Happy Birthday Robert Johnson!

Blues legend Robert Johnson (probably) was born on May 8, 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. Although he was only 27 when he died — possibly poisoned by a jealous husband in Mississippi — and he only left us 29 recordings, he is more than a legend in the music world. The singer and guitar player who allegedly sold his soul to the Devil for his guitar skills has influenced generations of musicians.

In Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues, Elijah Wald recounts a description of the birth written by Peter Guralnick: “Robert Johnson was born probably on May 8, 1911, the eleventh child of Julia Major Dodds, whose ten older children were all the offspring of her marriage to Charles Dodds. Robert was illegitimate, which . . . was the cause of the name confusion and the cause of many of Johnson’s later problems.”

Here is a roundup of some websites about Johnson and stories from 2011 about the 100th anniversary of his birth:

– A Sudbury Star article discusses Robert Johnson’s life and his influence on modern musicians.

– USA Today gives an overview of events occurring to celebrate the anniversary, along with a video of Gregg Allman talking about Johnson.

– The Gibson Guitar website has in interview with Robert Johnson’s grandson.

– The Seattle Post Intelligencer has a review of a new 2-CD collection of Johnson’s music, The Centennial Collection. Amazon offers additional reviews of The Centennial Collection.

– Here is a YouTube video of academics discussing what is thought to be the only known video of Johnson.

– The Republic from Columbus, Indiana has an article about the connection between Johnson and Bob Dylan.

– Mississippi’s Jackson Clarion Ledger discusses the planned celebration in Greenwood, Mississippi, where Johnson died in 1938.

– Crawdaddy has a short article connecting Robert Johnson to current Mississippi blues.

– The Robert Johnson Notebooks has a literary analysis of the lyrics to his songs.

Of course, it all comes down to the music, so consider Robert Johnson playing and singing “Cross Road Blues.” Although many assume the song is about Johnson’s encounter with Satan at the crossroads, there is no mention of the Devil in the song. Instead, the song is most likely about the singer’s attempt to get home before dark, a genuine fear during a time when African-Americans did not want to encounter lynching parties in the South.

For an electric version of the song, here is Eric Clapton introduced his version of “Crossroads,” by explaining what Johnson means to him. “It really shook me up.”

Robert Johnson seems to be such a legendary figure of the past, one may find it hard to believe that his birth was not really that long ago. He could have lived to be alive today. Happy birthday Mr. Johnson, wherever you are.

(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York. View all posts by chimesfreedom