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Did Robert Johnson Sell His Soul to the Devil? By Ted Gioia The history of the blues is a bit like scripture. It’s full of stories of trials and tribulations, and draws on the hard-won wisdom of a people set free after ages of enslavement. It has its prophets and sages; its deluges of Biblical proportions (Mississippi River, 1927); even its three kings: B.B., Albert and Freddie. And, of course, it has its Devil. The Devil plays a surprisingly large role in the history of blues music. Blues musicians sing about him. They have been castigated for fraternizing with him. Blues has even been called “the Devil’s music”—both by its critics and fans. And, if you believe the rumors, some performers have cut a deal with Satan—including the most famous blues musician of them all: Robert Johnson. Johnson is that grand rarity in the music world—a recording artist from the 1930s who can sell millions of records in the modern day. He left his stamp on the work of almost every later blues musician, and Johnson’s influence has also crossed over into the fields of rock, pop, folk and jazz. “From the first note the vibrations from the loudspeaker made my hair stand up,” Bob Dylan writes in his memoir Chronicles. “I immediately differentiated between [Johnson] and anyone else I had ever heard.” “Up until the time I was 25,” Eric Clapton admits, “if you didn't know who Robert Johnson was I wouldn't talk to you.” But the rumors of Johnson’s dealings with the devil are even more famous than his recordings. I’ve found that people who know nothing else about the blues, have often heard that story. When I tell a casual acquaintance that I write about the blues, a frequent response is: “Wasn’t there that fellow who sold his soul to the devil?” Or: “I saw that movie about the guy who learned to play the blues from the devil.” The movie in question is the 1986 film Crossroads, about a Juilliard guitar student traveling to Mississippi to learn more about the legend of Robert Johnson and his pact with the devil. The film is full of hokum and misinformation, but kept moviegoers captivated, especially with its culminating guitar battle between the Juilliard student (with behind-the-scenes help from Ry Cooder) and an emissary of Satan (played by real-life guitar wiz Steve Vai). Blues scholars tend to look at these Hollywood-enhanced stories with distaste and embarrassment—sometimes with scorn and anger. Elijah Wald in his book Escaping the Delta, tells blues fans to “get over the cliché.” “I do not see why, except because some disenchanted urbanites want to create a mystical Delta fantasy, we need to single out Robert Johnson for satanic honors,” he writes. “If the Devil was real to him, the same was true of John Milton and Paganini, of Jelly Roll Morton and any other believer in the powers of light and darkness.” Wald adds his verdict: imposing these simplistic views of a world caught in a battle between the God and Devil on to “Delta dwellers of the 1930s” is “condescending bullshit.”
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One of the most classic tales/myths not just of blues.. but in music history. Robert is the greatest bluesman, Do i believe it.. hardly......... Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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I never believed that he did. | |
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Read the freaken article before posting, damn! It's a fascinating investigative report on the origins of the story and the culture of the time. The reality is, many folks back then believed in the occult and the church considered anyone who played a guitar as a satin worshiper. So, put two and two together. Space for sale... | |
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I read it. Still don't believe it. It's a fascinating story but it was always a myth. | |
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i did read it, i wasn't being rude calm yourself it's not that serious Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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It reminds me of the illuminati B.S. from today. It was the original conspiracy theory!
It seems that every person who was ever famous is a reptile person who worships the devil and sacrifices goats and virgins! [Edited 8/19/11 23:25pm] JERKIN' EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!!!! | |
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Don't it! | |
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I should have included a couple throughout cause I was laughing when I posted that. Space for sale... | |
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I don't know why ANYONE would take it seriously. Even when I first heard about it, it was enough to make me laugh. | |
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lol it's cool , wasn't trying to sound liek a bitch cause your a cool sexy cat and all Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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Hey...... i think it was made just to hound in on movie & TV Shows.... even though i love the 80's crossroads Pistols sounded like "Fuck off," wheras The Clash sounded like "Fuck Off, but here's why.."- Thedigitialgardener
All music is shit music and no music is real- gunsnhalen Datdonkeydick- Asherfierce Gary Hunts Album Isn't That Good- Soulalive | |
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It's powerful symbolism, but seeing as I don't believe in god...well, you can guess how I feel about this.
But there can be some literal translation into his life, where he dedicates himself so fully that he forsakes a happier or more complete life in some other form for the sake of his music. And I'd say that many of the 27 club members did just that.
But RJ was just a man who played really well IMO, there was nothing supernatural about it. My Legacy
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One sidenote to this story, I have been hearing theories that we don't actually listen to the recordings at the right speed--that they are sped up on the major releases because of technological issues relating to the original recording machine's speed and the speed of the machine they were mastered on.
It makes sense, actually, because his guitar has always sounded a bit high pitched. His voice sounds high too, but the guitar sounds a bit like a toy
But it also makes his guitar playing sound tighter because it is slightly sped up. Not that this theory has beem proven or anything
Slow down the recordings and the voice sounds darker, the guitar sounds normal...but the songs sound slow!
My Legacy
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The funny thing is that the whole "Devil Worshipping" thing seems to jump from artist to artist.
1st it was Robert Johnson and a lot of the early blues guys.
Then it was early pioneers of Rock and Roll like Little Richard, Ray Charles, Screaming Jay Hawkins.
Of course, groups like The Stones, The Beatles, Hendrix, etc.
Then, came Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath.
Prince was accused of devil worship.
Michael Jackson was when the Thriller video came out. That's why he had to add in that moronic disclaimer at the end of it.
I can go on and on. Marilyn Manson. JERKIN' EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!!!! | |
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His recordings were definitely higher pitched, as was most blues recordings during that period. Lucille Bogan, I heard her song "Shave Me Dry" in a higher tone, then when I went to hear the song again, it was much deeper, like a pitch downwards. In fact, they said most vintage recordings were released in a higher pitch when the original sound was lower. | |
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And now to grasp at any straws, pop stars and hip-hop stars today are being accused of it, via the so-called illuminati, which I still think is a bunch of b.s. | |
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I read somehwhere (which I know is the phrase where all conspiracy theories start) that the whole "illuminati" thing was made up by the Catholic Church to explain why people like Scientists, Politicians, Businessmen, etc. didn't go to services.
If they didn't go to church, then they must be secretly congregating somewhere else together.
I don't know if that particular reasoning is true, but it sounds like it makes since more than the other foolery. [Edited 8/20/11 2:17am] JERKIN' EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!!!! | |
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Yep Yep!
Somebody posted an article here, maybe Identity or somebody else, that the record labels who own these recordings from the 30s and before are trying to think of a remastering technique that brings those distorted recordings into their original form - how they were supposed to be heard as opposed to recorded.
It will be interesting hearing the outcomes of this. | |
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As for the RJ myth, I've always thought the the devil character in "Crossroad Blues" to be a metaphor.
There's some interesting insight into this matter in wikipedia, esp in relation between the African & the Christian interpretations of "the devil: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...vil_legend
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