Robert Johnson
KING OF THE DELTA BLUES
About Robert

“Robert Johnson is the most influential bluesman of all
time and the person most responsible for the shape
popular music has taken in the last five decades.” Stephen C. LaVere, biographer

Born 1911, died 1938 at age 27.

Recorded 29 songs in his lifetime.

Grew up poor in the south and avoided
sharecropping by learning music.

Never gained fame during his lifetime.
Becoming a Legend





He is considered by many to be not only
the king of the delta blues, but also the
father of rock ‘n’ roll, and he is still
considered one of the greatest guitarists
of all time, nearly 80 years after his death.
He spent time with earlier artists such as
Son House and Willie Brown, and would
hang out at their shows in order to play
guitar between sets.
On the road he would play country-blues
and up-beat pop standards, but his
records were darker and more complex.
He was originally ridiculed by his
contemporaries for being a poor guitar
player, but eventually came to be known
as one of the greatest of all time.
So what changed?
The Crossroads

The story of how Robert Johnson acquired his skill is a
well-known myth.

According to the legend, he went to a crossroads in
rural Mississippi where he sold his soul to the devil in
exchange for guitar playing prowess.

Upon returning home his fellow musicians were
amazed by his newly acquired skills.

He began to tour the country and play bars and
juke-joints, especially in the south, finally recording his
first songs in 1936.

The crossroads theme is still prevalent in modern
music and blues culture.

Tommy Johnson

Crossroad Blues
Lasting Legacy

Robert Johnson has influenced and inspired countless musicians
over the years.

He was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, in their
first induction ceremony.

Four of his songs are on the Hall of Fame’s “500 Greatest Songs of All
Time”

On it’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” Rolling Stone
placed him at #5.

Spin Magazine’s “35 Guitar Gods” – he is #1.

His style and soul defined an entire genre and set the standard for
what is considered distinctly “American” music.
A Sample of his Influence

“You want to know how good the blues can get? Well, this is it.”
~Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones

“I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson.”

“…the most important blues musician who ever lived."[
~ Eric Clapton

“Robert Johnson, to whom we all owed our existence, in some way.”
~Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin

"If I hadn't heard the Robert Johnson record when I did, there probably would have been
hundreds of lines of mine that would have been shut down—that I wouldn't have felt free
enough or upraised enough to write."[
~Bob Dylan

“…when I heard Son House and Robert Johnson, it blew my mind. It was something I’d
been missing my whole life.”
~Jack White, The White Stripes
Why the Blues?

The blues is a very
expressive form of music.

Endless interpretations of
blues patterns and lyrical
themes.

It is unique to America.

It is the root of rock, hiphop, jazz, and many other
styles of music.

Identity: for me, the life of Robert Johnson
exemplifies the theme of identity. He created a
unique style of music in order to express himself,
and he performed with unmatched passion.

The blues was a way for African-Americans to
vocalize the troubles they faced in the 20’s and
30’s, and it grew into a culture of it’s own.

His music is soulful, mysterious, dark, and complex;
something that exemplified him as a person.

Spirituality: The idea of the devil is constant in his
music. Many of his songs deal with his feeling of
being followed by the devil and trying to escape
death.
Robert Johnson Tribute