The Foundation of Rock and Roll

Rock and roll music, so the legend goes, emerged from a Faustian bargain.  In this telling, a black travelling bluesman named Robert Johnson, at the turn of the twentieth century, sold his soul to the devil so he might achieve fame playing the Delta blues. 

Robert Johnson is said to have taken his guitar to the crossroads at midnight.  There, he met a tall shadowy man.  The tall man (the devil) took up Johnson’s guitar, carefully tuned it, and handed it back.  From that point on, Johnson displayed incredible guitar skills.  He is even said to have turned his back to the audience while playing so other musicians could not see his playing technique.  

Robert Johnson died in 1938 near Greenwood, Mississippi, at the young age of 27.  He is first to die and enter into what is now known as the “27 Club.”  The club is a list of famous musicians, actors, and artists who died at the age of 27.  Also included in the club is Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain.

Johnson is suspected to have been sickened by a poisoned bottle of whiskey.

Fortunately, Robert Johnson recorded some of his music before his untimely death.  Current legends of rock and roll such as Eric Clapton, Keith Richard, and Jimmy Page credit Johnson for creating the guitar playing style upon which rock and roll is founded.  Johnson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the first induction ceremony of 1986.

—Mitchell Hegman

Video Link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A