[Today: The King...]
It’s hard to overstate the importance of Robert Johnson’s influence on the sound of modern music. His ghostly wail and precise finger picking style, along with tales of hellhounds and cheating women, set the bar for what a bluesman should sound like. And because modern rock was born out of the Blues, it’s easy to connect the dots between the scratchy, scarifying music he recorded in 1936/37 and the songs on the radio today.
Johnson’s personal background is one of the most interesting and hotly debated stories in the history of music. An oft-told tale has him meeting the Devil at the crossroads one moonless night and trading his soul for the musical skills that would make him a legend. But the circumstances of his sudden, blazing talent aren’t the only myth surrounding him – his death in August of 1938 was allegedly due to poisoned whiskey fed to him by a jealous husband. In many ways – a quick rise fueled by some dark myths, transcendent music that grows in stature through the decades, an accidental death at age 27 – he was the template of the modern rock star.
But the songs are the real story, and King Of The Delta Blues Singers contains some of the finest examples of the Blues to be found on record. ‘Sweet Home Chicago’, ‘I’m A Steady Rollin’ Man’, ‘Ramblin’ On My Mind’, ‘Stop Breakin’ Down Blues’, ‘They’re Red Hot’ and ‘Love In Vain Blues’ – along with nearly everything else he recorded in his short life – would go on to become standards, and have been covered by everyone from Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and White Stripes. Johnson’s influence was particularly rampant during the mid-to-late 1960’s when many young rockers (including Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton) turned to him for inspiration and material. And while Johnson had a deep influence on the British Blues, his hold over music continues into the 21st century. For as long as music is being made, the songs of this great, controversial bluesman will continue to resonate…
Listen: Love In Vain Blues
Listen: Hellhound On My Trail
Listen: Terraplane Blues
Listen: Traveling Riverside Blues
Tags: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, King Of The Delta Blues Singers, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Johnson, Rolling Stones, The White Stripes
9 April 2010 at 5:28 pm |
Just bought this a week ago today. Sounds mighty fine.
17 April 2010 at 3:35 pm |
I wonder if you are familiar with the idea that some of RJ’s stuff was actually sped up. Before he died, my guitar instructor told me that some musician/historians had slowed down the recordings and analyzed them. They allegedly came to conclusion that much of the mystery about his performance was made far less mysterious when heard in that light.
Apparently his vocal timbre, the resonances of the guitar and other clues led them to conclude that intentionally or not, his music was normally played back faster than it was recorded. As I heard the story, they claim that his music would have seemed not that far out of the ordinary for his time had it been played at proper speed.
Even if that is true, I suppose that says a lot more about the music of the time than about any one musician of the time.
18 April 2010 at 9:08 am |
I hadn’t heard this theory – thanks for passing it along…
19 April 2010 at 8:51 am |
Dear me, the same old tired cliche’s about a 2nd rate delta bluesman. Robert Nighthawk, there was a player! And Charlie Patton!!!
but Robert Johnson? A minor celebrity in his own time and place among people who knew the blues; and saw him as nothing more than a supporting act. Rightfully so. With respect, I think you have put the legend before the reality. Yes, I acquired the LP with much anticipation, but the more I listened, the less I found. I’ve long since ditched the LP and replaced it with far better blues by far less known artists.
19 April 2010 at 9:50 am |
True enough – there are lesser-known Blues artists that are totally worthwhile. But don’t get carried away chipping at Robert Johnson. Just because I acknowledge the legends around him doesn’t mean I buy them wholesale (read this for some Fact Vs. Fiction on his life). In my opinion, the fact that those legends aren’t true doesn’t diminish their power one bit – most rock legends are spun yarns (Keith Moon never drove a car into a swimming pool, for one).
RJ’s contemporaries thought of him as a supporting act because most of them met him when he was a kid chasing their coattails – once he got his sound down, many of those same bluesman (such as Son House and Johnny Shines) recognized his greatness. But the bigger point is that regardless of how famous he was in his own time – or what anyone else thinks about his music – it held sway over some guitarists (Clapton, Page, et al) who helped form the sound of modern music. You can say the man is overrated, and you might even be right, but you have to admit that his influence has been vast.
I’ve actually had the opposite experience with this album. The first time I listened I thought “That’s it? What’s the fuss about that?” But the more I listened, the more his music got under my skin. He does sound like a haunted man, and that is part of the essence of the Blues. If liking Robert Johnson makes me a cliche-spouter, then so be it, but this album is absolutely a masterpiece…
20 April 2010 at 4:25 am |
You argue well, my friend :)
But still I trust my ears :)
I don’t really want to prove you wrong, or interrupt anyone’s enjoyment of music – but still, sometimes I feel that there is a “cliched opinion” of some artist and their work, and I want to question it. I don’t say it is you :) but I am sure you understand my view, your writing reveals you are a little the same :)
All I am saying is that i DO question the genius of Robert Johnson – and view him as a minor player amongst the blues artists of the Mississippi Delta. The endless repetition of his name by the likes of Clapton, Page, Beck, and countless other blue-eyed bluesmen does not sway me. In the words of Sonny Boy Williamson, talking of those players: “they want to play the blues so bad… and they DO play the blues so bad”. Nuff said :)
Of course, that does not mean someone should not like or enjoy Robert Johnson – I query the myth, not the right of someone to enjoy as they please!
20 April 2010 at 11:05 am |
Thanks Jeffro! Your opinion seems well-formed and backed by some serious listening – I wasn’t trying to change your mind so much as explain where I was coming from on this album. Even though we disagree about it, I totally appreciate you sharing your opinion here. This is a worthy topic for good-natured debate, and you make some good points. The myths and influence make for an interesting story and strong legacy, but I assure you that this album is here because I dig the music, not because Clapton did…
For some other Blues albums that I hold in high regard, check out my list of the greatest Blues albums of all-time. But beware – a certain haunted Mississippi Delta bluesman sits at the top of that list…