Actually, the crossroads story was not originally told about Robert Johnson, it was told about Tommy Johnson by his older brother Ledell. The first time anyone heard the story about Robert Johnson was when Son House told it in a 1966 interview. Robert wasn't even that well known until about 1961 duringthe blues revival. Prior to that he was known to other bluesmen but not to the general public. He had little impact on blues during his lifetime unlike, say, Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker or B.B.