Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson

Even though Robert Johnson died at an early age and had a small amount of recordings, he is considered one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century (Larson, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014). After Eric Clapton heard Robert Johnson for the first time he said, "I realized that, on some level, I had found the master, and that following this man's example would be my life's work." It isn't only Clapton that believes Johnson to be one of the best guitarists of all time (Dansbury, 2004). Spin magazine, Rolling Stone, and Guitar.com all rate Robert Johnson as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. It is also said that musicians such as Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) The Rolling Stones were incredibly influenced by Robert Johnson's music. Robert Johnson had the ability to express the deepest rawest emotion with infusion of honesty and soul in his music. His life experiences were expressed through his music, which makes his music even more haunting.

Robert Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911, although the date is disputed, and spent the first few years of his life in migrant labor camps. Robert was raised in Mississippi and Tennessee. Robert Johnson married Virginia Travis in February 1929 but in 1930 Virginia Travis died in childbirth at sixteen which is said to have pushed a young Robert Johnson to the life of The Blues (Lemon 1997). Robert first came in contact with blues legend Eddie James "Son House" Jr. after his wife’s death. Eddie James' raw emotional style would forever influence the musician and lead Robert to play the guitar and begin to develop as a blues singer. All of Johnson's recorded works were done on two studio dates, one in San Antonio, Texas in 1936 and  (Larson, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014)one in Dallas, Texas in 1937 (Lemon 1997).

Only two years after his first recording, Robert Johnson was poisoned at one of his performances by a jealous husband and died shortly after at the age of twenty-seven. Upon recalling his tragic life, a listener can begin to gain insight into his music (Lemon 1997). One of his most famous songs Crossroad Blues (take 2) is characteristic of his immediate and heartbreaking style. It is also unique because of its rhythmic structure, melodic embellishments and foreboding lyrics. Robert’s conscious effort to have a 'for the record' aesthetic style made him more popular now than many of the other delta blues musicians of his time (Rothenbuhler, 2007). He worked hard and got better than other people could believe. He got so good so fast which is why people thought he traded his soul to the devil. With his different style, hard work, and innovativeness he changed blues and rock music for the better.

References

Dansbury, A. (2004, February 4). Clapton Covers Robert Johnson. Retrieved July 10th, 2015, from RollingStone.com: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/clapton-covers-robert-johnson-20040204

Larson, T. (2004, 2007, 2010, 2014). History of Rock and Roll. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt.

Rothenbuhler, E. (2007, January 4). Popular Music. Retrieved July 14, 2015, from Cambridge Journals: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=637380

Lemon, Anne. "Misogyny and Respect in Robert Johnson Songs." The Robert Johnson Notebooks. Danforth, Courtney and Adriana Rissetto, eds. 1997. (7 July, 1997). Retrieved July 9th, 2015.