footage. Given the harsh conditions that surrounded his life, we’re lucky to even have his recordings! Anyways, I found some good videos that show us some of his influence on modern day music. Eric Clapton (Cream) – Crossroads Blues live, 1968 Led Zeppelin – Traveling Riverside Blues Rolling Stones – Love in Vain Johnny Winter – When You Got a Good Friend Eric Clapton – If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day Son House talks about Robert Johnson and his drastic improvement after he disappeared for a few months.
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in 1961 (23 years after his death). Then it was adopted mostly by the British guitar legends of the time (