Robert Leroy Johnson
(8 Mayo 1911 - 16 agosto 1938)
Robert
Leroy Johnson (Hazlehurst,
Misisipi; 8 de mayo de 1911 - Greenwood, Misisipi; 16 de agosto de
1938) fue un cantante, compositor y guitarrista estadounidense de
blues, conocido como el Rey del Delta Blues.
Sus
grabaciones de 1936 a 1937 muestran una notable combinación de
talento para cantar, tocar la guitarra y componer canciones (a pesar
de haber dejado grabadas solamente veintinueve, influyeron en varias
generaciones de músicos).
Su misteriosa y escasamente documentada vida, y su muerte a la edad
de 27 años, han dado lugar a la difusión de muchas leyendas.
Es
considerado el Abuelo del Rock and Roll por la influencia ejercida de
su música en grandes intérpretes del género. Su locución, la
originalidad de sus canciones y su estilo de tocar la guitarra han
marcado a una gran gama de músicos considerados leyendas, entre
ellos: John
Fogerty,
Bob
Dylan,
Brian
Jones,
Johnny
Winter,
Jimi
Hendrix,
The
Yardbirds,
Led Zeppelin, The
Allman Brothers Band,
The
Rolling Stones,
Slash,
Queen,
The
White Stripes,
The
Black Keys,
The
Band,
Neil
Young,
Warren
Zevon,
Jeff
Beck,
Nick
Cave o
Eric
Clapton,
este último dice que Johnson es «el más importante músico de
blues que haya vivido». Más información: Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson
(May 8, 1911 - August 16, 1938)
Robert
Leroy Johnson (May
8, 1911 - August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and
songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a
combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that
has influenced later generations of musicians. Although his recording
career spanned only seven months, he is now recognized as a master of
the blues, particularly the Delta blues style, and one of the most
influential musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame describes him as being "the first ever rock star".
As
a traveling performer who played mostly on street corners, in juke
joints,
and at Saturday night dances, Johnson had little commercial success
or public recognition in his lifetime. He participated in only two
recording sessions, one in San
Antonio in
1936, and one in Dallas
in
1937, that produced 29 distinct songs (with 13 surviving alternate
takes) recorded by famed Country Music Hall of Fame producer Don
Law.
These songs, recorded solo in improvised studios, were the totality
of his recorded output. Most were released as 10-inch, 78
rpm singles from
1937–1938, with a few released after his death. Other than these
recordings, very little was known of him during his life outside of
the small musical circuit in the Mississippi
Delta where
he spent most of his life; much of his story has been reconstructed
after his death by researchers. Johnson's poorly documented life and
death have given rise to much legend. The one most closely associated
with his life is that he
sold his soul to the devil at
a local
crossroads to
achieve musical success.
His
music had a small, but influential, following during his life and in
the two decades after his death. In late 1938 John
Hammond sought him out for a concert at Carnegie
Hall,
From
Spirituals to Swing,
only to discover that Johnson had died. Brunswick
Records,
which owned the original recordings, was bought by Columbia Records,
where Hammond was employed. Musicologist
Alan Lomax
went to Mississippi in 1941 to record Johnson, also not knowing of
his death. Law, who by then worked for Columbia Records, assembled a
collection of Johnson's recordings titled King
of the Delta Blues Singers
that was released by Columbia in 1961. It is widely credited with
finally bringing Johnson's work to a wider audience. More information: Robert Jonhson.
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