Robert Johnson
20 articles
Audio interviews
Billy Gibbons on Robert Johnson (1990)
Interview by Tony Scherman, Rock's Backpages Audio, Fall 1990
The ZZ Topper talks about his enduring love for bluesman Robert Johnson: on first hearing Columbia's 1961 release King of the Delta Blues Singers; the dark impact of his music; the aspects of mystery surrounding Johnson; his favourite songs; Johnson's superb technique and delivery; the "pact with the Devil" myth, and being given dirt from that crossroads; the newly discovered photograph of Johnson, and his hands; his impact on ZZ Top, and the blues psychogeography of the Mississippi Delta.
File format: mp3; file size: 32.9mb, interview length: 34' 18" sound quality: ** (phoner)
List of articles in the library
Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers
Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966
'Crossroads Blues'; 'Terraplane Blues'; 'Come On In My Kitchen'; 'Waltzing Blues'; 'Last Fair Deal Come Down'; '32-20 Blues'; 'Kindhearted Woman Blues'; 'If I Had Possession ...
Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers, Vol II (CBS 64102)
Review by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 31 October 1970
THE LEGENDARY Robert Johnson showed up at the ARC Field Studios five times between November 1936 and June 1937, cutting a mere 29 sides in ...
Unravelling the Legend of Robert Johnson
Retrospective by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 June 1971
JERRY GILBERT looks at Robert Johnson, greatest of the Delta bluesmen ...
Overview by Barney Hoskyns, New Musical Express, 12 January 1985
From the raw to the pure, from the sublime to the meticulous — BARNEY HOSKYNS sings the praises of 24 of music's most glorious voices. ...
Robert Johnson: Demons on the Delta
Retrospective by Don Snowden, Los Angeles Times, 14 August 1988
Standing at the crossroadsI tried to flag a rideNobody seemed to know meEverybody passed me by.– 'Crossroads Blues' by Robert Johnson ...
Peter Guralnick: Searching For Robert Johnson
Book Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, September 1990
THE POWERFUL FASCINATION which the legend of Robert Johnson still exerts over virtually all blues fans is derived, in almost equal proportion, from his genius ...
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings
Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Q, December 1990
And the days keeps on worryin' me There's a hellhound on my trail ...
The Devil's Work: The plundering of Robert Johnson
Special Feature by Robert Gordon, L.A. Weekly, 4 July 1991
THE SUN did not shine but it was hot as hell the day a memorial stone was unveiled for bluesman Robert Johnson near a country ...
Demythologizing Robert Johnson: Chipping Away at the Myths That Encrust a Blues Legend
Essay by Tony Scherman, The New York Times, 20 September 1998
ALTHOUGH THE great blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson died 60 years ago, swallowed up at 27 by the rural Mississippi demiworld of juke joints ...
Turning Points: Robert Johnson
Retrospective by Charles Shaar Murray, Daily Telegraph, November 1999
THE LEGEND OF Robert Johnson was a long time in the building, and it was forged by the fusion of his brilliance and his obscurity. ...
Elijah Wald: Escaping the Delta - Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues
Book Review by Anthony Heilbut, Los Angeles Times Book Review, January 2004
WHOSE BLUES is it anyway? On his first trip to the Mississippi Delta, Elijah Wald found himself performing a Robert Johnson song at the Mt. ...
Elijah Wald: Escaping The Delta; Tim Brooks: Lost Sounds; Ned Sublette: Cuba And Its Music
Book Review by Eric Weisbard, The New York Times Book Review, 31 October 2004
THE IMAGE OF the bluesman Robert Johnson standing at a crossroads in the Mississippi Delta, selling his soul to play guitar as though he had ...
Travelling Riverside Blues (Clarksdale, Mississippi)
Book Excerpt by Graham Reid, Random House, 2005
Travelling Riverside Blues is a chapter in Graham Reid's Postcards From Elsewhere collection of travel stories (Random House) and is available through his website: www.elsewhere.co.nz ...
Book Excerpt by Tom Graves, DeMers Books, October 2008
Excerpt from the book Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson (DeMers Books) ...
The Very Last Fair Deal Gone Down? A preview of the "ultimate" Robert Johnson reissue package
Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, May 2011
ONE HUNDRED years ago, on 8th May, 1911, Robert Johnson was born – so expect to read a lot about Po' Bob, especially in the ...
Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collection
Review by Andy Gill, The Word, June 2011
Robert Johnson used a variety of tricks to hide his remarkable technique from copyists, even dancing while he played. ...
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings – The Centennial Collection
Review by Tony Burke, Blues & Rhythm, October 2011
THIS IS THE complete Robert Johnson on one double CD – the lot, all 42 Robert Johnson recordings – including all thirteen alternate takes plus ...
Richard Russell: Rich Pickings
Interview by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, March 2018
As Richard Russell's collaborative album, Everything Is Recorded, is released, RC's Jamie Atkins meets him to talk about the recording and the music that led ...
Book Review by Tony Burke, Morning Star, May 2019
THOUGH HE only made 40 recordings, US blues artist Robert Johnson's legacy has endured for over eight decades and his songs are now part of ...
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