Black History Month Music: Robert Johnson

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Well, well, well. I think the time is right to pack my bags and get the heck out of Dodge. I’m planning on leaving either tomorrow or Wednesday. Where am I going? You know as much as I do, which is not much. There’ll always be music, and here’s one of the most legendary figures in music as we celebrate Black History Month. Robert Johnson There is so little known about Robert Johnson that any legend created around him will stick. The most prominent one, of course, centers around his most famous song, “Cross Road Blues,” as being about the place where he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for music talent. Never mind that the song is about a guy trying to hitchhike to get home to his woman. I think about the only thing we can certify as true about Robert Johnson is that he was born, he died, and in between he played the blues. Oh, wow, he played the blues. He was part of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the Blues Hall of Fame. All this for a guy who recorded a whopping twenty nine songs in his life. Oh, Johnson is also generally considered the inaugural member of the “27 Club,” the musicians who died at the age of 27. Again, there’s so much confusion over his death that nobody really knows the truth. For starters, there are three different grave markers in churches near Greenwood, Mississippi. And, as there was no autopsy performed, the speculations are hot and heavy as to what killed him at such a young age. The prevailing legend is that a jealous husband poisoned Johnson. More level-headed theories include syphilis and an aortic dissection. There’s one thing that cannot be disputed, though: in his very short life, and with his very short discography, Robert Johnson left a very indelible mark on the blues and rock and roll. Robert Johnson Born Robert Leroy Johnson, May 8, 1911, Hazelhurst, Mississippi Died August 16, 1938, Greenwood, Mississippi (officially unknown cause) (age 27) HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, 1986; Blues, 1980 Long before Eric Clapton was born, there was Robert Johnson singing “Cross Road Blues”: