10 facts about robert johnson
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Robert Johnson
(1911-1938)
Who Was Robert Johnson?
Robert Johnson is considered to be one of the greatest blues performers of all time. His hits include "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" and "Sweet Home Chicago," which has become a blues standard. Part of his mythology is a story of how he gained his musical talents by making a bargain with the devil. He died at age 27 as the suspected victim of a deliberate poisoning.
Early Life and Career Highlights
Musician Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911, in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. A singer and guitarist, Johnson is considered to be one of the greatest blues performers of all time. But this recognition came to him largely after his death.
During his brief career, Johnson traveled around, playing wherever he could. The acclaim for Johnson's work is based on the 29 songs that he wrote and recorded in Dallas and San Antonio from 1936 to 1937. These include "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" and "Sweet Home Chicago," which has become a blues standard. His songs have been recorded by Muddy Waters,
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Ecce Homo
These words echo so loudly throughout this long-awaited biography of blues pioneer Robert Johnson that they drown out any sign of the story surrounding the artist's life. There exists more human failure and frailty in the story of the search for the preternaturally elusive specter to render Robert Johnson and his story, pedestrian and common. Forget about Robert Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at the crossroads one Delta Summer midnight. That is just so much Romantic meringue. No, the only people selling their souls were the ones looking for him.
It is the editor of the biography, the Smithsonian's John W. Troutman who sums up what began as a labor of love before descending into madness thusly (if not overwrought):
"This book, then, ultimately is less about the life of Robert Johnson than it is about the human hellhounds and psychological phantoms that affected everyone involved. Their impact and reverberations seem interconnected and boundless, beginning with the lynchings and other racially motivated violence that terrorized and jeopardized J
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Robert Johnson
American blues musician (1911–1938)
For other people named Robert Johnson, see Robert Johnson (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Lonnie Johnson.
Musical artist
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his recording career spanned only seven months, he is recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style, and as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as perhaps "the first ever rock star".[1]
As a traveling performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime. He had only two recording sessions both produced by Don Law, one in San Antonio in 1936, and one in Dallas in 1937, that produced 29 distinct songs (with 13 surviving altern
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