1. An American… Read Full Bio ↴There are several artists by the name Robert Johnson:
1. An American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter (1911-1938) amongst the most famous of Delta blues musicians; ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time; considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll"
2. An English lutenist and composer of the late Tudorian and early Jacobean eras (c.1580-c.1634)
3. A 1970s Memphis-based American guitarist
4. A former drummer for KC and the Sunshine Band
1. Robert Johnson (Robert Leroy Johnson, Hazlehurst, Mississippi, May 8, 1911- Greenwood, Mississippi, August 16, 1938) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, among the most famous of Delta blues musicians.
His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much legend.
The first songs to appear were Terraplane Blues and Last Fair Deal Gone Down, Terraplane Blues became a moderate regional hit, selling 5,000 copies.
Other songs Johnson recorded were Come On In My Kitchen, Kind Hearted Woman Blues, I Believe I'll Dust My Broom, and Cross Road Blues.
Come on in My Kitchen included the lines:
"The woman I love took from my best friend / Some joker got lucky, stole her back again / You better come on in my kitchen, it's going to be rainin' outdoors."
In Crossroad Blues, another of his songs, he sang:
"I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees / I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees / I asked the Lord above, have mercy, save poor Bob if you please / Uumb, standing at the crossroads I tried to flag a ride / Standing at the crossroads I tried to flag a ride / Ain't nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me by."
Stones In My Passway and Me And The Devil are both about betrayal, a recurrent theme in country blues. Hell Hound On My Trail utilises another common theme: fear of the Devil. Other themes in Johnson's music include impotence (Dead Shrimp Blues and Phonograph Blues) and infidelity (Terraplane Blues, If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day and Love in Vain).
The most widely-known legend surrounding Robert Johnson says that he sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 61 and U.S. Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi in exchange for prowess in playing the guitar. Actually, the location Johnson made reference to is a short distance away from that intersection. The Faustian legend was told mainly by Son House, but finds no corroboration in any of Johnson's work, despite titles like Me and the Devil Blues and Hellhound on My Trail. With this said, the song Cross Road Blues is both widely and loosely interpreted by many as a descriptive encounter of Johnson selling his soul.
The older Tommy Johnson (no relation, although it is speculated that they were cousins), by contrast, also claimed to have sold his soul to the Devil. The story goes that if one would go to the crossroads a little before midnight and begin to play the guitar, a large black man would come up to the aspiring guitarist, retune his guitar and then hand it back. At this point (so the legend goes) the guitarist had sold his soul to become a virtuoso (A similar legend even surrounded virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini a century before.
His death remains a matter of controversy. Some accounts state that he was given poisoned whiskey at a dance by the husband of a woman he had been secretly seeing. Others claim that it was just The Devil collecting his debt after the old legend of Robert Johnson dealing with the devil.
However, the latest, and unfortunately less dramatic and more plausible theory (published by David Connell in the British Medical Journal) is that Robert Johnson suffered from Marfan's Syndrome. Marfan's is a genetic disorder characterized by disproportionately long limbs, long thin fingers, a tall stature — all of which can be seen in the two photos that exist of Robert Johnson. Marfan's Syndrome is a cause of heart defects, and a complication such as an aortic dissection could lead to Robert Johnson's excruciatingly painful death.
Eleven 78s were released on the Vocalion label during his lifetime, with a twelfth issued posthumously. All songs are copyrighted to Robert Johnson, and his estate.
The Complete Recordings: A double-disc box set was released on August 28, 1990, containing almost everything Robert Johnson ever recorded, with all 29 recordings, and 12 alternate takes. (There is one further alternate, of
Traveling Riverside Blues which was released on Sony's King of the Delta Blues Singers CD and also as an extra in early printings of the paperback edition of Elijah Wald's "Escaping the Delta."
Grammy Awards:
1990 — Best Historical Album The Complete Recordings (Sony/Columbia) Legacy Winner
Grammy Hall of Fame:
1998 — Cross Road Blues (Single) (1936, Vocalion)
National Recording Registry:
The Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson (1936-1937) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2003.
The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included four songs by Robert Johnson in the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll:
Sweet Home Chicago (1936),
Cross Road Blues (1936),
Hellhound on My Trail (1937),
Love in Vain (1937)
The Blues Foundation Awards:
Robert Johnson: Blues Music Awards
1991 Vintage or Reissue Album The Complete Recordings Winner
Honors and inductions
On September 17, 1994 the U.S. Post Office issues a Robert Johnson 29-cent commemorative postage stamp.
2006 — Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner accepted by son Claud Johnson
2000 — Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame Inducted
1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducted Early Influences
1980 — Blues Hall of Fame Inducted
He was also ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
Considered by some to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll", his vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a broad range of musicians, including Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton.
2. Robert Johnson (c.1580-c.1634) was an English lutenist and composer of the late Tudorian and early Jacobean eras. He was the son of John Johnson.
3. Memphis-based Robert Johnson has been recording since the early '70s. Some early appearances were on recordings by the Hot Dogs, a band that featured Jack Holder and Greg Reding, later to cross the Mississippi River and become members of the raunchy hard-rocking Black Oak Arkansas.
By the late '70s, Johnson had recorded a single with the Bell Heirs and had established a somewhat regular playing relationship with a rhythm section featuring bassist Dave Cochran and drummer Blair Cunningham. The Infinity label released the premier Johnson effort as a leader, an album entitled Close Personal Friend, yet a collection entitled The Memphis Demos, which came out the following year, is considered to be a much better representation of his work, not the first time a musician's more casual performances beat out a supposedly more serious album project.
4) Robert Johnson was a former drummer for KC and the Sunshine Band
Last Fair Deal Gone Down
Robert Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Last fair deal goin' down
It's the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
On that Gulfport Island Road
Please, Ida Belle, don't cry this time
Ida Belle, don't cry this time
If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime
I love the way you do
I love the way you do
I love the way you do, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road
My captain's so mean on me
My captain's so mean on me
My captain's so mean on me, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road
Take camp' 'tain he and see, camp' ain't he and see
At scal' ain't be at seen, good Lord
On that Gulfport Island Road
Ah, this last fair deal goin' down
It's the last fair deal goin' down
This' the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road
I'm workin' my way back home
I'm working my way back home
I'm workin' my way back home, good Lord
On this Gulfport Island Road
And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon
That thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon
And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon, good Lord
On that Gulf-and-Port Island Road
The song Last Fair Deal Gone Down by Robert Johnson is believed to be about a man who is on his way to make a deal with the devil in exchange for success in his music career. The first verse suggests that the man is taking his last opportunity to strike a deal with the devil, as it is "the last fair deal goin' down" on the Gulfport Island Road. The second verse is addressed to a woman named Ida Belle, who is likely the man's lover. He pleads with her not to cry over the deal he is about to make, as it is only a matter of a few cents in the grand scheme of things.
The rest of the song is a mix of random phrases and lyrics, some of which are very difficult to interpret. The reference to "My captain's so mean on me" may suggest that the man is a sailor, and his captain is mistreating him. He then talks about taking "camp' 'tain he and see," which could mean that he plans to take control of the ship. The repetition of the phrase "on this Gulfport Island Road" seems to indicate that the man is physically traveling down this road as he wrestles with his decision.
Overall, the lyrics are open to interpretation and can be seen as a commentary on the dangers of making deals with the devil, the fleeting nature of success, and the sacrifices people make in the pursuit of their dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the last fair deal goin' down
This is the final opportunity for a fair exchange
Last fair deal goin' down
This is the last fair exchange
It's the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
This is the final opportunity for a fair exchange, and may God help us
On that Gulfport Island Road
This exchange is happening on the Gulfport Island Road
Ida Belle, don't cry this time
Please don't cry, Ida Belle
If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime
You should avoid getting upset about small losses, or they will only lead to bigger ones
She wouldn't cry, but the money won't mind
Ida Belle won't cry, but the loss of money won't affect it
I love the way you do
I enjoy the way you behave
I love the way you do, good Lord
I enjoy the way you behave, and thank God for it
My captain's so mean on me
My boss is very unkind to me
My captain's so mean on me, good Lord
My boss is very unkind to me, and may God help me
Take camp' 'tain he and see, camp' ain't he and see
Take a look at the captain, see how he behaves
At scal' ain't be at seen, good Lord
He's probably not behaving very well, and may God help us
Ah, this last fair deal goin' down
This is the final chance for a fair exchange
It's the last fair deal goin' down
This is the final chance for a fair exchange
This' the last fair deal goin' down, good Lord
This is the final chance for a fair exchange, and may God help us
On this Gulfport Island Road
This exchange is happening on the Gulfport Island Road
I'm workin' my way back home
I'm trying to return home
I'm working my way back home
I'm attempting to make my way home
I'm workin' my way back home, good Lord
I'm trying to make my way home, and may God help me
And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon
And that bell won't keep ringing for much longer
And that thing don't keep-a ringin' so soon, good Lord
That bell won't keep ringing for much longer, and may God help us
On that Gulf-and-Port Island Road
This exchange is happening on the Gulfport Island Road
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: ROBERT JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hieuto5183
"If you cry about a nickel, you'll die 'bout a dime" jesus, that's fucking deep...
@starangwonder2594
Deeper if you realize he's talking about a prison bid.
@leestedman3838
Love this song. Haven't listened to enough blues recently.
@saradidio1692
Katatonia's album. Masterpiece.
@leoad7061
🤘🏻
@TonyDanger
I dig the change from intro to verse, it's awkward, like it was totally off the cuff. So fuckin cool.
@gtrmac100
Last Fair Deal . I love This Song.!
@nancywamsley6180
Sweet serendipity I love it when I stumble!
@alexkolliz4195
Te amo blues <3
@haloskater24
Fucking love this song