The life and death of the blues musician, Robert Johnson, was shrouded in mystery and legacy. The "King of Delta Blues" not only left behind remnants of his heart and soul in his music but a legendary tale of his encounter with the Devil at a crossroads in Southern Mississippi. The circulation of this intricate rumor not only brought about the blossoming of the career of one of Blue's most memorable legends but aided Johnson in laying the foundation for today's music and culture.
Music was always a long-time love for Johnson. Although Johnson did not appear to bear the gift of a talented guitar musician, the legendary Eddie "Son" House taught him to play when he was a teenager. House taught Johnson not only the basics of blues guitar but many other things that Johnson would use throughout his career. House became a role model for Johnson and he encouraged Johnson to take his music seriously and to achieve his dream of becoming a professional musician.
In order to escape the backbreaking work with little reward that was accompanied the life of a sharecropper in those days; Johnson left the guitar scene he had become accustomed to and traveled across Mississippi playing in small clubs, juke joints, and at small gatherings. He traveled from town to town spreading his blues. When Johnson finally returned to Robinsonville, the musicians that once mentored Johnson and encouraged him to follow his dream were astounded by his development. Nevertheless, with the arrival of Johnson's sudden musical genius, came the immediate spark of a rumor that Johnson had sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for becoming a master in the art of guitar playing. The devil that many believe Johnson sold his soul to be most likely a Haitian voodoo god named Papa Legba who serves as a "gateway" between an ancient group of divinities called Loa and humans. He is also known as the "God of the Crossroads" because he "opens the roads" (Ellis 1) of the world of the divinities. He is depicted as an old man sprinkling water or an old man with a crutch along with his symbolic animal, the dog. However when Christianity made its way to Africa, the pagan that was once worshiped became labeled as being similar to the Devil. Therefore, Legba, "God of the Crossroads" is mostly like the devil rumored to have endowed Johnson with his musical genius.
The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Ask someone who was one of the first people to break the color barrier in sports and you're almost guaranteed that the answer is Jackie Robinson. Yet almost 40 years earlier there was a black boxer by the name of Jack Johnson, also known as John Arthur Johnson. Most would argue that he was the best heavyweight boxer of his time, having a career record of 79 wins and 8 losses, and being the first black to be the Heavyweight champion of the World. (Jack Johnson (boxer), October 9th, 2006.) Not only was this impressive, but he had to deal with racism and black oppression.
James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Fla. He is best known as being a poet, composor, diplomat, and anthologist of black culture.
Joplin's talent was revealed at an early age. Encouraged by his parent's, he became extremely proficient on the banjo and gained an interest for playing the piano. After Joplin's parents purchased a piano for the family, he taught himself how to play the instrument so well that his piano playing became remarkable. Joplin soon began playing for church and local social events. By age eleven, while under the teachings of a German music teacher named Juliuss Weiss, Joplin was learning the finer points of harmony and style. As a teenager, he played well enough to be employed as a dance musician.
Like his father, who played the trombone in the U.S. Marines Band, John, too, learned to play the trombone. John also spent time studying voice. John was a rather mischievous teen. At the age of 13 John tried to run away to join the circus. Dad was not all that impressed.
Blues has played an extreme role in todays’ music. The music genre of blues, helps us express ourselves in which you can feel it from the ubiquitous in the jazz to the blues scale and the specific chord progressions. To start off, the blues is musically originated by African Americans in the deep South of the United States. Growing up in a southern household, I was used to listening to a variety music, but blues was always most listened to. Every time I listen to blues, the lyrics often deal with personal adversity, and it goes far beyond pity.
Started out as an avid fan of artists such as Michael J. Fox, Freddie and Albert King and Lightnin' Hopkins, John Mayer is known to have played songs with the guidance of his talent in guitar playing. The gifted artist has continued
As time progressed, music had to continue to evolve to keep up with the ever-changing styles. Blues slowly began to morph into Rock and Roll to engage people of a new era. While many changes occurred in creating Rock and Roll, it continued to carry undertones of the Blues. This can be heard while comparing Son House’s, “Walking Blues” and Elvis Presley’s, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” These two songs show many similarities, while also having their own identities.
Musicologists have dated the ‘birth’ of blues to be around 1890 as a West African tradition involving blue indigo in which mourners at ceremonies would wear blue dyed attires to resemble their suffering . Although, blues derived from times of slavery, the Prohibition Era (1920’s), World War Two (1939-1945), and during the Vietnam War (predominantly 1960’s to 1970’s), it has been a continuously evolved form of music in America, in which the similarities have always remained; melancholy and protest.
Jimi loved blues and rock and roll and when he was sixteen Jimi got his first acoustic guitar and taught himself how to play. Shortly after, he began performing with his band called the Rocking Kings. Jimi is today acknowledged as a musical intellectual. He is highly recognized for his precision and speed while playing his music.
Edward Kennedy Ellington, American jazz composer, orchestrator, bandleader, and pianist, is considered to be the greatest composer in the history of jazz music and one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. He composed over 2000 works and performed numerous concerts during his musical career. A compilation of some of his most popular music is collected on a CD called "The Popular Duke Ellington."
According to Albert Murray, the African-American musical tradition is “fundamentally stoical yet affirmative in spirit” (Star 3). Through the medium of the blues, African-Americans expressed a resilience of spirit which refused to be crippled by either poverty or racism. It is through music that the energies and dexterities of black American life are sounded and expressed (39). For the black culture in this country, the music of Basie or Ellington expressed a “wideawake, forward-tending” rhythm that one can not only dance to but live by (Star 39).
Listening to blues music is like listening to the artist’s soul. Early blues music had an influence on a large number of artists in Texas to make music that is still heard to this day. There are many noteworthy blues musicians in Texas. Some of the greatest include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Janis Joplin, Freddie King, Billy Gibbons, and T-Bone Walker.
LOGLINE: Exploration of the life of the elusive blues singer Robert Johnson whose exceptional talent has been shrouded in the Faustian myth that he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroad in Rosedale, MS in exchange for success. The man, the myth and the legend has inspired and influenced numerous musicians including the likes of Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton.
When first reading “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, it may initially seem that the relationship between musicians and drugs is synonymous. Public opinion suggests that musicians and drugs go hand and hand. The possibility lies that Sonny’s passion for jazz music is the underlying reason for his drug use, or even the world of jazz music itself brought drugs into Sonny’s life. The last statement is what the narrator believes to be true. However, by delving deeper and examining the theme of music in the story, it is nothing but beneficial for Sonny and the other figures involved. Sonny’s drug use and his music are completely free of one another. Sonny views his jazz playing as a ray of light to lead him away from the dim and dismal future that Harlem has to offer.