Robert Johnson :: Biographies Musicians Blues Essays

Robert Johnson I went down to the crossroads fell down on my knees. Robert Johnson went to the crossroads and his life was never the same again. The purpose of this essay is to tell you about the life of Robert Johnson. He is the root of much of the music of today. If he didn't influence the musicians of today directly, he influenced the bands that influenced today's music. Robert Johnson is more than just another Blues man with a sad story. To sing the blues with as much soul as Robert Johnson did, you know his life was rough. The life of Robert Johnson was memorable but short. Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Robert was a product of an extramarital affair. He lived with many different father figures before moving 40 miles south of Memphis to Robinsonville, Mississippi, where he would live till his early adulthood. The first instrument Robert played was the harmonica. Robert quit school as a teen and started working in the cotton fields. Robert left that life to travel and play his music. He began to play the guitar around the age of fifteen. Famous blues men; Charlie Patton and Willie Brown influenced Johnson when he was young. At age 17, Robert married Virginia Travis. She and their first baby died during childbirth. Johnson then went on the road. Robert traveled all over the Midwest and all the way down to Mississippi and Arkansas. He married Calletta Craft during his travels. She died only a few years later while Robert was on the road. On November 23, 1936, Johnson recorded his music for the first time. The first song he recorded was "Terraplane Blues." It became a best-selling hit for Vocalon, a Columbia Records specialty label. In June of 1937, Johnson recorded for his fifth and final time. Johnson only recorded 29 songs during his lifetime. Johnson would have recorded many more songs and may have been an even bigger legend than he already is if his life was cut short. The death of Robert Johnson was tragic and the myths that surround him will last forever. In August 1938, Johnson played the last show of his life. The jealous husband of a woman that he began an affair with while in Greenwood, Mississippi poisoned Johnson. During the show the husband poisoned Johnson's whiskey. Johnson died on August 13th, 1938, three days after he was poisoned.