Hello Synners, I hope your month of October is going well and that you start feeling the fear emanating from the shadows of that one corner in your room!
In the good spirit of spooktober, I wanted to share with you one of the strangest story that involves both music and mystery! And without further ado, let me introduce you all to Mr Robert Johnson:
Robert Leroy Johnson, born on May 8th 1911, was a blues guitarist, singer and songwriter who's legacy still to this day remains draped in uncertainty and mystery yet his influence on generations of musician is still very much felt. He grew up in Memphis which is where he acquired much of his love and knowledge for the blues and music in general while his older brother was teaching him how to play guitar! He was also known to play the harmonica and jaw harp at school.
After some years, he returned to the Mississippi Delta to rejoin his mother and work on the fields as it was common back then but... he decided otherwise. He wanted to be a musician and that's it! But at the same time, love also came in the way. At 19 years old, he married Virginia Travis who made him promise to stop playing music as back then, it was seen as an act of devil worshipping because, the blues was thought to be the devil's music! (Does that sound familiar?). And so, her family wouldn't let her marry him if he played music. Out of love, he agreed. Unfortunately, fate decided otherwise for Robert. A year later, Virginia dies in childbirth.
And so Robert took back his guitar and started playing again. Particularly, Robert was a big fan of blues legend Son House who happened to have been a neighbour of Johnson. Of course, the latter would play guitar in front of Son House and Son House was quoted as saying: “such a racket you’d never heard!… ‘Get that guitar away from that boy,’ people would say, ‘he’s running people crazy with it.’”
Now this is where the spooky part comes in: Johnson left to travel across the Delta after this and came back 2 years later and met again with Son House and asked to play again for him. Son House not expecting much allowed him to do so but he and everyone in that room were soon blown away by his performance! They just could not believe what they were hearing. When asked about how he improved so much in that time, Johnson simply said: ''I was walking with my guitar on my back in clarksdale and reached a crossroad. I was really tired and almost falling asleep but then a cold wind came out of nowhere and so I raised my head and saw a tall black silhouette with a tall hat. I didn't know what it was and I was paralyzed. Without saying a word, the silhouette took my guitar, tuned it, gave it back to me and disappeared in the night.''
From that moment on, Johnson became a simply amazing guitar player. He developed his own playing style and was simply an outstanding musician! The thing to note about him is that he was a crowd pleaser and played the song that the people requested him to play, even going as far as memorizing them on the spot, just as much as playing his own growing repertoire!
Johnson did 2 recording sessions: one in 1936 where he recorded 16 songs and another in 1937 where he recorded 13 others for a total of 29 songs recorded during his career. Here is a special one if you pay attention to the lyrics
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Robert Johnson passed away on August 16 1938 at the age of 27. His death not being reported publicly, he merely disappeared from the historical record and it was not until almost 30 years later that a musiciologist found his death certificate, which listed only the date and location, with no official cause of death. Some of the stories surrounding his death go from being poisoned by a jealous husband (he loved the ladies) to as far as the devil himself coming to claim his soul for the gifts he gave him at the crossroads.
To add even more to the mythos, still to this day we don't know where he is buried as there are 3 different graves with his name on it.
Oh and a little detail to add about him. As you see, he passed away at age 27 and he is the earliest member of the infamous 27 club... I will leave it at that!
Now of course with nowdays ressources, it seems people have filled in some gap in his history but... I like to believe in a little paranormal and it only adds to his legend so I'll keep it the way I know it!
In conclusion, Robert Johnson's legacy is uncontested. While listening to his recordings, it is important to take the context and the possibilities of the time as his music and style is revolutionary and has inspired modern music legends such as: the rolling stones, Eric Clapton, Robert plant, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan... too many to name. And anyone influenced by the names I just dropped are then indirectly influenced by Johnson. Needless to say that his legacy, as much is music as the folklore, goes down in history and leave him remembered as
The King of the Delta Blues.
Happy October
