Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911. He was originally known as Robert Spencer, taking on the alias of his stepfather who changed his name from Dobbs due to a personal feud. In his teens he finally adopted the name we all know him as today, Robert Johnson. As a teen Johnson would try to play any instrument he could get his hands on. It is said that Son House and Charley patton themselves gave him lessons on the guitar. Johnson was willing to go anywhere to make his living doing what he loved the most, playing the blues. You have probably heard the story of the man who waited at the crossroads to "make a deal" with the devil.... well, that was Robert..at least that is the story. Throughout the 30's, he traveled all over the Mississippi and Arkansas deltas playing anywhere people would listen. He also made trips with Johnny Shines to play such cities as Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago. Unfortunately for us, his entire recording career consisted of 3 days and 29 songs. There were two days he recorded songs in November of 1936 and one final day in June 1937. All 29* of these were released in 1990's Columbia release: Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings. 22** of the recordings were released on 78 rpm singles by Vocalion , including "Cross Road Blues", "Terraplane Blues" and "Sweet Home Chicago". If you ever find one of these in a yard sale, let me know and I will be right over! In August of 1938, Robert Johnson died at the age of 27 in Three Forks, Mississippi. It is said he was poisoned by the man who hired him to play there for getting a little too close to the mans wife. Other stories have him getting stabbed and stabbed and poise ned. As with most blues tales we may never know. What we do know is that Robert Johnson has left his mark forever on all that have and will listen to his music. Eric Clapton himself wrote; "Robert Johnson to me is the most important blues musician who ever lived... I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice."

*41 songs appear on the release due to alternate versions.
*Some sources list this as 11 (I'll settle for one)

Selected works:

King Of The Delta Blues Singers (Columbia 1961)*****, King Of The Delta Blues Singers, Volume 2 (Columbia 1970)*****, Robert Johnson Delta Blues Legend (Charly 1992)*****, Hellhound On My Trail: The Essential Recordings (Indigo 1995)*****, The Complete Recordings (Columbia Legacy 1996)*****, with various artists Beg, Borrow Or Steal (Catfish 1998)****, Steady Rollin' Man (Recall 1999)****, with various artists Down At The Crossroads: The Robert Johnson Connection 3-CD box set (Sanctuary 2003)****, with various artists The Old School Blues (Metro 2003)****, From Four Till Late (Complete Blues 2004)****.

Video:

The Search For Robert Johnson (Columbia 1992).