- Born
- 8 May 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi, United States
- First work
- 1936: Terraplane Blues
- Peak
- 1936 to 1938 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1938: Me and the Devil Blues
- Died
- 16 August 1938, Greenwood, United States; aged 27; other
Robert Johnson
Music: guitarist, singer, songwriter, United States
Robert Johnson was an American country blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose brief life and modest recorded catalogue exerted a profound influence on modern rock and electric blues. Traveling through the Mississippi Delta as an itinerant musician, he combined astonishing fingerstyle guitar technique, eerie vocal falsettos, and striking poetic lyrics dealing with wandering, despair, and the supernatural. In just two recording sessions in Texas between 1936 and 1937, he completed twenty-nine songs that formed a bedrock for future generations of musicians. Johnson died under mysterious circumstances outside Greenwood, Mississippi, in 1938 at the age of twenty-seven, inspiring enduring folklore about a crossroads pact.
Who else was born on 8 May or who died on 16 August.
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Signature works
- Terraplane Blues song1936
- Cross Road Blues song1936
- Sweet Home Chicago song1936
- Hellhound on My Trail song1937
- Love in Vain song1937
- Me and the Devil Blues song1937
Honours
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 1986
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1998
Groups: Vocalion Records.