Robert Johnson passed away 65 years ago today

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by teaser5, Aug 16, 2003.

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  1. teaser5

    teaser5 Cool Rockin' Daddy Thread Starter

    Location:
    The DMV
    Probably the king of American blues, Robert Johnson died on this day 65 year ago. He was twenty seven years old. Known for such classic blues tracks as Love in Vain," ,"Sweet Home Chicago", "Stop Breaking Down", and especially the mythical standard "Crossroads", Johnson was a huge influence on artists such as Eric Clapton, The Stones, Led Zepplin and even The Blues Brothers.

    He is missed to this very day.

    Rest In Peace, Robert Johnson.

    Best-
    Norm
     
  2. zenergize

    zenergize New Member

    Location:
    CA
    I wasn't much of a blues fan in the 90s when his box set came out. A friend loaned it to me, I thought every song sounded the same and it bored me compared to modern people like SRV or Cray. But I gave it a shot a few times through and started to really appreciate the nuances in each tune.. I especially like Come On In To my Kitchen and the backward circle of fifths progression in They're Red Hot, which was very uncharacteristic of the other tunes of his that I heard. Needless to say I am a Robert Johnson fan now, and because of that box set I really learned to appreciate the blues more
     
  3. Dave D

    Dave D Done!

    Location:
    Milton, Canada
    One of my favourite blues artists! Listen to it in the dark. Scary!
     
  4. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff

    Norm: Guitarist Greg Kihn, of all people, wrote a novel a few years ago about anA&R guy who found that Johnson was still alive. Since Kihn is obviously in the business, it was a pretty good read. Although, I cannot remember the title of the book at this early hour.
     
  5. Mark H

    Mark H Senior Member

    Location:
    upstate N.Y.
    I still have those two Lps on the Columbia label that I bought many years ago. "King of the Delta Blues" Vol. 1&2 IIRC. I'll have to pull them out and give them a spin today. Somehow the box set never appealed to me when it comes to this guy.
     
  6. Adam9

    Adam9 Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй.

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I bought those two but I never got into them. I got the box set and was blown away by the sound and started to appreciate the breadth of Johnson's talent to the point where my 3 desert island discs were Tonight's the Night, Love and Theft and the Johnson box set. The only drawback is the silly programming, with the alternate take following the original. It would have made more sense to break up the 2 series of takes onto 2 discs which I did onto CD-R's.

    I recently re-acquired the Vol. 1&2 again on vinyl and in retrospect they do sound different but not worse than the CD. The liner notes in Vol. 2 are very good.
     
  7. Cafe Jeff

    Cafe Jeff New Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Only 65 years ago.
    I thought it was longer. I thought they did a very nice homage to Johnson in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
    Stones in your passageway (even if you're groupie and it's Mick and Keith) are never pleasant. Jeff
     
  8. Tim Wright

    Tim Wright New Member

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    A true genius! RIP
     
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