Devil at the Crossroads (Netflix special): Dig into the Robert Johnson legend
While I had heard the name before and the legend has been adapted into so many different shows and movies, the notion of the "Crossroads" and selling your soul to the devil was personified in the truly unique story of Blues musician and pioneer, Robert Johnson.
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This 48 minute special was not only entertaining but also quite informative and this is something I enjoy in my entertainment from time to time. You emerge on the other end knowing something that is truthful after watching it that you didn't know before.
I had heard of Robert Johnson but knew very little about how he has influenced so many of the famous musicians including Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, two acts that I think we can all agree experienced some level of success.
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Legend has it that Johnson was a small-time busker playing for nickels on street corners in Mississippi and when he would try to jam for the minor greats in the area he was generally regarded as below average or even bad. The other musicians and patrons of these establishments would ask him to stop playing or even kick him out of the clubs or "jukes" as they were known back then.
Robert disappears for a little over a year and when he returns he is an incredibly guitar player and singer, captivating every audience he plays in front of. This is how the rumor began that Robert met the devil at a crossroads and sold his soul in exchange to be the best in the world. There are many historians and musical aficionados that will attest to precisely this fact.
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Robert was also one of the original member of the "27 club" - a club of extremely talented individuals that changed the musical scene with their immense talent that died in their 27th year on this earth. The list includes Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and most recently Amy Winehouse. This phenomenon has lead some to speculate that all these musical pioneers had the same deal with the devil that Johnson did.
ReMastered produces these shows on Netflix and it currently is one of my favorite series on there because the shows are well-produced, factual and fast-moving. The Robert Johnson one is the 2nd one I have seen and while I had heard the name before, I never knew how instrumental he was in changing the musical scene on a global scale during his short time with us.
If you are a music fan and enjoy knowing stuff that not just everyone does, you should definitely check this series out.
To be fair, the 27 club is not just for musical artists. There are a lot of other celebrities/actors/etc. that are in there. Lets not forget all those other people who died in weird, unfortunate ways due to their contract with the Devil. Those fucking virgins knew what they were getting into when they signed with the dark lord, and they should stop being pussyboi's and just chill in their dark oblivion.
On a related note, I have never really seen anything actually centered around this guy in media. They've referenced him in TV shows (Like, Constantine and Metalocalpyse) and stuff like that, but this is the first thing I've actually seen that's about him. So, that's pretty neat.
There is an old movie called Crossroads with Ralph Macchio (the guy from The karate kid) that tells his story, but not as tha main plot in the film.
yeah, i saw it referenced in Supernatural years ago, but i was like "Robert who?"
I also had heard the name before. I think they were talking about the story on XM radio one day while I was driving to work. It was something like that. I might have to give this series a look though. I read the other day that Ken Burns is going to be doing a documentary on country music. Even if you hate country, it is still a Ken Burns documentary, so you know it is going to be good.
Ken Burns is a legend. That Vietnam docu-series is out of this world.
I love music! The trailer impacted me and left me curious. Definitely, I'll follow your recommendation and I'll take a look at the series, @gooddream.
I'm not much into the music but the legend aspect of the crossroads and the 27 club is very interesting to me
I didn't know about this series. It's worth watching, I think.