Robert Johnson Biography

Robert Johnson was an American blues composer, guitarist, and singer whose eerie falsetto voice and masterful, rhythmic slide guitar influenced both his contemporaries and many upcoming blues and rock musicians. In Robinsonville, where he spent the bulk of his youth, he came in contact with Delta blues masters, Willie Brown, Charley Patton, and Son House, who were not impressed with his talent. They were, however, astonished by his musical ability when he returned to his town after being away for a year. According to a legend, he made a deal with the Satan at a local crossroads, acquiring his prodigious talent as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter. It is said that he sold his soul to the Satan and agreed to live just eight more years. He traveled to Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, Chicago, and New York, playing at house parties, juke joints, and on the streets. In 1936–37, he made a series of recordings in a hotel room in San Antonio, Texas, and at a warehouse in Dallas. His repertoire included several blues songs and his original numbers, ‘Hellhound on My Trail’ and ‘Terraplane Blues’ are some of his most compelling pieces. Despite his limited body of work, he had a major impact on several other brilliant musicians, including Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Eric Clapton, and the ‘Rolling Stones.’