Robert Johnson Robert Johnson laid the foundation for blues rock. After Eric Clapton, world-renowned guitarist, heard Robert Johnson for the first time he said, “I realized that, on some level, I had found the master, and that following this man’s example would be my life’s work.” It isn’t only Clapton that believes Johnson to be one of the best guitarists of all time. Spin magazine, Rolling Stone, and Guitar.com all rate Robert Johnson as one of the greatest guitar players of all time. He has inspired legendary musicians such as Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix and others (4). If, in today’s world of hip-hop and heavy metal, a person knows of only one country blues artist, odd are it is Robert Johnson (3). Let’s explore how this young man’s life impacted blues and rock music. Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Although there are differing dates on documents, this is the date that is most commonly believed to be correct (1). He was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi and spent much of his early life in levee camps and on plantations. In 1918 his stepfather sent him to a plantation by Robinsonville, Mississippi. This is where he started playing harmonica and meeting older blues musicians such as Willie Brown, Charley Patton and Son House. He eventually moved back to Hazelhurst and met his wife but she died rather quickly after getting married (5). After his wife passed he went back to Robinsonville and met back up with his old blues musicians and friends. They dared him to play and afterwards one of them said, “And man! He was so good! When he finished, all our mouths were standing open. I said, ‘well ain’t that fast! He’s gone now!’” (1). He went and traveled all over playing music in all sorts of places. He recorded twice in Texas once in 1936 and once in 1937. He later died in 1938 by getting poisoned because he flirted with a man’s wife in Mississippi.
Robert Johnson had many influences that shaped his style of music. He was known to be able to play whatever the audiences asked for but he is mainly known for his recorded Delta Blues music. Johnson’s main influences came from Scrapper Blackwell, Skip James, Kokomo Arnold, Charley Patton, Son House and Tommy Johnson. His slide style is attributed to watching Charley Patton and Son House who were local musicians. His style was heavily influenced by recordings and radio music. Although all of these musicians influenced his style and inspired him, there may be no one who influenced him more than Ike Zinnerman. Ike was a bluesman from Alabama who doesn’t have any recorded music so his style is unknown. Ike was known to practice playing his guitar in cemeteries at midnight. Johnson started playing with Ike in cemeteries late at night and continued doing this for about a year. It is said that after this time, ”Johnson returned with an encyclopedic knowledge of his instrument, an ability to sing and play in a multiplicity of styles, and a very carefully worked-out approach to song construction, keeping his original lyrics with him in a person digest.” (2). It can’t be denied that the time with Ike had a huge impact on his musical ability and approach.
Delta Blues music originated in the Mississippi Delta area. The instruments mainly used are the guitar and harmonica, both of which Johnson was quite skilled at playing. Delta blues music were typically sang in the first person talking about sexuality, the traveling lifestyle and the tribulations resulting from leading that lifestyle. A few notable Delta Blues musicians include Son House, Tommy Johnson, Bessie Smith, Skip James, and Muddy Waters. Delta blues musicians sang in an intense, gritty voice that differentiated itself from other styles of blues. Many of the musicians were itinerant loners who sometimes teamed up with others to play at parties, sawmill camps, train stations, and anywhere places where money congregated. Slide guitar is a hallmark of the Delta Blues and Robert Johnson was known to be the one who commenced its rise. Delta blues, just like any other type of music, is constantly evolving and the popular solo performers were being edged in popularity by rhythm-driven combos. The new bands used drummers and bassists for rhythm. The change from solo to bands combined with many of the delta bluesman moving to Chicago changed the landscape of delta blues forever. Luckily, or not, he passed away before the solo act was more completely phased out (5). Robert Johnson is famous today but that was not always the case. When he died, Johnson was not a popular musician of his time. In fact he was a relatively obscure musician. In the 60’s, Columbia Records released King of the Delta Blues Singers, the first collection of his work. This was when he started to gain popularity around the globe (2). The question is what made Johnson different than other delta blues musicians of his day that led to his popularity. The people of the 30’s mostly heard music that was a performance. Compare this with people of the 60’s and most of the music is recorded music. There are major differences in the aesthetics of performed music versus recorded music. Songs that were written around coherent themes that tell a short story lasting a few minutes and have details rewarding repeated listening were not common in the Mississippi Delta of the 30’s.The difference between Johnson and his fellow musicians was drastic. Johnson was keen on the difference between performance music and recorded music. He was drastically different because he focused on a style that was uncommon for his day but superior decades later. He also succeeded because some music business pros shaped his history to succeed with rock ‘n’ roll. Johnson mainly succeeded because he had developed a ‘for the record’ musical style that was ahead of his time (1). There is a popular legend about Johnson’s life. Johnson was living in rural Mississippi. He desperately wanted to become a great blues musician. He was told to bring his guitar to a crossroad at night. There he met a large black man (the devil) who took the guitar, tuned it, and handed it back to him. Within less than a year’s time, in exchange for his everlasting soul, Robert Johnson became the king of the Delta blues singers. He was able to play, sing, and create the greatest blues anyone had ever heard (2). What a great compliment to hear that people couldn’t believe Johnson got so good so fast. A more likely version of the history shows how hard of a worker he was. People say that he was a fast learner, perfectionist, and was good at reproducing songs that he had heard. He also got good faster than others because he broke free of the oral tradition and started replicating the radio and recordings. He would practice in secret and would stop playing if he thought someone was watching him play too closely. Some stories report that he never performed a song he wrote in public until he had it down and then he would hardly change it at all (1). I think that his life just goes to show that hard work and dedication can really pay off. Robert Johnson was a great guitarist. He had lots of great and varied influences that helped him create his style. His conscious effort to have a ‘for the record’ aesthetic style made him more popular now than many of the other delta blues musicians of his time. He worked hard and got better than other people could believe. He got so good so fast that people thought he traded his soul to the devil. With his different style, hard work, and innovativeness he changed blues and rock music for the better.

Bibliography
(1) For-the-Record Aesthetics and Robert Johnson's Blues Style as a Product of Recorded Culture
Eric W. Rothenbuhler
Popular Music, Vol. 26, No. 1, Special Issue on the Blues in Honour of Paul Oliver (Jan., 2007), pp. 65-81

(2) Koda, Cub. "Robert Johnson Music, Biography, Credits and Discography." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. (3) "Robert Johnson." Official Robert Johnson Site. Robert Johnson Blues Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. (4) Shmoop Editorial Team. "Cross Road Blues Music." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. (5) United States. National Park Service. "Trail of the Hellhound: Robert Johnson." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.