Robert Johnson The King Of The Delta Blues Singers
The complete recordings of Robert Johnson ranks as the most essential of all blues cds because it contains the greatest blues ever recorded. Without question Robert Johnson has been the most fascinating and revered artist in the music’s hundred year history. He isn’t just “King of the Delta Blues Singers” the title of the early sixties LPs on which these songs were first reissued. Johnson’s music was originally released as 78′s in the late 1930′s. Robert Johnson is King of the Blues Period.
When American music historians converse. Johnson’s name will be mentioned in the same sentence as the names Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Woody Guthrie, Hanks Williams, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and twentieth-century music masters whose work has helped define the scope and breadth of these giants ultimately leads to a better understanding of the American music tradition. A good place to start is with Robert Johnson.
To achieve such status in American popular music is no small thing special place atop the blues hierarchy is utterly convincing. And it’s all here on the two discs that comprise The Complete Recordings, a landmark blues compilation if there ever was one.
Every major blues artist in the post world war 2 period owes at least a little something to Johnson. Most of the black artist directly inspired by Johnson heard his blues on the old 78s. Some like Robert Jr. Lockwood, Johnny shines, and David “Honey Boy” Edwards, were fortunate enough to travel and play with him. The white bluesmen who were moved by Johnson’s music like Eric Clapton, John Hammond, Jr. Ry Cooder, Keith Richards, Billy Gibsons, and so many more came to know it by the way of King Of The Delta Blues Singer, an LP released in 1961 by Columbia that contained some of his best material. It is currently unavailable in the compact disc format except as a limited edition
gold disc Mastersound CD (K52944) That Columbia released in 1995.
Owning a copy of the gold disc King of the Delta Blues Singers will cost you around twenty fie dollars. For the same amount you can purchase The Complete Recordings. Admittedly, King of the Delta more sonic brilliance in Johnson’s guitar and vocals and less surface noise. But you get twice as much music on the Complete Recordings.
All the other Johnson tracks that were omitted from King of the Delta Blues Singers are included on the Complete Recordings, along with all know alternate takes. In 1965 Columbia issued an album called King of the Delta Blues Singers, Volume 2 that contained Johnson’s remaining recorded material except for alternate takes, but it has never been reissued on compact disc.
No other blues artist has had his entire recording catalogue recycled with such resounding success. When The Complete recordings were first released, Columbia hoped it would sell ten thousand units. There was nothing else out there at the time to judge it against or that indicated the number of units could be better. The boxed set version of the Complete Recordings of Robert Johnson sold more than fifty times that number, and won numerous accolades and awards including a Grammy for Best Historical Recording in 1991.
For more on Robert Johnson’s music check out (The Best Of The Blues 101 Essential Albums) book by Robert Santelli which this information was derived.
Robert Johnson to most who have admired his music is probably the most influential blues artist of all times. Only his family and a few of his closet friends new anything about his life. But in the minds of countless other fans he was this juke joint musician who was crazy about women and at the time he only record 41 songs. Know one really new he would have such an influence on today’s music.