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
Terraplane Blues
Robert Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
Who been drivin' my Terraplane for you since I been gone?
I'd said I flash your lights, mama, you horn won't even blow
Somebody's been runnin' my batteries down on this machine
I even flash my lights, mama, this horn won't even blow
Got a short in this connection, hoo well, babe, it's way down below
I'm goin' heist your hood, mama, I'm bound to check your oil
I'm goin' heist your hood, mama, mmm, I'm bound to check your oil
I got a woman that I'm lovin', way down in Arkansas
Now, you know the coils ain't even buzzin', little generator won't get the spark
Motor's in a bad condition, you gotta have these batteries charged
But I'm cryin', please, please don't do me wrong
Who been drivin' my Terraplane now for you since I been gone?
Mr. highway man, please don't block the road
Please, please don't block the road
'Cause she's reachin' a cold one hundred and I'm booked and I got to go
Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm
You, you hear me weep and moan
Who been drivin' my Terraplane now for you since I been gone?
I'm gon' get down in this connection, keep on tanglin' with your wires
I'm gon' get down in this connection, oh well, keep on tanglin' with these wires
And when I mash down on your little starter, then your sparkplug will give me fire
"Terraplane Blues" is a song by Robert Johnson that explores themes of infidelity and deception. Johnson uses the metaphor of a car, a Terraplane, to represent his lover who has been unfaithful while he has been away. He is feeling lonely and moaning for his Terraplane, asking who has been driving it since he has been gone. He tries to start the engine, but there is a malfunction in the car's electrical system since the batteries are continually being drained. Johnson suspects foul play since he has seen no action of the car's horn or lights either. He becomes frustrated about the whole ordeal; his lover is cheating on him, and he can't even get his Terraplane started. His horn won't blow, and his battery is dying; he decides to check his lover's car's condition.
He makes his way to his lover's house, intending to check her car's oil and find out who has been driving his Terraplane. Johnson discovers that the woman has been unfaithful and that her car is involved in the deception. His lover's car has a significant design problem, which has led to his Terraplane and its electrical system's malfunction. He discovers the Terraplane's short in the connection, which is within the battery. He also finds out that his lover is not only cheating on him but with someone from Arkansas. After identifying the unique problem with the Terraplane, Johnson knows he has to work on the wiring to get it running smoothly again. He ends the song by declaring his intention to fix the problem and start his Terraplane. The song is one of Robert Johnson's most popular songs, and his guitar licks and lyrics have inspired many rock and blues musicians.
Line by Line Meaning
And I feel so lonesome, you hear me when I moan
I am feeling very lonely and sad and I express it through my moaning
Who been drivin' my Terraplane for you since I been gone?
I want to know who has been driving my car when I haven't been around
I'd said I flash your lights, mama, you horn won't even blow
Even when I try to signal for help by flashing my lights, my car won't cooperate
Somebody's been runnin' my batteries down on this machine
Someone has been using up my car's battery while I haven't been around
Got a short in this connection, hoo well, babe, it's way down below
There is a problem with the wiring in my car which is causing the battery issue
I'm goin' heist your hood, mama, I'm bound to check your oil
I need to open the hood of the car to check the oil levels
I got a woman that I'm lovin', way down in Arkansas
I have a lover who lives far away in Arkansas
Now, you know the coils ain't even buzzin', little generator won't get the spark
The car's motor is not working due to issues with the coils and generator
Motor's in a bad condition, you gotta have these batteries charged
The car's motor is in poor condition and the battery needs to be charged for it to work
But I'm cryin', please, please don't do me wrong
I am begging not to be treated unfairly
Mr. highway man, please don't block the road
I request the highway man to not block the road
'Cause she's reachin' a cold one hundred and I'm booked and I got to go
I need to hurry and reach my destination as my car is going at a hundred miles per hour
You, you hear me weep and moan
I am weeping and moaning and I want you to listen
I'm gon' get down in this connection, keep on tanglin' with your wires
I am going to fix the wiring issue by getting deep into the connection and fixing the tangled wires
And when I mash down on your little starter, then your sparkplug will give me fire
Once I fix the starter and press it down, the sparkplug will give me a successful ignition
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ROBERT LEROY JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind