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Robert Johnson

Studio portrait, 1936 — © Delta Haze Corporation / Stephen LaVere estate; used here under fair use for editorial/historical commentary (Wikipedia)

Delta

Robert Johnson

This artist is no longer with us.

Born: May 8, 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi · Died: August 16, 1938, near Greenwood, Mississippi, age 27 (no official cause recorded — poisoning is the most persistent account, though the exact circumstances remain disputed)• United States

Delta BluesCountry Blues

Instruments

Acoustic guitar, Voice

Labels

Vocalion, ARC, Columbia (posthumous)

from

Mississippi Delta

Born

May 8, 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi

Robert Johnson recorded 29 songs across five sessions in two cities over eight months, then died at 27 — and somehow those 29 songs became the single most mythologized body of work in American music, wrapped in a legend about selling his soul at a crossroads that, it turns out, wasn't even originally about him. He was born Robert Leroy Johnson on May 8, 1911, in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, the illegitimate son of Julia Major Dodds and a man named Noah Johnson; Julia's husband Charles Dodds had fled Hazlehurst ahead of a lynch mob and later changed his own name to Charles Spencer (Kilde: Wikipedia). In February 1929, at seventeen, Johnson married fourteen-year-old Virginia Travis; she died in childbirth shortly afterward, along with the baby. He had a son, Claud, with Virgie Jane Smith in 1931 — Claud would later be confirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1998 as Johnson's only legal heir, receiving over a million dollars in royalties before his own death in 2015 (Kilde: Wikipedia). The crossroads legend that's attached itself to Johnson for a century actually originated with a different, unrelated musician named Tommy Johnson, who told associates in Mississippi that he'd sold his soul at a crossroads near Dockery Plantation; researchers collecting blues oral history in the 1960s gradually let the story migrate onto Robert Johnson instead (Kilde: Wikipedia). What actually happened is more mundane and, in its own way, just as remarkable: Johnson studied intensively with an older musician named Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman near Beauregard, Mississippi — the two reportedly practiced at night in graveyards simply because it was quiet, not for any occult reason — and came back to the Delta roughly a year later playing at a level nobody who'd known him before could account for (Kilde: Wikipedia). Talent scout Ernie Oertle brought Johnson to producer Don Law of the American Record Corporation, and on November 23, 1936, Johnson recorded eight songs in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, including "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Kind Hearted Woman Blues." He returned to the same makeshift studio on November 26 to cut "32-20 Blues," and again on November 27 for seven more sides, among them "Cross Road Blues" and "Terraplane Blues" — the single that became his only real hit during his lifetime, selling roughly 10,000 copies (Kilde: Wikipedia). The following June, Law brought him to a temporary studio in the Vitagraph/Brunswick building in Dallas for two more sessions, June 19 and 20, 1937, which produced "Stones in My Passway," "Hellhound on My Trail," "Love in Vain," "Me and the Devil Blues" and "Traveling Riverside Blues," among others. Across all five sessions he recorded 29 distinct songs plus 13 surviving alternate takes — his entire recorded legacy (Kilde: Wikipedia). He died on August 16, 1938, near Greenwood, Mississippi, at 27. No official cause was ever recorded — his death certificate, not discovered until 1968, lists only a date and location. The most persistent account holds that a jealous husband had him poisoned with strychnine-laced whiskey at the Three Forks juke joint near Itta Bena; a 2019 biography argues instead that it may have been naphthalene — mothball poisoning — aggravating a pre-existing ulcer, causing two days of severe abdominal bleeding before he died (Kilde: Wikipedia). Three different Mississippi churchyards — Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Payne Chapel and Little Zion Church — all have markers claiming to be his actual grave; the truth is that he almost certainly lies in an unmarked pauper's grave somewhere near where he died, and no one can say for certain which (Kilde: Wikipedia). Only two or three authenticated photographs of Robert Johnson are known to exist anywhere in the world.

Musical Influence

Columbia's 1961 compilation "King of the Delta Blues Singers" landed directly in the hands of the British blues generation and rewired rock music from there. Eric Clapton called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived" and recorded a full tribute album, "Me and Mr. Johnson," in 2004. The Rolling Stones recorded "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breakin' Down"; Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant recorded "Traveling Riverside Blues" and quoted Johnson's lyrics inside "The Lemon Song"; Bob Dylan has repeatedly cited Johnson's lyrical imagery as a direct influence on his own songwriting; and Chuck Berry adapted Johnson's rolling boogie bass pattern for both "Roll Over Beethoven" and "Johnny B. Goode." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an Early Influence in 1986, the Hall's very first induction class (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Son HouseIsaiah "Ike" ZimmermanCharley PattonLonnie Johnson

Family and personal life

Mother

Julia Major Dodds

Robert was her illegitimate son with Noah Johnson.

Father

Robert's biological father; Julia's husband Charles Dodds was not his father.

Wife (1st)

Virginia Travis

Married February 1929, aged 14; died in childbirth shortly afterward, along with the baby.

Son

Born 1931 to Virgie Jane Smith; confirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1998 as Robert Johnson's only legal heir.

Formative experiences

•February 1929: Married 14-year-old Virginia Travis, who died in childbirth shortly after. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•c. 1930–1931: Studied intensively with Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman near Beauregard, Mississippi, reportedly practicing at night in graveyards. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•November 23, 26 & 27, 1936: First recording sessions, Gunter Hotel, San Antonio, Texas. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•June 19–20, 1937: Second and final recording sessions, Dallas, Texas. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•August 16, 1938: Died near Greenwood, Mississippi, at 27, under disputed circumstances. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Stories & Anecdotes

"The famous "crossroads" soul-selling legend was originally told about a different musician entirely — Tommy Johnson, no relation — and only migrated onto Robert Johnson's story decades later through blues researchers in the 1960s. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Only two or three authenticated photographs of Johnson are known to exist anywhere in the world; a widely circulated third image purporting to show him with musician Johnny Shines has been disputed by historians and facial-recognition analysis. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Three separate Mississippi churchyards each have a marker claiming to be his true grave; no one can say for certain which, if any, is correct. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman

Older musician who intensively taught Johnson guitar near Beauregard, Mississippi, c. 1930–1931 — the real source of his rapid improvement.

Early influence in the Delta; House's later equivocal comments about Johnson's sudden skill helped fuel the crossroads legend.

American Record Corporation producer who ran both the San Antonio and Dallas recording sessions.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Robert Johnson - Hellhound on my trail

Recorded June 20, 1937 in Dallas — often called his single greatest performance.

SuperGuitarNico

Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson (1936)

Cross Road Blues - Robert Johnson (1936)

Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago (23.11.1936)

Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago (23.11.1936)

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

Year	Title	Producer	Studio	Label	Chart	Sales	Musicians	YouTube	Notes
1936	Session 1: Gunter Hotel, San Antonio (Nov 23)	Don Law	—	ARC / Vocalion	—	—	—		8 songs, including "Sweet Home Chicago," "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom."
1936	Session 2: Gunter Hotel, San Antonio (Nov 26)	Don Law	—	ARC / Vocalion	—	—	—		1 song — "32-20 Blues."
1936	Session 3: Gunter Hotel, San Antonio (Nov 27)	Don Law	—	ARC / Vocalion	—	—	—		7 songs, including "Cross Road Blues," "Terraplane Blues" (his only real hit during his lifetime) and "Come On in My Kitchen."
1937	Session 4: Vitagraph Building, Dallas (June 19)	Don Law	—	ARC / Vocalion	—	—	—		Included "Stones in My Passway" and "From Four Until Late."
1937	Session 5: Vitagraph Building, Dallas (June 20)	Don Law	—	ARC / Vocalion	—	—	—		Final session — included "Hellhound on My Trail," "Love in Vain," "Me and the Devil Blues" and "Traveling Riverside Blues." His entire recorded output across all 5 sessions totals 29 songs plus 13 surviving alternate takes.
1961	King of the Delta Blues Singers (compilation)	Frank Driggs	—	Columbia Records	—	—	—		The compilation that introduced Johnson to the British blues-rock generation.
1970	King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. II (compilation)	—	—	Columbia Records	—	—	—		Second compilation gathering remaining tracks.
1990	The Complete Recordings (box set)	Steve Berkowitz / Lawrence Cohn	—	Columbia Records	—	—	—		Definitive collection of all 29 songs and 13 alternate takes; won a Grammy Award.

Famous songs

01Cross Road Blues

02Sweet Home Chicago

03Hellhound on My Trail

04Love in Vain

05Terraplane Blues

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

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