However, there is no escaping the Devil’s trickery as he always wins in the end. ARTS & CULTURE — Music. For about six months, the Mississippi Delta was free from the racket of Robert Johnson's music. In a cruel irony, the fame he so sought, in the end, was what killed him. Robert Johnson begged the Devil to make him a talented musician. Upon the devil’s arrival, the musician was offered a Faustian barter: supernatural musicianship for the musician’s soul. Be the first to know! Have you ever heard of the famous Crossroads where Highway 49 and 61 intersect? People say Robert Johnson went out one night to the crossroads of two highways in the Mississippi Delta. Standards: the Wonder of the Day® via email or SMS. It was released on April 26, 2019 on Netflix streaming. If you recognize any of these names, you probably know they were all real people. Those who believe the legend say the man in black was the Devil. Johnson lived in the Mississippi Delta in the early 1900s. The Devil agreed, on one condition. 2014–2020 © National Center for Families Learning, http://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-happened-to-robert-johnson-at-the-crossroads, © National Center for Families Learning (NCFL). The Blues has it's roots in spirituals, so it really isn't that much of a stretch. But according to those who knew Johnson, guitar did not come to him easily. Others would say Robert Johnson never went to the crossroads at all. Johnson recorded just two sessions' worth of material, in 1936 and 1937, before dying in 1938 at age 27. Robert had been messing around with the owner's wife. The legend says he stood at the crossroads for a long time. Most people assume that this part of the story is fabricated. Directed by Brian Oakes. The origin of the legend of Johnson's pact with the Devil is to be found in the fact that the aspiring musician somehow managed to transform himself from being "embarrassingly bad" at the guitar into a blues master in such a short period. At this time in the south, no white doctor would see a black patient, and no black doctors would see Robert because of the crossroads rumor. Johnson, though well-traveled and admired in his performances, was little noted in hi… His influence on contemporaries was much smaller, in part because he was an itinerant performer—playing mostly on street corners, in juke joints, and at Saturday night dances—who worked in a then undervalued style of music. Robert Johnson began playing music when he was young, but he wasn’t good at it. After relocating to the Mississippi Delta, Johnson's interest in music was noticed by blues legend Son House, who would become the young musician's hero. A great place to start is with his. He says, “Stand up, Robert Johnson. He kept practicing, but no matter how hard he tried, he didn't seem to improve. Among them was Bob Dylan, who wrote that Johnson's "words made my nerves quiver like piano wires." Johnson died the following year in Greenwood, Mississippi, supposedly poisoned by a jealous husband of one of his mistresses. The legend of Robert Johnson is one of the founding myths of both Delta Blues and Rock and Roll. At the age of 27 Robert Johnson was poisoned by the owner of a juke joint he had been playing. When Robert Johnson reappeared in the Mississippi Delta music scene, he was a talented Blues musician. Robert Johnson went on to become The King of the Delta blues and spawned a new sound called Rock n' Roll. Multiple new books and films dissect and theorize about the myth and the reality behind it. Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil to become a great Blues musician. He was moved from house to house as a boy and abused by his stepfather. We hope you have a strong connection to tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day! Many fascinating legends surround his music and history, the most prominent being his encounter with the Devil at the "crossroads." Stop fitting lets agree this wonder is awsome!!!!!!!!! As a young man, he married his sweetheart, Virginia, who died in childbirth with their baby. Robert Johnson grew up in Memphis and learned the basics of the guitar from a brother. The Devil promised to make Robert Johnson the greatest Blues musician in the world in return for Johnson's soul. Robert Johnson passed away when he was 27 years old. How about Mulan or John Henry? He was carried back to his hotel room in dire need of medical attention. We love the story of Robert Johnson! With that, Robert Johnson headed North to Rosedale and sealed his contract with The Devil. ReMastered: Devil at the Crossroads is a 2019 documentary film about Robert Johnson, the blues singer, songwriter and musician. Indeed, it is this point that many believe has made the legend of his pact with the devil stick around as long as it has. Ask an adult friend or family member if they know any legends that they can share with you! Lyrics such as these have helped create one of the most enduring legends in the world of popular music. He also died young after recording only a handful of songs. He spent the rest of his life playing music. We think the history of music is fascinating! Today he is recognized as one of the most important innovators of the Delta blues. In fact, when Johnson played, people swore they heard TWO guitars. T here is no way for the world to know exactly what happened during Robert Johnson’s trip to the crossroads. Robert Johnson drops to his knees and says, “Maybe not.”. With little thought, Robert Johnson agreed. {I guess you could say that this Wonder was..} Audiences would look around, searching for the second guitarist. Though he was little known in his own lifetime, his music began to be rediscovered in the 1960s, according to Biography, thanks to the re-release of a selection of his recordings on the album The King of the Delta Blues Singers, which fell into the hands of a new generation of musicians. We bet you know the stories of Johnny Appleseed and Pocahontas. He’d drank whisky laced … No one ever saw the second guitarist, leading many to believe the Devil himself was playing alongside Johnson. Others believed Johnson was somehow able to make his one guitar sound like two. You’ve matched all of the definitions correctly. He was murdered by a jealous husband. Biography tells us how House recalled Johnson disappearing in Clarksdale, Mississippi, close to the now legendary crossroads at Highways 49 and 61, for "a few weeks," before re-emerging in public with his signature blues guitar style. He was the founder of rock ‘n’ roll. Legend has it that Johnson took his guitar to the crossroads of Highways 49 and 61 in … Johnson has had enormous impact on music and musicians, but outside his own time and place and even the genre for which he was famous. The New World Encyclopedia also lists such big names as Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton among those Johnson influenced. But what was it about Robert Johnson that made him such a suitable receptacle for this most seductive legend? And why does his story endure, like his music, almost a century later? That's where the legend of Robert Johnson and the crossroads begins. We did it! How much of the legend of Robert Johnson is true? 'Get that guitar away from that boy,' people would say.". What happened to Robert Johnson at the crossroads? {DEVILISHLY MUSICAL!}. So sings the Delta blues musician Robert Johnson in his characteristically ethereal tone on "Cross Road Blues," one of only 29 songs that the mysterious figure recorded in his short lifetime. The crossroads of Robert Johnson’s time was rural and dirt - no more. Those who witnessed the phenomenon could only explain it by supernatural interference. At exactly midnight, a large man dressed in black appeared. A legend is a story that starts out as true but then takes on mythical traits. "Cross Road Blues" (also known as "Crossroads") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member! Recent academics have come up with a more realistic explanation for his steep musical development: sheer practice. That classic Robert Johnson Crossroads location, where he died. In 1938, a music scout in New York listened to Robert Johnson's music and invited him to play a big concert in Carnegie Hall. Robert Johnson’s Grave . Unfortunately, by the time the invitation reached Mississippi, Robert Johnson had passed away. 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