Robert Johnson

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous Delta Blues musicians. He is an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock-and-Roll," his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style influenced a range of musicians, including Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton, who called Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived."

Of all the great blues musicians, Johnson was probably the most obscure. All that is known of him for certain is that he recorded 29 songs; he died young; and he was considered one of the greatest bluesmen of the Mississippi Delta.

When Johnson arrived in a new town, he would play on street corners or in front of the local barbershop or a restaurant. He played what his audience asked for—not necessarily his own compositions. Anything he earned was based on tips, not salary. With an ability to pick up tunes at first hearing, Johnson had no trouble giving his audiences what they wanted. Also working in his favour was an ability to establish instant rapport with his audiences. In every town he stopped, Johnson would establish ties to the local community that would serve him in good stead when he passed through again a month or a year later.

Johnson began traveling up and down the Delta, traveling by bus, hopping trains, and sometimes hitchhiking. According to Blues folklore, while traveling on a cross-road in the delta Robert sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talent. The source of this story is unclear, however; it may have been claimed by Johnson himself or his detractors during his lifetime or it may have been the later invention of Son House, who related the tale (adapted from an autobiographical story told by Tommy Johnson) to awestruck fans during the 1960s blues revival.

During this time Johnson established what would be a relatively long-term relationship with a woman who was about 15 years older than himself—the mother of future musician Robert Jr. Lockwood. But Johnson reportedly also had someone—a woman—to look after him in all of the towns he played in. Johnson would reportedly ask young women living in the country with their families whether he could go home with them, and in most cases the answer was yes - at least until their husbands came home or Johnson was ready to move on.

His death occurred on August 16, 1938, at the approximate age of 27 at a little country crossroads near Greenwood, Mississippi. He had been playing for several weeks at a country dance in a town about 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Greenwood when, by some accounts, he was given poisoned whiskey at the dance by the husband of a woman he had been secretly seeing.

Another account is that he had been flirting with the girlfriend of the bartender at a club when he was offered an open bottle of whiskey. Before he could take a drink from it, his friend and fellow blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson (who was one of the last people to see Johnson alive) knocked the bottle out of his hand, informing him that he should never drink from an offered bottle that has already been opened. Robert Johnson allegedly said, "don't ever knock a bottle out of my hand". A minute later, he was offered an open bottle and accepted it. That bottle came from the bartender and was laced with strychnine. Ironically, Robert Johnson is said to have survived that poisoning only to succumb to pneumonia later, in his weakened state.

Source: Wikepedia

	ACOUSTIC BLUES