If ever there was a legendary blues mystery award, then Robert Johnson would easily walk off with the trophy. Dying mysteriously at 26, before any inevitable acclaim found him, his accomplishments were amazing. It’s almost like he was a fictional character. But no, he was real all right. His stature is hard to exaggerate.
Surely almost all of the blues greats were influenced in some way by him, many of them profoundly. As the story goes, Robert was learning guitar from blues legend Son House and his playing was just “o.k.,” but he went away for a little while and when he came back, well, uh, he completely blew everyone’s mind. And kind of shook up the neighborhood. He was seemingly suddenly so good, it was rumored that he had made a deal with the devil down “at the crossroads” in Clarksdale, Mississippi, trading his soul for a massive surge in musical skill.
Of course that’s impossible, because even Satan knows that the only way to rapidly improve is to practice like the devil! All the legendary stories are just the human’s need to fabricate a little excitement. But Robert needed no fabrication.
Robert’s story is rife with rumor and conflicting accounts of what exactly went down, but the important thing is, he did it. And he certainly earned the title of “King of the Delta Blues Singers.” His songs “Sweet Home Chicago” “Crossroad Blues,” “Come On In My Kitchen” and other timeless classics are still being played today.
Robert was definitely a bonafide genius if there ever was one. He could deliver a vast range of musical accompaniments on guitar. And by conveying his subtly powerful poetic lyrics with a tragically aching singing voice, the overall impact says it all. His recorded output of a mere 29 songs over 80 years ago was enough to compel Eric Clapton to call him “the most important blues singer that ever lived.” Long live Robert Johnson!
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