Robert Johnson: Biography and Creativity

Robert Leroy Johnson, an American singer in country style, is one of the most famous performers of classical blues. The musician was born on May 8, 1911 in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, USA. Robert Johnson, whose biography abounded with endless moves from place to place, first with his parents, and then independently, from childhood dreamed of blues.

Guitar Robert Johnson picked up when he was barely 13 years old. He absolutely did not own the technique of the game, only sat and clocked the strings. Persistence of a teenager was explained by the persistent nature that he inherited from his father. And if Robert decided to achieve something, then he tried to achieve his goal. In the end, it did, but not immediately.

Attempts to learn the instrument

The guitar in the hands of a teenager did not want to sound, and, apart from the unintelligible strumming, no sounds could be extracted. However, the desire to someday play the blues was so strong that Robert continued to torment the strings. To be closer to the art of spirituality, gospel, boogie woogie, the young man met two professional blues performers, Willie Brown and San House. Both musicians took a lively part in Johnson's fate, but they could not teach him how to play the guitar.

Work on the plantation

In the end, nineteen-year-old Robert was forced to part with a dream and go to another state, where he could earn a living by cleaning cotton. Now a young African American took up his guitar only in the evenings, after work. The instrument still did not listen, the music did not work. This went on for more than a year. And since Robert believed in God, every time he visited the church, he prayed and asked the Almighty to send him musical talent, promising to play several gospel songs at once to the glory of the Lord.

Ozarenie

Maybe God heard him, but suddenly, one Sunday, when Robert Johnson returned from the church and became accustomed to playing something on the guitar and singing at the same time, he felt that he had some kind of melody. Inspired by the success that he had been waiting for, Johnson began repeating the newly invented musical phrase over and over again, and he had a song. He immediately came up with a refrain. For several evenings, the future musician rehearsed, and in the end a composition was created, created according to all the rules of the blues. It was the most famous Hellhound On My Trail, which was then included in the list of Robert Johnson's few songs. The first fortune gave strength, and the beginning musician with renewed energy started to work.

The next few evenings went on to create two more songs, Cross Road Blues and Me And The Devil Blues. Johnson was happy, he did it, the dream of a lifetime came true. Now Robert Johnson, whose music has finally found its form, could compose and perform the blues. As soon as the cotton harvest was over, he hurried to his friends. San House and Willy Brown were happy to see their younger friend, but they did not want to listen to his guitar playing.

Confession

And only when Robert insisted, he played and sang all his songs, his friends sat with their mouths open for a long time, not understanding anything. To somehow explain his progress in music, he urgently came up with a parable about how he met the devil at the crossroads of two roads, sold him a soul and he taught him to play guitar and sing the blues. Friends laughed, but congratulated Johnson and invited to speak with them.

First performances

Since then, the musicians have not parted. Robert played acoustic country blues and composed melodies. Musicologists call Johnson a connecting thread between the Chicago and Delta Blues, although, strictly speaking, these two styles do not need to be tied up, everyone lives their own life. Delta blues is softer, melodious, with a good deal of melancholy, and the Chicago one, on the contrary, is full of jerky notes, syncopated musical phrases and long guitar solos that turn into a crescendo.

Studio Records

The art of Robert Johnson was at first as unpretentious as the songs of most other blues musicians. The same primitive texts from a heap of meaningless phrases, but his music was completely different, deep and melodic. Johnson did not record much, the last time he was seen in the studio on July 20, 1937. From the 15th to the 20th he managed to record 13 songs, which were later released as a separate album.

Record Quality

The authority of Robert Johnson as a blues performer of a new wave grew by leaps and bounds. His first recording session took place in November 1936 in one of the studios of San Antonio in Texas. At that time the equipment was primitive, the cutter made a sound track on an aluminum disc, the sound quality left much to be desired. But the singer liked the sound of his voice, and he sat at the office until late at night.

First fee

After a while Johnson was invited to "American Record", one of the leading record companies in the US. This invitation looked somewhat unusual. At that time, almost no blues was recorded, only jazz was popular. However, as part of this invitation, Robert Johnson performed eight of his songs, which were recorded in a good quality. A few days later the session was continued, and the song "Blues 32-20" was recorded. Then Johnson was paid a fee for his work.

Folk music researcher Bob Groom wrote in his article: "Musician Johnson stands at the crossroads of the development of the genre, behind him - delta blues, ahead - Chicago". He looked like he looked into the water, Robert did it.

Failure to speak

Robert Johnson, whose blues sounded both in the delta style, and in the Chicago style, did not make a difference between them. Maybe that's why the musician became the top of the blues of the late thirties of the last century. The talent of the already well-formed bluesman was noticed by jazz producer John Hammond. He decided to invite Johnson to participate in his project, several autumn concerts of genuine "black" music, which he arranged to demonstrate the evolution of American culture in this direction.

A lot of agents began to search for the singer. Robert Johnson, a photo of which all the couriers received, did not appear anywhere. The bluesman was searched by dozens of people, and by that time he was already in the grave. The musician died on August 16, 1938 at the age of 27.

The story of the singer's death

On that memorable day, Johnson found himself in a village called the Triple Fork. The place was located a few kilometers from Greenwood, a small town in the south of Mississippi. At the entrance to the village there was a drinking establishment with music, a bar and a dance floor. Visitors met a beautiful mulatto, who did not hide her sympathy for Robert. He also was not averse to having fun, and the young people agreed to meet in the evening.

Robert Johnson flirted with might and main, followed closely by the owner of the establishment, a cruel jealous who considered the mulatto his wife. Robert took the guitar and began to do his usual thing, to perform the blues. Nothing foreshadowed troubles, until the singer was sent a bottle of whiskey in recognition of his talent, but for some reason open. Johnson sipped a few sips and after a few hours he was unconsciously taken away in an ambulance to the city. The poisoned drink did not act immediately, the musician died only on the third day. Thus ended the life of the famous bluesman.