Artist:Robert Johnson
Song:Cross Road Blues
Album:The Complete Recordings
Of course the story goes that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his talent and fame. I don't know about that but there's no question of his influence on the blues. He was born May 8, 1911 in Hazlehurst, MS. As a teen, he played harmonica with blues legend Son House but he really wanted to play guitar. He wasn't very good. Johnson got married and left but his wife died and he returned and he was a great guitarist. The only explanation for getting that good that fast is he sold his soul to the devil. Johnson made his only recordings in Dallas & San Antonio in 1937. These got the attention of legendary Columbia Records talent scout John Hammond. Just as Hammond was about to bring Johnson to New York's Carnegie Hall for the 1938 From Spirituals To Swing concert, it was learned that Johnson was poisoned by a jealous girlfriend and died on Aug. 16, 1938 at age 27. Robert Johnson's influence on modern music is immeasurable but the great thing is you can get all his recordings on this 1990 2CD box set. It was the first blues recording ever to sell a million units. Of course there's no video footage of Robert Johnson. In fact the album cover is one of only two known photos. But here's a video of Robert Johnson's Sweet Home Chicago.
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