If the blues have a truly mythic figure, it would be Robert Johnson whose story hangs over the blues much like Charlie Parker does over jazz or Hank Williams does over country. Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, so much that a legend tells that he stood at a Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil for guitar prowess. He was the first modern blues singer evolving the blues of the Mississippi Delta.

Robert was also a songwriter of great depth and a guitar player who commanded attention, he produced some of the best blues music ever. Among his admirers were none other then Keith Richards who said "When I first listened to him, I throught I was hearing two guitars, and it took me a while to realize he was doing it himself."

Of course, the legend Johnson left behind was fortified by the fact that he left a small number of recordings which remain the apex of the blues. Standards like "Crossroads", "Love In Vain" and "Stop Breakin' Down" haven't only entered the blues, but have also crossed over into rock and roll as artists from The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to Steve Miller have covered these songs.

While music historians tend to downplay his skills, Robert remains a powerful force to be reckoned with. Doomed, haunted, driven by demons, he died at a young age, all of these things added up in making him a blues legend.

In my mind, Eric Clapton is the man who Robert Johnson influenced in terms of guitar playing. Clapton even said "Robert Johnson in my opinion is the most important blues singer ever to live. I've never found anything more deeply soulful then the music of Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful thing that you can find in the human voice."

Posted by Andrew on Thursday, 05/23/2013 @ 12:53pm