Brief Introduction to Blues Guitarist Robert Johnson

[one of very few known pictures of Robert Johnson]

  Robert Johnson was a blues guitarist and singer born on May 8th, 1911. He is the subject of much speculation and mythology due to most of his recognition being posthumous. Famously, it has been said that Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads for his musical talent. Johnson studied and mastered the style of Son House and also learned from the playing of Ike Zinnerman. He was a traveling musician and would often use a different name in areas where he was unknown, and his ability to befriend audiences and communities came in handy when he passed through towns again later. Johnson died at the age of 27 and was widely believed to have been poisoned, although it was also suggested that he died of syphilis. 

  Johnson was a master of the Delta blues style, but was also skilled in various other styles, such as country, jazz, and slide guitar. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time, appearing on many “greatest guitarist” lists and being cited by musicians such as Eric Clapton,Robert Plant, and even Slipknot, as such. His playing would often incorporate typical blues strumming patterns and upper register slide or complimentary parts simultaneously; Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones asked, upon hearing Johnson for the first time: “Who is the other guy playing with him?” unaware that Johnson was playing alone. His voice is also praised as uniquely powerful. Subtle pitch shifts in his singing conveyed a degree of emotion not available in strictly “in tune” singing styles. He also often used his guitar in the manner of a second voice, as if in a call-and-response relationship with his singing. 

 Crossroad Blues is a great example of his intricate guitar style and how he pushed the basic blue framework in his own creative direction with his rhythmic choices, along with his subtle vocal inflections: 

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 They’re Red Hot demonstrates another style of his guitar playing, influenced by swing jazz, as evidenced by the ii V I chord progressions. He also used a vocal style in this song that was not common to blues, but more influenced by vaudeville and minstrel shows: 

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