Robert Johnson: How The Blues Never Lost Its Soul
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- There are many tales of people achieving all sorts of fortune and fame by selling their souls to the devil. Blues guitarist Robert Johnson is probably the most famous subject of that tall tale. The legend goes that he offered his soul at a Mississippi Delta crossroads, and in return he would receive musical success and talents beyond his wildest dreams. And, yes, to this day he is considered a pioneer of American blues guitar and songwriting. But the devil is in the details. And with a life so shrouded in mystery, it’s hard to separate fact from his very appealing fiction.
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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Justin Crockett
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
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“The world is run by those who show up.”
- Robert Johnson
Books In Review Mic drop.
That was a different Robert Johnson...
The Paranoid Blues Man It did seem a bit profound for him, but hey, what do I know? Lol
Books In Review lol he did not say that
Mind blown like 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😭🤯🤯🤯🤯😱😱😱😱😱🤬🤬🤯😱🤯😱🤯🤯😱😱🤯😱😨😨😱🤯🤯😱😱😨🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶
"The blues is a low-down, aching chill. If you ain't never had 'em, I hope you never will."
- Preachin' Blues
Robert Johnson was phenomenally talented and I'm glad you showcased his story here. I'd love it if you would do a piece on another great, and little known, American blues artist, Elizabeth Cotten. Listen to her song Freight Train sometime and notice that she plays a right hand guitar left handed. She taught herself on banjo at age 7 and played stringed instruments upside down all of her life. Thanks for the blues break, Simon. Blessings all!!
Just looked her up, incredible!
Not only does she play a right-handed guitar left-handled, but the strings are upside down. Love Elizabeth Cotton!
✌️😎🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶
Also he would be the first of many musicians to be in the infamous "27 Club"
No he wouldn’t
@@adamstanley8841 yes he would
I never thought of that. You're right
@Adam Baum Yup it's an alleged club that include Musicians who all died at the age of 27
He was the 5th, Alexandre Levy was the first
Yo OG Robert Johnson, i have his complete box set with his music and story. Its crazy how in the songs it really sounds like 2 guitar players, but its only him
We have that too, and it is uncanny...
You don’t know how many nights I’ve stayed up until 4 in morning listening to those songs over and over
Could it be there really was another player, a spiritual, invisible player...hmmm, hellhound on my trail!
I think Robert was just so totally given to his music after marrying twice and losing both partners quickly, that the only way he knew how to life was as a rambling man, giving rise to hundreds/thousands of like minded musicians afterwards. Whatever the case, such great tunes he left behind, the legacy of the delta blues!
Now I’m wanting a Biographics on Billie Holiday and one on Josh White (he may be too obscure though- what a fabulous blues artist.)
Definitely Billie Holiday.
Elissa Chazdon josh white is incredible
Maybe Big Mama Thorton too.
Yes, Billie Holiday, please Simon!
@@petabulmer7345 Billie Holiday yes please!!!
"And im standing at the crossroads
Believe im sinking down..."
It's hard to imagine what else Robert Johnson could have achieved since he influenced all the iconic artists he did from only a few hours of recordings.
If Johnson had lived and worked at the same place for another five or ten years...
Hard to imagine!
It has to be argued that with boogie bass lines, slide rhythms and mythical lyrics, he COULD be the father of Rock N' Roll.
The first member of the 27 club
That alleged footage of Johnson playing on the streets has been disproved. The movie theater in the background was advertising a film that was released a few years after his death.
Chris Thomas King is the blues artist that plays Tommy Johnson in Oh Brother Where Art Thou.
Kind of funny that they named a character based on Robert Johnson Tommy Johnson since, around the same time, in Mississippi, there was another Delta blues musician who's name was Tommy Johnson.
Your best yet, Simon (and Team)!!! Story of a man who should never be forgotten... Long live the Blues!
My favorite blues musician and fellow Mississippi native
Listen to "Come on in My Kitchen" and the part where he sings "Don't you hear the wind howl" then proceeds to mimic the wind with his guitar. Genius.
I've been studying Blues for 50 years. His recordings are perfection. Blues isn't about hot licks and extraordinary technique, it's all about tone, phrasing, and timing.
Granted, Johnson's techniques are not easy to master... but the man had a gift that blossomed. Sometimes, a properly placed rest (silence) is the hottest lick... and singing... so many guitarists ignore the power of the vocal instrument, and how difficult it is to master.
This is the best bio on Johnson I've come across... short and sweet, to the point, no fluff.
Blues is what feelings sound like...
The days keep on worryin' me
There's a hellhound on my trail
When you knocked upon my door...wooooooooooo
And I said "hello Satan"
I believe it's time to go
"Me and the Devil
Was walkin' side-by-side
Me and the Devil, ooh
Was walking side-by-side
I'm going to beat my woman
Until I get satisfied"
She said "you don't see why
That I will dog her 'round"
Now baby you know you ain't doin' me right, now
She say "you don't see why, hoo
That I would dog her 'round"
It must-a been that old evil spirit
So deep down in the ground
Obviously I never met Robert Johnson. But I did meet the son of a legendary fife player and ultimately the legendary fife player himself, Otha Turner. Met him in 2002 or 2003 shortly before he passed.
I use to play guitar after I would get of work when Mac came in and pointed at me saying "I knew you could play!" Told me about his dad who at the time I had no idea who he was. But he mentioned his dad had been acquainted with Robert Johnson when they were young. When I finally met Otha he had heard about me being a guitar player and said I should bring it down to his house sometime to play. I laughed. He shook my hand when he left and he said "The hand you just shook, shook the hand of Robert Johnson."...I was floored and it just felt surreal.
Rest in peace.
I love Roberts music so much thanks for doing this one it's just as good as the Hendrix one
...and for that you traded your everlasting soul??
Well.. I wasn't using it...
That was tommy johnson. Real guy who wasnt robert johnson
From what I've read, only two or three verified photographs are known to exist of Robert Johnson
That's true!
“Some kind of guitar teacher” & “A mysterious piano player” sounds like Satan kept popping up like Rufus in Bill &
Ted.
🤣🤜
umbrellajax Who said he didn’t?
@umbrellajax Yeah, it's either the prince of darkness or history forgot 2 poor, JIm Crow era, black people's names (coincidentally, it forgot 99.9% of all their names). STFU and quit running the name of someone you've never met through the dirt. That behavior sounds way more satanic to me than playing a guitar well.
Hey, look. A black man was mysteriously found dead on the side of the road in Jim Crow Mississippi. It's obviously magic. Lol. You people are fucked in the head.
@@similaritiesendhere I... Think you're taking the remark too seriously. It seems pretty obvious it's meant in jest.
I'm thinking more of a Phantom of the Opera vibe.
One of the greatest blues artist
Like many, I had heard of the legend of Robert Johnson, but until recently, the legend was shrouded in mystery, and was somewhat murky. This episode has cleared a few things up.
Y'all remember Medgar Evers, who wants to see a Biographic on him?
kindley fernand his brother died last week.
@@donna25871 😢😢😢
A biographic on Sam Cooke would be right up this alley.
One of the best "Biographics" posted!
One of my favorite Supernatural episodes told his story
Love Supernatural...gotta find that episode!
It's the introduction of the crossroads demons. Season 2 or 3 I think
Season 2. Crossroad Blues, episode 8 (ive watched SPN waaaaay to much...lol)
The greatest guitar player ever!!
Awesome! As always interesting and informative content! Thank you so much for sharing! Take care and be safe! 😊
Absolute legend!
thank you for your hard work on another video Simon
Really liking these musician videos been waiting for these forever. I'm glad y'all are doing em.
Wonderful Tribute you gave to Robert Johnson, Simon! I could listen to your Content all day. Actually, I usually do about an hour anyway😘
Wow, not a big fan of Blues music but I still found this very interesting.
Thank you for the HISTORY Lesson Simon 👍👍!!! Meaning the entire staff biographics
The blues is an amazing genre it wasn't started in high class recording studios or concert halls. No it was started in dive bars, down old country roads, on someones front porch. its obscure origins make it the ghost of the music family
I would love to see you do segments on Ramesses II, Lucky Luciano, Shaka Zulu, just to name a few. I'm getting spoiled now lol.
The first of the 27 Club.
Pamela Mays that was my first thought! I was like, “hmm, maybe his crossroads story isn’t so far off.”
Wow! He sure was!
They got one helluva band.
I like how this channel feels like a very Proper documentary, whilst still keeping a lot of entertaining information to prevent the usual dryness history has.
I LOVE YOU FOR POSTING THIS
Robert Johnson's death went undiscovered for thirty years and he recorded all of his songs in two sessions? Woah!
Love it Simon! Love the work you and your team do!!
Thank you Simon. Thank you Robert for helping to create Rock music. Music fans will always salute you.
Well done and thank you. He has long been a favorite!
Saw the title, liked it before the ad even ended. ❤❤❤
What a cool, unexpected treat, seeing a new Biographic of Robert Johnson show up today! Really informative too. 😎
Been listening to a lot of blues and Robert Johnson lately. This video came at a nice
time.
10.47 didn't even realise he was a thing. A thing? He wasn't a thing, he was a person, a person with a great talent who died far to early but thankfully he left us 2 albums of his music to remember him by. This has quite probably given us the music we've got today, it's absolutely amazing how many musicians and how much music exists today because of those 2 Albums. However he was never, ever a thing!
He sold his soul so the Blues will never lose its soul.
I just wrote a term paper on Robert Johnson. Its twice as long as the recommended length and one of the best papers I've written. This video was my first encounter with Robert Johnson, so I want to thank you for introducing me to such fantastic musician.
Got them Quarantine Whiskers
So very interesting!👍
The movie Crossroads is a really good telling of what Robert Johnson means to what then became rock and roll. It also shows how music is transcendent from classical to modern music and Steve Vai is amazing in it. Great video Simon!
Ah, Crossroads ... the movie that teaches us the blues is all well & good, but you can't win a blues guitar shootout with the devil without playing the music of dead white classical composers.
Short, but fascinating.
You took too long to make this one man, thank you. Love the channel.
Incredibly interesting. Would love more video on old musicians that didn’t post everything on Instagram
Bought his box set about 20 years ago good stuff
I wish you would have mentioned John Fogerty or his band Credence Clearwater Revival. John himself has personally credited his musical career to Johnson. In fact, after not playing his own music from CCR at live shows for over 15 years due to the terrible personal and legal troubles culminating from the band's ultimate breakup, it took a 1990 visit to the place recognized as Johnson's grave to convince him to finally start playing them again. It resulted in a Grammy winning live album "Premonition" and a Grammy for album of the year in "Blue Moon Swamp" just a few years later.
Oh wow. Cheers. My dad played me his songs. I was the only child in the family who would sit still for all of his old Blues records.
One my guitar idols.
"The medium is the message" ~ Marshall McLuhan. In two recording sessions Robert Johnson changed pop music. But that change did not come about until decades later. And only then because young men who were by the late 1950's dedicated to understanding and deconstructing the influence of recorded music - pop, or popular music - of their day. Had it not been for Don Law's 1936/7 recordings the "folk music" revivalists of the mid 20th century would not have been able to find him.
The portable device Law used was adapted from a surplus US Navy wire recording dictaphone since there were no electronic reel to reel tape recorders and Law did not travel with a portable direct-to-disk (not disc) lathe in order to "cut a record" which as an actual thing back then
Thanks for the Info!
I thoroughly enjoyed this biography. Pardon me for showing off with my contribution to the legend before I took the time to acknowledge the writing. Particularly appreciated was the exposition on how contemporary culture discovered and embraced Johnson's guitar virtuosity in the 90's
I still have my tape cassettes of his Complete Recordings, and I play his songs frequently in my shows.
I just ordered the King of the Delta Blues Singers vinyl I'm so excited
Thank you Biographics, all I knew about him was from the movie Crossroads.🎸
I worked in Hollywood for a few years, and was on a crappy tv show that had some actors who had worked on the movie Crossroads...they hated, HATED the final result of that movie. It was supposed to be a lot darker, and much more mysterious and creepy, but after a few producers, writers and directors were done with it, it was lightweight, feel good stuff. I think it was Joe Morton who told me that he had originally been very excited to do the film, but it had completely changed...he was a very intense actor.
@@christineparis5607 OMG I loved Joe's portrayal of his character, he is such a great actor, (about that $2 I'm low on Gas⛽) brilliant.
The writer of the original story said there were 3 different endings . None of which he wrote and they went with the lamest ending. I bought the vcr tape for $25.00.
I thought it was a bargain.
@@thewalkingthrones9165
Joe was on this bad tv series called Equal Justice in 1990, I can't remember when I started on it but it only lasted a couple of seasons...the cool thing was that there were people like him and Sarah Jessica Parker on it too, a lot of them went on to have much better roles. The show was really bad...everyone was fun though...
Thank you so much for this. RJ is my idol
Timeless did an episode about Robert Johnson. One of my favorite episodes!
I live in the 'sip (Mississippi), and it's amazing how many people here don't know who RJ is. I play his records in my house every Sunday while we clean and he is a major part of our family's soundtrack. The pain in his voice captures the agony that was being a sharecropper in MS in the 30s (something that unfortunately has not changed much in the Delta). I found the crossroad where they alleged he sold his soul, and we will be making a road trip soon to visit it. Thank you for shining a light on Robert, he deserves every mention.
Hard to believe! Unfortunate actually.
How weird ,, was going to leave a comment requesting you to make this vid.. and here it is! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Tommy Johnson was a real person and actually predates Robert Johnson as a recording artist. His most well known song is called 'Canned Heat Blues', which is where the band Canned Heat got their name. And Tommy Johnson was the one who was supposed to have sold his soul before Robert Johnson became the focus of that tale. The two were born about 20 miles from each other but they have completely different sounds. Robert Johnson would go on to influence people like Muddy Waters, Keith Richards, and Eric Clapton while Tommy Johnson is so obscure that I don't even blame people for not knowing that the character in Oh Brother wasn't based on Robert Johnson.
Robert Johnson was the one who really got me into blues. Sure I'd often heard blues before, but his very unique style made me really dig deeper.. and now, many years later, I still find myself humming his tunes from time to time.
I watched a biography on him on Netflix a few days ago and now this pops up! Scary timing
I suggested this a while ago. Glad to see it.
Jack Kerouac please
I really like these Musician videos, keep it up :)
Excellent!
Awesome!!!!!
I love all the songs of the most famous celebrities who died at the age of 27, such as: Robert Johnson (05/08/1911 - 08/16/1938), Brian Jones - the founder of The Rolling Stones (02/28/1942 - 07/03/1969), Jimi Hendrix (11/27/1942 - 09/18/1970), Janis Joplin (01/19/1943 - 10/04/1970), Jim Morrison - singer of The Doors (12/08/1943 - 07/03/1971), Kurt Cobain - the founder of Nirvana (02/20/1967 - 04/05/1994) and Amy Winehouse (09/14/1983 - 07/23/2011). There are so many others musicians who died at the age of 27 years old, but those I've mentioned, defenitely are the most famous!
Thank You
mooore musicians! loved it 👍🏻👍🏻
So happy to see you do this, especially the shout out to the movie Crossroads. Can you please do one on Frank Zappa!
"Some kind of guitar teacher"
Yo, give Ike Zimmerman a bit more love than that lol
Playin on graves at midnight!
@@starvingbuddha7622 ], just one. I've visited the location (not recommended), and have photographed the grave Ike taught Johnson how to play on.
Yet another member of the 27 club.
Yet another talented artist that was able to influence a great many people via a relatively short career.
Faustian deals are not new in music. Maybe a bio on Niccolo Paganini? He was claimed to be one of the people who sold their soul to the devil. Love it when you guys do musicians. Stay safe Simon and the rest of the Biographics team!
Would love an in-depth bio on him too! Simon has found his "rhythm"!
You missed "Ghost World", an almost central theme to that movie. Worth checking...
Excellent movie. One of my favorites
Rolling Stones Love in Vain (by Robert Johnson).
Bought a double album in France when on vacation.
10:55 yes that is the album!
Yesssss!!!!
Simon, I love your work. You could have, kinda in passing, mentioned Paganini. He too was alledged to have sold his soul to the devil. Way before RLJ.
Ok Simon I'm watching this but I'm keeping in mind that recently I watch one of your videos and you didn't know who Duke Ellington was.
Bout timeeee
Great video!!! I've always loved his story..
I would love to see you do Tony Mendez, the CIA agent made famous by ARGO
Just recently used Johnson’s legend I am essay, what a coincidence.
There’s an excellent argument that his recordings were pitched too high in order to fit more on the old 78rpm records. People worked it out by trying to figure out the tuning on his guitar. Slowing down the recordings to make the guitar into a standard tuning also made his voice sound much more natural.
I would love to see Bob Marley! Keep up the amazing content
If you guys did a Biographics for Chuck schuldiner I’d be forever grateful...
Underrated musician taken way too early.
The Song The Wayward Wind 🌬 was written with Mr Johnson in mind 🎵
I would love to see one of these on Nefertiti
Can we talk about Simon using the word “copped?” Well played, sir.
very interesting
I was hoping by now there was more investigative/speculative work about what happened to him. (I bought that latter compilation.) Any sources, Simon?
It would be neat to see some biographics on underground and alternative comic artists and writers; such as, R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar, Jay Lynch, Skip Williamson, or even someone like John Callahan or Gahan Wilson.