The Devil and Robert Johnson

While driving through Mississippi this past week I had to take a little time out to explore the myth and the legend of Robert Johnson who is widely considered a true pioneer of the Blues.  Admittedly, the Blues is not something I would typically have playing from my Ipod(Dolly Parton would be disappointed) I did enjoy something a little new and grew to appreciate it.

Robert Johnson(1911-1938) probably would have been shocked by his success because during his life he was never considered famous.  He roamed from town to town playing gigs and even spent a fair amount of time playing on street corners.  Despite his relative lack of success while he was still above ground, he did manage to cut some records which were "rediscovered" years after his demise.  It was then that people realized his talent and he finally became a legend.

Since he was relatively unknown during his lifetime, people have tried to reconstruct his story based on the scarce information that is really known about him.  Much is based on legend, most notably the story in which he reportedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for some mad guitar skills.  Legend has it that he was told that if he took his guitar to a crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi, the devil in the shape of a black man would strike up a deal with him.  It is said that Johnson took the advice, went to the crossroads and the devil came and tuned his guitar.  From then on he was a master at his craft. 

His death at the age of 27 is also shrouded in mystery and some say the devil came to collect his prize.  Johnson was known to love three things; wine, women and song.  Sadly for him, all of these ended up leading to his death.  Apparently he was messing around with another mans wife and the husband ended up poisoning some booze that Johnson was guzzling down and he died shortly thereafter. 

I am always a little obsessed about finding the gravesites of people so I made it my mission to find the final resting place of Johnson.  It turned into quite an ordeal and I am sad to admit I utterly failed at it.  Thing is that no one can seem to agree where he is actually buried.  There are actually 3 gravestones for him in three different locations.  Since he was an itinerant musician no one really seemed to care to throw him a lavish funeral and his body was just buried with no real marker.  Through the years people have claimed to know the "real" location of his remains, but short of digging him up, I think the mystery will continue.  I wanted to find all three gravesites, but my enormous lack of direction and the fact it took me way too long to find the crossroads where the deal with the devil was made(yeah, look up Mike at the big sign), I had to abandon my search for his body.

Robert Johnson, although he died far too young is now remembered as being a huge influence not only on the blues, but also for his influence on the birth of rock and roll.  Many musicians, such as Eric Clapton, have cited Johnson as being instrumental in their growth as artists.