Robert Johnson Essay

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Robert Johnson

I went down to the crossroads fell down on my knees. Robert Johnson went to the crossroads and his life was never the same again. The purpose of this essay is to tell you about the life of Robert Johnson. He is the root of much of the music of today. If he didn't influence the musicians of today directly, he influenced the bands that influenced today's music.

Robert Johnson is more than just another Blues man with a sad story. To sing the blues with as much soul as Robert Johnson did, you know his life was rough. The life of Robert Johnson was memorable but short. Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Robert was a product of an extramarital affair. He lived with many different father figures before moving 40 miles south …show more content…

Robert quit school as a teen and started working in the cotton fields. Robert left that life to travel and play his music. He began to play the guitar around the age of fifteen. Famous blues men; Charlie Patton and Willie Brown influenced Johnson when he was young. At age 17, Robert married Virginia Travis. She and their first baby died during childbirth. Johnson then went on the road. Robert traveled all over the Midwest and all the way down to Mississippi and Arkansas. He married Calletta Craft during his travels. She died only a few years later while Robert was on the road.

On November 23, 1936, Johnson recorded his music for the first time. The first song he recorded was "Terraplane Blues." It became a best-selling hit for Vocalon, a Columbia Records specialty label. In June of 1937, Johnson recorded for his fifth and final time. Johnson only recorded 29 songs during his lifetime. Johnson would have recorded many more songs and may have been an even bigger legend than he already is if his life was cut …show more content…

In the mid 1960's, Columbia Records released a compilation of Johnson's recordings called King Of The Delta Blues Singers. In the 90's, Sony released a box set that sold over one million copies. Robert Johnson's music can be heard all over the world and in many songs from this era. Famous musicians like Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, and The Blues Brothers redid many of his songs. Eric Clapton has said that Robert Johnson is "the most important blues musician who ever lived." Eric Clapton remade one of Robert Johnson's most famous songs "Crossroads" and The Blues Brothers remade another "Sweet Home

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