Sold my soul like Robert Johnson

Subject: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From:
Date: 19 Jul 98 - 11:09 AM

I am a crazy blues fan. Last September I went to Clarksdale Missisipi to visit the bluesland and see the crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. The crossing of the two roads are a busy intersection now. I did not feel much. However, when I stayed in the Days Inn Motel that night I had an uneasy feeling. I guess the devil came to my motel room and kept me awake all night. Well, isn,t it a matter of believing anyway? It was a beautifukl one week vacation from New Orleans to Missisipi. I will never forget it.

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 22 Dec 98 - 03:29 PM

Where exactly are these Crossroads? I have heard that they are at he intersection of Hwy's 59 and 61, is this true?

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: Art Thieme
Date: 27 Dec 98 - 12:32 PM

If your souls are Reeboks you can get prime cash for 'em in Japan---no matter how degenerate, dumb or road-grimed.

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jul 04 - 10:03 PM

hwy49 & 61

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: GUEST,Peter A
Date: 15 Jul 04 - 04:09 AM

Wish I could hear a little more about the trip. I am planning a similar trip next year and appreciate information and ideas. Places to go/stay. I have a lot of places I would like to go according to the blues history, but it is always welcome to have additional ideas from people who have been there lately.

Regards

Peter A.

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: Tweed
Date: 15 Jul 04 - 08:51 AM

Clarksdale claims that as the "crossroads" but more than likely it would have been somewhere further out in the country. There's a load of crossroads down there in the Delta!

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: ddw
Date: 15 Jul 04 - 02:26 PM

Isn't it a fairly common factoid among blues fans that Robert Johnson was not the one who sold his soul at the crossroads — it was Tommy Johnson. The myth was later transferred to Robert because he became so much better known and fans weren't careful in passing on the lore. I'm sure I've seen numerous mentions of that in some of the threads cited above and I've run into it in books and articles by several blues historians.

You might want to take a look at the last paragraph of this site


Hope that doesn't spoil the fun of your vacation, bdinkturk....

cheers,

david

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: Tweed
Date: 17 Jul 04 - 10:21 AM

Ya, I know....and there was more of them that said the same thing to become somewhat notorious, and possibly to protect themselves out there in the rural areas. After all, a man with links to Ol' Scratch was not one to be messed with.

Here's a bit from the Cascade Blues Association's, Peetie Wheatstraw page:
    In the early years of the Blues, it was a common practice for many artists to resort to gimmicks to help them draw crowds from the poor field hands or factory workers looking for a good time to spend their hard-earned wages during the weekend. Some used showmanship as in the case of Charley Patton who astonished his listeners with stunts such as playing his instrument between his legs or behind his head. Many others utilized tales of supernatural qualities to gain attention to themselves. This is perhaps best acknowledged by the crossroads myth employed by both Tommy Johnson and Robert Johnson. Both were said to have met the Devil at such a location at midnight, handing him their guitars and allowing him to tune it to give them unheard of skills in exchange for their souls. Neither artist denied this tale. And, why should they when it helped draw interest in their music and brought money to their pockets.

    Peetie Wheatstraw also emphasized a relationship with the Prince of Darkness as a means to attract an audience. An enormously popular musician during the 1930s, he often publicized himself as the "The Devil's Son-In-Law" or the "High Sheriff of Hell." Eventually, like Robert Johnson before him, if he had indeed sold his soul, his time came due, leaving this world at a much too early age and at the height of his career.


Peetie Wheatstraw

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: RWilhelm
Date: 17 Jul 04 - 01:01 PM

I heard the devil isn't giving guitar lessons anymore because modern players can't afford them.

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: Mudlark
Date: 17 Jul 04 - 01:06 PM

Anyway, these guys are all late comers. Paginini got to that crossroads first, with his fiddle.

Subject: RE: Sold my soul like Robert Johnson
From: GUEST,Clint Keller
Date: 17 Jul 04 - 02:02 PM

A while back I saw a video with John Hammond interviewing Robert Johnsons' ex-girlfriend Willie Mae and she said he told her that he'd sold his soul to the devil.

She also said he was a "cute little brown thing," as I recall.

(you remember Willie Mae...)

clint