Robert Johnson - new account + photo

Subject: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: Tony Rees
Date: 23 May 20 - 12:41 AM

Just when you thought everyone that knew Robert Johnson (iconic blues singer, died 1938) must be dead by now - e.g. Honeyboy Edwards, living to 96 but passing in 2011 - along comes another - Annye C. Anderson, a step relative - who says, and by the way, I have a photo of him nobody has ever seen before !! More info here:

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/05/exclusive-first-look-at-new-photograph-of-blues-legend-robert-johnson

and upcoming book info:

https://www.hachette.com.au/preston-lauterbach-annye-c-anderson/brother-robert-growing-up-with-robert-johnson

Well, I'll be darned!

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: Tony Rees
Date: 23 May 20 - 03:27 AM

From last year's book "Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson" by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow in 2019: "At this point, whatever remains unknown about Robert Johnson will probably remain unknown forever.... the possibility of any new revelations surfacing seems extremely remote." Interesting but (happily) wrong!

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 23 May 20 - 03:38 AM

I must say I thought this might be more bullshit. But I have recently read two books by Preston Lauterbach (co-author) which I found to be well researched and well written.

I have high hopes on this. The photograph on the book cover looks pretty convincing too.

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: Tony Rees
Date: 23 May 20 - 05:18 AM

Foreword by Elijah Wald... afterword a Q&A with Anderson, Lauterbach, Wald, and Peter Guralnick ... sounds legit to me...

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: GUEST,Big Al Whittle
Date: 23 May 20 - 11:20 AM

All of us muso's who have a lived a life of relative obscurity - suddenly you feel nervous about what shit they're going to dig up about us.

As for RJ suffering from character assasination - violent drunkard, devils for mates, hell hound on his trail etc. - couldn't his actual song lyrics have been a contributing factor? I suppose a lot of people must have furnished the legend seekers with what they were looking for.

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: Tony Rees
Date: 24 May 20 - 01:08 AM

Some more extensive discussion of the not-yet-released book and new photo (plus the usual meandering off topic stuff) here:

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/new-photo-of-robert-johnson-authentic.960917/

Interestingly, the 94 year old Annye Anderson declined to be interviewed for Conforth and Wardlow's 2019 book on the grounds that she had her own in preparation... resulting in Conforth going to town on Facebook saying that the new book did not have much new to say: "Virtually everything she "knows" was told to her second-hand by Carrie, who coached her as what to say for use in their (Carrie's) lawsuits against Steven LaVere and against Claud Johnson." Ah, family tradition, what could it possibly tell us that we have not heard before...

I'm sure there is more to this story than is being publicly aired, but will leave it to others to draw their own conclusions... at least she has the new photo on her side, probably leaving the above mentioned authors a bit discomfited after their "possibility of any new revelations surfacing seems extremely remote" remark less than a year earlier :)

- Tony

Subject: RE: Robert Johnson - new account + photo
From: Tony Rees
Date: 24 May 20 - 02:48 AM

Completely ignoring of course that Annye Anderson grew up in the same household that Johnson did, before going out on his own, and is quite possibly the last person alive to be able to give a first hand account of the same. One cannot help feeling that if she had consented to give Conforth and Wardlaw her interview, it would have been hailed as the (blues) scoop of the century...