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"Crossroads is well researched, informative and easy to read. . . . An enjoyable read that separates the man from the myth." —Blues Review magazine (August/September 2008)
"The most complete and accurate book so far on Robert Johnson . . . an interesting and absorbing book that not only will be of interest to new fans, but will fill in some gaps for longtime fans." —Blues Bytes online magazine (September 2008)
"This short book is an interesting study ... of Robert Johnson's life but also in the legends surrounding his life and death. Graves is adept at retelling the facts ... " -BluesWax (September 2008)
"Graves applies the lively narration of music journalism to this brief biography of Delta blues guitarist Robert Johnson." —Book News Inc. (September 2008)
"Graves' study is well researched and entertaining, and worth a read by anyone interested in Johnson and his remarkable legacy." —Dirty Linen magazine (September 2008)
Legend of the CROSSROADS
When Robert Johnson was younger, he liked to go to the juke joints and listen to musicians like Son House. It wasn’t long before Johnson began playing guitar in-between sets, a performance few people appreciated.
“Robert, he’d get the guitar and go to bamming with it, you know?” House told a writer years later. “Just keeping noise, and the people didn’t like that. They’d come and tell us, ‘Why don’t you or Willie [Brown] go in there and stop that boy? He’s driving everybody nuts.’”
Two years later, when House heard Johnson play again, he couldn’t believe the change. “And that boy got started off playing … and when he got through, all our mouths were standing open. All! He was gone!”
How did Johnson become so good so fast? He made a pact with the devil at the crossroads, according to legend. Several years later Johnson died of mysterious causes. He was only 27. The devil, some say, came to collect his soul as payment.
In this new, highly readable biography of Johnson’s life, music critic and novelist Tom Graves gives you the real story behind the “Crossroads Legend.” But the debunking of that myth doesn’t lessen the appreciation that contemporary musicians and blues fans have of Johnson, who is said to be the greatest blues musician who ever lived.
Contents
Foreword
By Steve LaVere, ix
Preface
Fact, Myth and the Musician, xiii
Introduction
The Lowland Mississippi Delta Plantation Blues, 1
The Life of Robert Johnson
1. The Early Years, 13
2. Johnson as a Young Man, 19
3. The Walking Musician Years, 23
4. The Recording Years, 31
5. Death of a Delta Bluesman, 39
The Afterlife of Robert Johnson
6. Legend of the Crossroads, 51
7. John Hammond Resurrects Johnson, 57
8. A New Audience, 65
9. A Global Phenomenon, 71
10. The Movie That Changed the Legend, 83
11. The Feud Over the Johnson Photos, 87
12. The Complete Recordings Defies Sales Expectations, 97
13. A Son Is Found, 103
14. The 3.5-Second Piece of Celluloid, 109
Afterword
Legends Live On, 113
Appendix
A Brief Discussion of Johnson’s Music, 117
Bibliography, 125
Index, 129
Tom Graves is former editor of Rock & Roll Disc magazine and now teaches at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tenn. He wrote the novel Pullers and has written articles for Rolling Stone, Musician, The Oxford American, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, American History, and The New Leader. He is currently working on a drama based on the 1968 debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr.
Steve LaVere is a Grammy-Award winning producer, a music historian and archivist for the Robert Johnson estate.
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ORDER BEFORE CHRISTMAS 2008 AND GET 1/3 OFF THE LIST PRICE
Copyright 2008 / 151 pages / 22 photographs / 5.25 x 8.25 format / Bibliography / Index / ISBN: 978-0-9816002-1-5 / $14.95 (paper)
$9.95 plus $2.50 shipping if ordered before Christmas
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