Robert johnson biography blues music

Johnson is mentioned as one of the Delta artists who was a strong influence on blues singers in post-war styles. The execution of a driving bass beat on a plectrum instrument like the guitar instead of the piano is Johnson's most influential accomplishment This is the aspect of his music that most changed the Delta blues practice and is most retained in the blues guitar tradition.

This technique has been called a "boogie bass pattern" or "boogie shuffle" and is described as a "fifth—sixth [ degrees of a major scale ] oscillation above the root chord ". It was similar to a piano boogie bass [which] I learned from R. In the early thirties, boogie was rare on the guitar, something to be heard. Johnson's influence upon Elmore James's music always remained powerful: his falsetto voice, almost shrill, and the intensive use of the "walking" bass notes of the boogie-woogie, several pieces of James' repertoire were borrowed from Johnson e.

James' version is identified as "one of the first recorded examples of what was to become the classic Chicago shuffle beat". Several of Johnson's songs became blues standardswhich is used to describe blues songs that have been widely performed and recorded over a period of time and are seen as having a lasting quality. In the mids, rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry adapted the boogie pattern on guitar for his songs " Roll Over Beethoven " and " Johnny B.

Goode ". The pattern "became one of the signature figures in early electric guitar-based rock and roll, such as that of Chuck Berry and the numerous rock musicians of the s who were influenced by Berry", according to Perone. Two marriage licenses for Johnson have been located in county records offices. The ages given in these certificates point to different birth dates, but Conforth and Wardlow suggest that Johnson lied about his age in order to obtain a marriage license.

He was not listed among his mother's children in the census giving further credence to a birthdate. Although the census gives his age as 7, suggesting he was born in orthe entry showing his attendance at Indian Creek School, in Tunica, Mississippi [ when? Five significant dates from his career are documented: Monday, Thursday and Friday, November 23, 26 and 27,at a recording session in San Antonio, Texas; and Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20,at a recording session in Dallas.

His death certificate, discovered inlists the date and location of his death. Record collectors admired Johnson's records from the time of their first release, and efforts were made to discover information about him, with virtually no success. Inthe sleeve notes to the album King of the Delta Blues Singers included reminiscences by Don Law who had recorded Johnson in Law added to the mystique surrounding Johnson, representing him as very young and extraordinarily shy.

The blues researcher Mack McCormick began researching Johnson's family background inbut died in without publishing his findings. McCormick's research eventually became as much a legend as Johnson himself. A revised summary acknowledging major contributors was written by Stephen LaVere for the booklet accompanying Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings box set The documentary film The Search for Robert Johnson contains accounts by McCormick and Wardlow of what informants have told them: long interviews of David "Honeyboy" Edwards and Johnny Shines and short interviews of surviving friends and family.

Shines, Edwards and Robert Jr. Lockwood contribute interviews. These published biographical sketches achieve coherent narratives, partly by ignoring reminiscences and hearsay accounts which contradict or conflict with their accounts. Until the s, it was believed that no images of Johnson had survived. However, three images of Johnson were located in andin the possession of his half-sister Carrie Thompson.

The "dime-store photo" was first published, almost in passing, in an issue of Rolling Stone magazine inand the studio portrait in a article by Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow in 78 Quarterly. Because Mississippi courts in determined that Robert Johnson's heir was Claud Johnson, a son born out of wedlock, the estate share of all monies paid to LaVere by CBS and others ended up going to Claud Johnson, and attempts by the heirs of Carrie Thompson to obtain a ruling that the photographs were her personal property and not part of the estate were dismissed.

McCormick's daughter donated the archive to the Smithsonian Institution in and encouraged museum staff to facilitate the return of the photograph to Johnson's descendants; as ofThe Washington Post reported that the museum had agreed to return the photograph and was awaiting instructions from the Johnson family. Another photograph, purporting to show Johnson posing with the blues musician Johnny Shineswas published in the November issue of Vanity Fair magazine.

Further, both "Honeyboy" Edwards and Robert Jr. Lockwood failed to identify either man in the photo. Facial recognition software concluded that neither man was Johnson or Shines. Finally, Gibson claimed the photo was from to but it is known that Johnson did not meet Shines until early There are a number of reasons why the photograph is unlikely to be Johnson: it has been proven that Craft died before Johnson met Coleman, the clothing could not be prior to the late s, the furniture is from the s, the Coca-Cola bottle cannot be from prior toetc.

A third photograph of Johnson, this time smiling, was published in It is believed to have been taken in Memphis on the same occasion as the verified photograph of him with a guitar and cigarette part of the "dime-store" setand is in the possession of Annye Anderson, Johnson's step-sister Anderson is the daughter of Charles Dodds, later Spencer, who was married to Robert's mother but was not his father.

As a child, Anderson grew up in the same family as Johnson and has claimed to have been present, aged 10 or 11, on the occasion the photograph was taken. This photograph was published in Vanity Fair in Mayas the cover image for a book, Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnsonwritten by Anderson in collaboration with author Preston Lauterbach, [ ] and is considered to be authentic by Johnson scholar Elijah Wald.

Johnson left no will. The relationship was attested to by a friend, Eula Mae Williams, but other relatives descended from Robert Johnson's half-sister, Carrie Harris Thompson, contested Claud Johnson's claim. Eleven rpm records by Johnson were released by Vocalion Records in andwith additional pressings by ARC budget labels. Ina twelfth was issued posthumously.

The Complete Recordingsa two-disc set, released on August 28,contains almost everything Johnson recorded, with all 29 recordings, and 12 alternate takes. To celebrate the th anniversary of Johnson's robert johnson biography blues music, May 8,Sony Legacy released Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collectiona re-mastered 2-CD set of all 42 of his recordings [ ] and two brief fragments, one of Johnson practicing a robert johnson biography blues music figure and the other of Johnson saying, presumably to engineer Don Law, "I wanna go on with our next one myself.

He is often considered the first member of the so-called " 27 Club ," a group of musicians who have died at that age. InJohnson was featured on a U. The episode incorporates a bit of Johnson's singing and playing. Me and the Devil Bluesa Japanese manga series that takes its title from the song of the same name by Robert Johnson, chronicles a fictional version of Johnson's life, as a man called "RJ" who sells his soul to the devil for a talent for playing the blues.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American blues musician — For other people named Robert Johnson, see Robert Johnson disambiguation.

Robert johnson biography blues music

Not to be confused with Lonnie Johnson. Musical artist. Life and career [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Itinerant musician [ edit ]. Recording sessions [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Gravesite [ edit ]. Devil legend [ edit ]. Various accounts [ edit ]. Interpretations [ edit ]. Musical style [ edit ]. Voice [ edit ]. Instrument [ edit ].

Lyrics [ edit ]. Influences [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Early recognition and reviews [ edit ]. Musicianship [ edit ]. Contemporaries [ edit ]. Blues standards [ edit ]. Rock music [ edit ]. Problems of biography [ edit ]. The thing about Robert Johnson was that he only existed on his records. He was pure legend. Photographs [ edit ]. Descendants [ edit ].

Discography [ edit ]. Awards and recognition [ edit ]. In popular culture [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 25, Retrieved May 18, Mississippi Blues Trail. Living Blues. ISSN Retrieved May 22, Retrieved April 15, Retrieved April 2, Retrieved December 5, — via YouTube. US National Park Service.

October 25, Retrieved February 21, Tommy Johnson. Studio Vista, p. ISBN London: Studio Vista. January—February These sessions showcased Johnson's exceptional talent as an interpreter and innovator. His songs became influential models for future blues musicians, including Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and countless others. Despite his brief career, Johnson's impact on blues music remains profound.

Johnson's guitar playing was exceptional, marked by a blend of intricate fingerpicking and rhythmic complexity. He transformed simple musical forms into works of art, demonstrating his deep understanding of the blues tradition. His ability to reinterpret and refine the ideas of others raised his music to a new level of sophistication.

Johnson was known for his creative use of other artists' recordings. It was at that moment, the legend goes, that Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for mastery over the instrument. The exact location of the crossroad is still uncertain and debated, with several different accounts claiming robert johnson biography blues music different locations.

By then Johnson was trying to make a career out of being a blues musician by playing in juke joints, street corners, dances, etc. Johnson and Virginia married nonetheless against the wishes of her family, and Virginia died in childbirth soon after. Even though he had decided to dedicate his life to becoming a traveling blues musician and abandon the conventional family life, Robert Johnson could not help but marry a woman named Caletta Craft in May He even settled down with Caletta briefly in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

But the conventional family life was just not meant for Johnson, and he soon left home in to make a career as an itinerant musician on the road. Adding further to his legend of making a pact with the devil, Caletta died in early From onward until his death, Johnson traveled frequently visiting cities and small towns in the regions of Mississippi and Arkansas.

He frequently visited the towns of the Mississippi Delta as well as big cities such as Helena and Memphis. Apart from this regular touring route in the South, he occasionally even traveled to cities such as Texas, New York, Chicago, Kentucky, and Indiana. Inhe met blues musician Johnny Shineswho was four years younger than him. Shines had been working on a farm for three years after putting aside his music career until a chance meeting with Johnson inspired him to return to music.

Johnson became a great influence on the year-old Shines, and the two began touring together across America and Canada. Shines described Johnson as a very friendly but peculiar person, who could be sulky and moody at times. While on the road, Johnson stayed with members of his extended family or with one of his several female friends. It is said that he formed many long-term relationships with women while on the road, without marrying anyone again.

He would periodically return to these women and stay with them while visiting that particular town. Oftentimes, in places where he had no family members or women with whom he had long-term relationships, he stayed with some woman whom he had managed to seduce before, during, or after his performances. Robert Johnson usually adopted different names in the different places he visited, and is said to have used at least eight different surnames.

Due to this, the women he had relationships with never knew of his life elsewhere. He tried to have a woman in each town he visited to look after him when he returned to that town some other time. Upon arriving in a new town, Johnson usually went to play in juke joints, in front of barbershops and restaurants, or on street corners for tips. Only 27, Johnson died on August 16,as the suspected victim of a deliberate poisoning.

Several movies and documentaries have tried to shed light on this enigmatic blues legend, including Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Charli XCX. Carrie Underwood. The Death of Elvis Presley. Elvis Presley.