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
Malted Milk
Robert Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I keep drinkin' malted milk, tryin' to drive my blues away
Baby, you just as welcome to my lovin' as the flowers is in May
Malted milk, malted milk, keep rushin' to my head
Malted milk, malted milk, keep rushin' to my head
And I have a funny, funny feelin', and I'm talkin' all out my head
Baby, fix me one more drink, and hug your daddy one more time
Keep on stirrin' my malted milk, mama, until I change my mind
My doorknob keeps on turnin', it must be spooks around my bed
My doorknob keeps on turnin', must be spooks around my bed
I have a warm, old feelin', and the hair risin' on my head
In the classic blues song 'Malted Milk' by Robert Johnson, the singer sings about drinking malted milk to drive away his blues. He expresses his desperation to escape from his sadness, and the malted milk seems to provide some sort of comfort. The repeated line 'Malted milk, malted milk, keep rushin' to my head' illustrates the singer's desire for the drink to chase away his troubles. However, he also admits that the drink is making him act strange, leading him to talk out of his head and experience a 'funny, funny feelin''.
Johnson presents an interesting contrast between the comfort that the malted milk provides and the haunting feeling that he has: 'My doorknob keeps on turnin', it must be spooks around my bed.' The imagery here paints a picture of the singer's fear and paranoia. The line 'Baby, you just as welcome to my lovin' as the flowers is in May' suggests that the love of his partner could be as powerful a tool to drive away his blues as the malted milk.
The overall message that the song conveys is that the singer is seeking escape from his troubles. Although the malted milk might give him some brief relief, it is ultimately not enough to overcome the feeling of being haunted.
Line by Line Meaning
I keep drinkin' malted milk, tryin' to drive my blues away
I continuously consume malted milk to get rid of my melancholy mood.
Malted milk, malted milk, keep rushin' to my head
Malted milk continually affects my brain and thoughts.
Baby, you just as welcome to my lovin' as the flowers is in May
My affection for you is as natural and inevitable as the blooming of flowers in May.
And I have a funny, funny feelin', and I'm talkin' all out my head
The malted milk is causing me to have strange sensations and to babble nonsensically.
Baby, fix me one more drink, and hug your daddy one more time
Please make me another drink, and give me one more embrace before I leave.
Keep on stirrin' my malted milk, mama, until I change my mind
Please continue mixing up my malted milk until I decide to stop drinking it.
My doorknob keeps on turnin', it must be spooks around my bed
I hear noises outside my door, which leads me to believe that ghosts are haunting my room.
I have a warm, old feelin', and the hair risin' on my head
Even though a strange presence surrounds me, I feel comfortable and nostalgic, and my hair is standing on end.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ROBERT JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@adambozentko5877
Haunting vocals, can hear the slyness, loving, hurt, violence and just the sound of His times..!.. 22 years on guitar and He still makes me feel like an amateur..!..
@rayitojazz
Robert Johnson i love you man, always listen to you when im down and you cheer my soul up
@mr.ottoman1371
He got me Into malted milk
@paulcarpenter999
Don't miss the first real biography of Johnson that came out in 2019, which was followed by the appearance of the third confirmed photograph of the great artist in 2020.
@f.w.2054
I may be wrong but wasn't it written by a relative who lived with him? If so it should be a good anecdote to all the legends and nonsense written about the man!
@tizrysyahnonco.channel54
Thank you Robert Johnson for your great music invention. I believe nothing except all the good things about you, your music and your manifestation about life.
@gabriellekatona4965
If I was around back in the day I would definately be a fan of Robert Johnson and go see his shows too.
@Sarcasmo48
Those are some guitar-friendly fingers right there.
@ernestoescobar1967
Awesome Robert Johnson hit, but from this one I'm feeling Lonnie Johnson infused sound 🎼
@lawrencekedz
There will never be another "R. J."...!!! Keep playing & practicing as much as you can & in the end, you will be satisfied. At 71, began at 14, retired 5 or 6 years ago.. I'd do it all again if I could...!!! (lol)