Julia was married to Charles Dodds (born February 1865), a relatively prosperous landowner and furniture maker, with whom she had ten children. Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, possibly on May 8, 1911, to Julia Major Dodds (born October 1874) and Noah Johnson (born December 1884). Over the years, the significance of Johnson and his music has been recognized by numerous organizations and publications, including the Rock and Roll, Grammy, and Blues Halls of Fame and the National Recording Preservation Board. Two films, the 1991 documentary The Search for Robert Johnson by John Hammond Jr., and a 1997 documentary, Can't You Hear the Wind Howl, the Life and Music of Robert Johnson, which included reconstructed scenes with Keb' Mo' as Johnson, were attempts to document his life, and demonstrated the difficulties arising from the scant historical record and conflicting oral accounts. Much of what is known about him was reconstructed by researchers such as Gayle Dean Wardlow and Bruce Conforth, especially in their 2019 award-winning biography of Johnson: Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson (Chicago Review Press). Renewed interest in Johnson's work and life led to a burst of scholarship starting in the 1960s. Many of Johnson's songs have been covered over the years, becoming hits for other artists, and his guitar licks and lyrics have been borrowed by many later musicians. The album would become influential, especially on the nascent British blues movement Eric Clapton has called Johnson "the most important blues singer that ever lived." Musicians such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, and Robert Plant have cited both Johnson's lyrics and musicianship as key influences on their own work. It is widely credited with finally bringing Johnson's work to a wider audience. Law, who by then worked for Columbia Records, assembled a collection of Johnson's recordings titled King of the Delta Blues Singers that was released by Columbia in 1961.
Musicologist Alan Lomax went to Mississippi in 1941 to record Johnson, also not knowing of his death. Brunswick Records, which owned the original recordings, was bought by Columbia Records, where Hammond was employed. In late 1938 John Hammond sought him out for a concert at Carnegie Hall, From Spirituals to Swing, only to discover that Johnson had died. His music had a small, but influential, following during his life and in the two decades after his death. The one most closely associated with his life is that he sold his soul to the devil at a local crossroads to achieve musical success. Johnson's poorly documented life and death have given rise to much legend. Other than these recordings, very little was known of him during his life outside of the small musical circuit in the Mississippi Delta where he spent most of his life much of his story has been reconstructed after his death by researchers.
Most were released as 10-inch, 78 rpm singles from 1937–1938, with a few released after his death. These songs, recorded at low fidelity in improvised studios, were the totality of his recorded output. He participated in only two recording sessions, one in San Antonio in 1936, and one in Dallas in 1937, that produced 29 distinct songs (with 13 surviving alternate takes) recorded by famed Country Music Hall of Fame producer Don Law. He is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style.Īs 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. His landmark recordings in 19 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter.
0 kommentar(er)
