How did Robert Johnson influence the blues?
How did Robert Johnson influence the blues?
Born on May 11, 1911, Robert Johnson changed the blues and rock’n’roll forever – with just 29 songs. Johnson’s compositions became rock standards, covered by Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the White Stripes and just about anybody who’s owed a debt to black American blues.
What was one interesting thing about the Delta blues musician Robert Johnson?
Quick Facts Legend has it that Johnson took his guitar to the crossroads of Highways 49 and 61 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the devil retuned his guitar in exchange for his soul.
What was Robert Johnson known for?
Robert Johnson, (born c. 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi, U.S.—died August 16, 1938, near Greenwood, Mississippi), American blues composer, guitarist, and singer whose eerie falsetto singing voice and masterful rhythmic slide guitar influenced both his contemporaries and many later blues and rock musicians.
What type of guitar did Robert Johnson use?
Gibson Guitar Corporation model L
Guitars Johnson played The guitar he is holding in the studio portrait, where he’s dressed in a suit, is a Gibson Guitar Corporation model L-1 flat top, which was a small body acoustic produced between 1926 and 1937.
Is Robert Johnson the father of blues?
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. He is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style.
Why is blues called devil’s music?
Because the early bluesmen and women were the downtrodden illiterate descendants of slaves who were not seen as skilled enough to work as servants or in other reputable functions, blues was not considered respectable. To most blacks, blues was the Devil’s music. …
What musician sold his soul to the devil?
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, much as it is rumored that he once stood at a Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his unique musical gifts.
Was Robert Johnson a tenor?
His virtuosity on the instrument certainly and understandably overshadows his abilities as a vocalist, but even among blues singers, Johnson’s sharp-yet-light tenor identified him as a voice unto himself, and so it is for more than pure historical significance that he warrants a profile here.
What was Robert Johnson’s style?
He is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style. As a traveling performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success or public recognition in his lifetime….
| Robert Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1929–1938 |
How did Robert Johnson become a great blues musician?
According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. He was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the devil) who took the guitar and tuned it.
Who was Robert Johnson?
Delta blues giant Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is one of the most fascinating and mysterious performers in music history.
What is Robert Johnson’s guitar style?
One of the staples of Johnson’s style is his ability to sound at times like two guitar players, combining driving rhythms on the lower strings with melodic figures on the higher strings. Due to the fact that his recordings were intentionally sped up when first released, definitive analyses of his tunings and capo positions is near impossible.
Was Robert Johnson told to take his guitar to the crossroad?
Devil legend According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. One of the legends often told says that Johnson was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight.