“Robert Johnson,” re:d magazine, August 2005
Posted: August 1, 2005 Filed under: Uncategorized Comments Off“Robert Johnson” re:d magazine, August 2005
By Michael Ward
They say that jazz is the only true American art form. And while that may be, the Blues, in many ways, is the story of America, and it is intimately tied to Dallas.
Today, 508 Park Avenue in downtown is an indefinitely locked, gated building. Earlier in its life it housed Brunswick Records; today it remains empty, though the music that reverberated through its sound rooms during a hot, sticky June weekend in 1937 forever changed the face of the Blues and, with it, the future of modern rock music.
After his first recording in San Antonio in 1936, Robert Johnson, a young man from the Mississippi delta—what was then and still is today one of the poorest regions in the United States—traveled to Dallas for his second and final recording session. In total, he cut just 29 tracks before his mysterious death in 1938. The earliest records indicate he would have been no older than 31 years old.
The fact is that Johnson lived a short, puzzling life about which not much is really known. He was sharp dressed and always on the move. Johnny Shines, a fellow musician who traveled with Johnson throughout Arkansas, Missouri and Mississippi, said that Johnson didn’t care what direction he was headed; he just wanted to go. Perhaps Johnson sensed the devil at his heels.
Eventually, Johnson arrived in Dallas, and began recording a collection of songs during the weekend of June 19-20. Those who remember working in the Park Ave. building recall that musicians would often strip down to their underwear in order to record, because the heat and humidity of a Dallas summer without air conditioning was too much to bear otherwise. When the weekend was over, Johnson had recorded his last songs and cemented his place in Blues and rock history and mythology.
So what was it about a man who recorded less than 30 songs and lived about as many years that could have such an influence on modern music? Eric Clapton said Johnson’s music scared him with its intensity and has remained his guiding inspiration. Keith Richards famously remarked that the first time he heard Johnson he wondered who was playing the second guitar, only to find out Johnson was alone. George Harrison claimed he only listened to two guitarists. Guess the name of one of them.
Indeed Johnson’s guitar playing led to the mythology that surrounds his life. They say he struck a bargain with the devil at a lonely crossroads in Mississippi: His soul for amazing guitar skills. At least two of his songs allude to such an encounter. But, of course, the legend would persist absent any lyrics. It adds to the Johnson mystique.
If you want to experience Johnson’s music, be warned: Its not music that you can casually put on in the background. His high voice “perched on the razor’s edge of joy and pain”—as Martin Scorsese, the director and Blues enthusiast remarked—and his stripped-down Delta style is not for everyone. And should you opt for some urban adventure and want to visit 508 Park Avenue, it’s easy to find. The 508 is in bright gold above the door and the building is adjacent to a vacant lot. But there is no historical marker or landmark. Instead, you’ll find Johnson’s mark on nearly every CD in your car.
