Hi, my name is Parissa and this is my first blog post. I will be discussing two different articles that compare sports and music from two different eras and their importance and impact in history.

First we look at the Smithsonian article “A Year of Hope for Joplin and Johnson” written by Michael Walsh. This article dives into the lives and history of boxer Jack Johnson and Musician Scott Joplin. Both African American men had their own way of making a mark in American history, specifically during the 1900s.’

Jack Johnson was the first black and reigning world heavyweight champion when faced the undefeated Jim Jefferies in the ring, who actually refused to enter the ring with Johnson at first due to the difference in race. This fight is historically known for race riot that occurred after Johnson won. Many were injured and more than 20 people were killed, majority being African American.

Johnson was known for “challenging the white establishment at every turn.” This lead to his name being surrounded by a lot of controversy during early 1900s’. He was known for dating as well as marrying multiple white women which in 1912 actually lead to his arrest and conviction for taking his girlfriend across state line which became a law in 1910. Over a hundred years later, President Donald trump has pardoned the late boxer and stated “I am taking this very riotous step, I believe to correct a wrong that occurred in   our history and to honor a truly legendary boxing champion.”

The story of Scott Joplin on the other hand is completely different. Joplin was a pianist and songwriter known as the “King of ragtime” however Joplin wanted to be known for more. He began composing music that reflected the racial history of America. He composed his music to tell the stories and tales shard by others including philosophers.

A few of his most popular pieces include, “The Maple Leaf Rag,” “The Entertainer,” and the opera Treemonisha. Treemonisha is the story of an young African America girl who was “found under a tree by an ex-slave named Monisha. Treemonisha grows into a woman who will change the course of her post-Civil war community.” Unfortunately Joplin was not alive enough to see this opera make it to Broadway however, it eventually did in 1972.

Both Johnson and Joplin made their mark in American history by showing and physically proving that African-American people will not back down and conform to what others thought they should be. Even though they did so in their own ways, it’s clear that Johnson and Joplin had the same goal, to challenge racial stereotypes.

Johnson not only proved that he was capable of becoming the first black world heavyweight champion, but throughout his adult life he showed that he would not conform to the “racial rules” placed upon him. Interracial relationships were frowned upon, especially in the early 1900s’ however Johnson continuously dated and marrying white women. He continued to do so even after he was convicted and married a white woman once again.  As well he was known for spending money freely and driving luxury cars.

Joplin on the other hand challenged racial stereotypes in more of a passive way. Following the philosophies of Booker T. Washington, Joplin intentionally reflected Washington’s messages into his music and operas. The opera discussed earlier, Treemonisha was written based on Washington’s stories. James Joplin made it clear he did want these stories or himself as a musician to be silenced.

Now we look at another article called, “Taylor swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ Is the First pure piece of Trump- Era Pop Art” written by Mark Harris. This article relates to the previous article I discussed, as they both look at history making boxing matches and music. However, the tone of this article is much more casual. I believe the first article presents the information in more of a serious and educational way. Whereas the second article presents its information In more of a humorous and entertaining way.

Michael Walsh’s article suggests that during that particular era, race and racial stereotypes had on impact on everything from sports and music. However that did not stop individuals like Johnson and Joplin to stand up and go against those stereotypes. Mark Harris’s article also discussed a boxing match between two difference races, Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor, but beside McGregor being a “racial baiter” to hype up the match it doesn’t compare to the story of Johnson and Joplin. The fight was extremely publicized and promoted and made millions of dollars in the end. it did not make anywhere near the historical imprint.

Now if we compare the music discussed in both articles, we can clearly see there is no comparison again. The music form Joplin’s era has resonated throughout history. It had meaning and purpose and stood for his beliefs. His music told the stories that he believed should be told. In Harris’s article, Taylor Swift’s hit song ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is presented and discussed. The song is all about Taylor’s feuds with other Hollywood stars. The so called song of the summer really has no true or importance message. It only comes to show what music of this era lacks meaning like it used to. It’s all about the flashy videos and what will sell. Now don’t get me wrong, we definitely see a few songs here and there that have real importance messages, however, the issues in 2018 are not the same as the issues from 100 years ago.

I believe that was these articles suggest dictates and influences how we view these artists work. Looking at Taylor swift specifically, she is a very successful artist who has turned out to be a very good song writer but this song does not represent her that way and it may cause her audience to question her talent and the quality of the music she produces.

Sources

“Jack Johnson.” Biography.com. May 25, 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/jack-johnson-9355980.

“A Year of Hope for Joplin and Johnson.” Smithsonian.com. June 01, 2010. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-year-of-hope-for-joplin-and-johnson-123024/.

Records/YouTube, Big Machine. “Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ Is a Pure Piece of Trump-Era Pop Art.” Vulture. August 30, 2017. Accessed July 18, 2018. http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/taylor-swift-look-what-you-made-me-do-pure-trump-era-pop-art.html.

“Scott Joplin.” Biography.com. January 19, 2018. Accessed July 18, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/scott-joplin-9357953.

‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America by John Jeremiah Sullivan provides a fascinating read regarding the history of the original 1921 Shuffle Along and the 2016 Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. With the only disclaimer being one of positionality, this article being written by a white journalist.

Shuffle Along demonstrated a curious social effect, in which an assault on a people’s presence by an oppressor inadvertently creates a space for their voice to be heard. Blackface while intended as a mockery allowed black performers onto the stage, for “the stage had power in it, and someone who appeared there couldn’t help partaking of that power, if only ever so slightly”(Sullivan) a platform from which their voices might be heard. Their voices still ring out, for haven’t we all heard the tune of I’m Just Wild About Harry, I know I have, whether we can place it or not it is all around us in our media and culture.

Shuffle Along pushed the boundaries of it’s time, taking blackface from a symbol of oppression and using it to expand the spaces available to black performers. At the same time the play pushes the up against the taboo of black sexuality and instead of recoiling celebrates it. This progressive push can be compared to the dance style of patting Juba, a style of black inspired dance with Celtic influences used to entertain white audiences which later evolved into tap dancing. Much like the actors in Shuffle Along patting Juba was a venue in which blacks in blackface gained access to the stage such as the second Juba of P.T. Barnum’s circus (Sullivan).

Shuffle Along, however; did not showcase the first black performers to be successful on broadway, the path was already paved by Bert Williams who together George Walker started pushing back against the racial limits imposed on black performers and breaking into areas of performance previously dominated by white performers. Reflecting back on the title of the article, there truly is a lost history behind black performance in america within our collective memory.

Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed celebrates the legacy of Shuffle Along, tackling the challenge of “[bringing] the show into the future and [preserving] it at the same time and [doing] each perfectly at every minute”(Sullivan) Based only on what I have read in this article, the approach of exploring the shows background seems to have merit. Preserving the framilier songs while telling the story of their creators puts a fresh spin on this to appeal to contemporary audiences while paying homage to the original material.

After reading this article the perspectives offered in Popular Music In America: The Beat Goes On come across as correct, but a shallow correctness at best, where meaning may easily be lost. The textbook is correct that “ministrily would give blacks their first substantial opportunity to enter the entertainment business” (Campbell) and that blackface was used by the white majority as a tool to visually impose their biases. However, the textbook fails to elaborate on the black performers who used blackface as a tool to gain the stage, and from it their voice. Future editions of this book would be far richer if they included a deeper discussion on blackface and the performers who rose despite the opposition they faced.

Personally I found this article educational as while I had heard of blackface and the tune of I’m Just Wild About Harry I knew nothing about the influence Shuffle Along has had on our culture. In particular I was interested with how black performers used blackface, a symbol of oppression and mockery to give them access to the stage and a platform from which their voices would be heard. Reading this article helped inform my perspective and gain deeper understanding of the oppression black performers faced, and that minority performers still face today. I would recommend this article for those interested in American music history, or the history of oppression in America and of those who pushed back against it.

Bibliography

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. Cengage, 2019.

“John Jeremiah Sullivan.” Wikipedia. July 03, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Jeremiah_Sullivan.

Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “‘Shuffle Along’ and the Lost History of Black Performance in America.” The New York Times. March 24, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/27/magazine/shuffle-along-and-the-painful-history-of-black-performance-in-america.html?mcubz=1.

         Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy in American College Textbooks by Joseph Byrd provides a overview of the history of blackface minstrelsy in America and a critique of how the topic is examined in many college textbooks. Challenging the way textbooks downplay or distort the history of racism in the entertainment industry. This critical approach is ultimately necessary if one is going to play a part in challenging the racist structures still present in our time.

         Something that caught my attention is my first reading of this article was of how many textbooks misrepresented the history of blackface minstrelsy. Education is central to challenging oppression in any form. Misrepresenting history as many textbooks do is simply an invitation to repeat the mistakes of the past within an uninformed audience. Ignorance is often the place in society in which hateful biases are breed, growing forth into actions. Hopefully with critiques like the one offered in this article more authors and publishers will present a more truthful version of history, that will help us understand the past and work towards a brighter future.

         The article uses the term lumpenproletariat to describe “the primary audience for blackface shows was lower-class urban males”(Byrd). As defined in the Oxford Dictionary a lumpenproletariat is “(especially in Marxist terminology) the unorganized and unpolitical lower orders of society who are not interested in revolutionary advancement” (Oxford Dictionaries). This perfectly describes the audience of the early minstrels whose racial biases were easily stroked by these performances as group-think and racial tensions grew. This deepens our understanding of the genre in that as much as it carried the attitudes of the genre to all levels of society, it was originally intended as crude humor for the uneducated lower classes. However, its message of racism connected to the biases of many Americans and it spread beyond its original demographic. A lesson can be learned for us today, in that tolerating oppression in even the smallest isolated form such as crude humor is inviting it to continue and spread.

          The racist cultural influence of minstrelsy was so pronounced that it even inspired naming laws. The oppressive Jim Crow laws were “laws or practices designed to separate whites and blacks in public and private facilities. Used in Southern states of the United States to preserve segregated schools, transport facilities, and housing, until the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ was declared unconstitutional in 1954”(Oxford Reference). These laws are named after a popular minstrel character named Jim Crow, a “ragged rural hobo” created by Thomas Rice and George Dixon in the 1930s (Byrd).

          Perhaps at its best our textbook Popular Music In America: The Beat Goes On states that “minstrelsy cultivated prejudice and ignorance in some and reinforced it in others”(Campbell); however, while true this is offers a limited understanding at best. In order to effectively challenge racism we need to understand the systems and structures that support it, and we do not gain that understanding from the five delicately phrased and evasive paragraphs this text offers. Ignorance can only be displaced by education. Sadly at the end of the day American textbooks are produced for and purchased by American colleges. This provides an financial incentive to authors to whitewash any history that may be uncomfortable or conflict with their consumers biases. Eventually as critics like Byrd highlight and challenge the ways history is obscured, a clearer view may come to light. For now though it remains our responsibility to be critical, value education, and do our part as informed citizens to build a better tomorrow for all.

Bibliography

Byrd, Joseph. “Whitewashing Blackface Minstrelsy in American College Textbooks.” Popular Music and Society 32, no. 1 (02 2009): 77-86. doi:10.1080/03007760802207882.

Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: The Beat Goes on. Cengage, 2019.

“Jim Crow Laws – Oxford Reference.” Social Class and Sport – Oxford Reference. June 16, 2017. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100020789.

“Lumpenproletariat | Definition of Lumpenproletariat in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lumpenproletariat.

Hi my name is Olivia, and for my second post will be about Ma Rainey and her contributions to Blues music.

Known as the “Mother of Blues,” Gertrude Pridgett, better known as “Ma” Rainey; remains one of the most important early blue singers, who incorporated blues into minstrel and vaudeville stage shows, blending styles from country blues, early jazz, and her own personal musical style.

Early Life and Career

Born on April 26, 1886 in Columbus, Georgia; Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett) made her performance debut at the age of 14 in a local show called “A Bunch of Blackberries.” Soon after Ma Rainey was inspired to sing the blues after hearing a girl sing the blues in a theatre in St. Louis in 1902. By 18, she had become one of the South’s most popular vaudeville entertainers, and the first to make the rude, low-down blues of the country juke joints her specialty. After marrying comedy sonster William “Pa” Rainey in 1904, the couple traveled and toured with the popular Rabbit Foot Minstrels, billed as ”Ma and Pa Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues.”

Separated from her husband in 1916, Rainey toured with her own band, Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Sets, featuring a chorus line and a Cotton Blossoms Show, and Donald McGregor’s Carnival Show.

Entering the Recoding Industry 

In 1923 Rainey signed with Paramount Records. That December she made her first eight recordings for the label which included the songs “Bad Luck Blues,” “Bo-Weevil Blues” and “Moonshine Blues.” Over the next five years, she recorded more than a total of one hundred songs, including numerous classics, and with such luminous sidemen as Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Kid Ory, and Coleman Hawkins. Her sides included “Jelly Bean Blues,” “Walking Blues,” “Black Cat, Hoot Owl Blues,” Runaway Blues,” “Sleep Talking Blues,” “Black Eye Blues,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”

Ma Rainey  was known for being called numerous names, “Mother of the Blues,” the “Songbird of the South,” the “Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues” and the “Paramount Wildcat.” Her music gave the public a distinct Southern folk based music, singing about life’s joys and sorrows in a poetic but simple direct language. Her songs were about many themes, such as prostitution, domestic violence, murder, abandonment, heart break, promiscuity, drinking binges, the odyssey of travel, the workplace and the prison road gang, magic and superstition.

Ma Rainy had immense stage presence, and was noticeable with her gold teeth and feathers crowning her hair; long beautiful gowns and the many diamonds and gold necklaces she wore. Her voice was unique, was capable to capture audiences that heard her.

As Dorsey recalled, in The Rise of Gospel Blues, “When she started singing, the gold in her teeth would sparkle. She was in the spotlight. She possessed listeners; they swayed, they rocked, they moaned and groaned, as they felt the blues with her.”

Rainey‘s recordings and performances were extremely popular among black audiences, particularly in the south. After reaching the height of her popularity in the late ’20s, her career faded away by the early ’30s as female blues singing became less popular with the blues audience.

She retired from performing in 1933, settling down in her hometown of Columbus for the remainder of her life until her death in 1939. She left behind a legacy, which continues to move and influence successive generations of blues, country, and rock & roll musicians.

Rainey’s death came just as her work began gaining serious attention and recognition for her historical contribution, impact, and overall influence on the Blues. She was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame in 1983, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992,  Georgia Women of Achievement in 1993, and in 2004 “See, See Rider” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Ma Rainey faced several challenges as a black women in America where civil rights belonged only to white people. In a time of heteronormative view of sexuality; she boldly expressed her own lesbian sexuality within the lyrics within some of her songs. Songs which she sang unapologetically about taboo topics of the time, such as lesbian relationships. As an entertainer she faced harsh criticism for her ‘ugly’ stage appearance; however, she “didn’t care, because she pulled in the crowds.”

Some Music from the “Mother of Blues”

The first song I chose is “Slave To The Blues” because it describes the ongoing existence of slavery and oppressive treatment towards African Americans within American culture and music. Restricted with no choice or civil rights; Ma Rainy paints the hopelessness she feels as an African American woman who can never escape from being chained from the power of men, white people, slavery and the blues. As demonstrated through these lyrics:

Blues do tell me : do i have to die a slave
Do you hear me screaming : you’re going to take me to my grave

If i could break these chains : and let my worried heart go free
Well it’s too late now : the blues have made a slave of me

The Second song I chose is “Chain Gang Blues.” An example of Rainey’s poetic writing style; no matter where she goes, she will always be treated like a criminal; forever criticized for everything she does based on the colour of her skin.

The final song I chose is “Walking Blues.’ Describing how African Americans had to present themselves with “their heads bowed down” to the authority and dominance of white culture. Ignored and “left with no news”, feelings of frustration being passed down to the next generation show through her lyrics:

Walked and walked till I almost lost my mind

Sources:

BHS. “Ma Rainey Biography at Black History Now.” Black Heritage Commemorative Society. June 15, 2011. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://blackhistorynow.com/ma-rainey/.

Garau, Annie. “Why American Music Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Ma Rainey, Mother Of The Blues.” All That’s Interesting. December 18, 2017. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://allthatsinteresting.com/ma-rainey.

Jazz, All About. “Ma Rainey @ All About Jazz.” All About Jazz Musicians. October 24, 2013. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/marainey.

“Ma Rainey.” Biography.com. April 28, 2017. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/ma-rainey-9542413.

“Ma Rainey.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/ma-rainey.

O’Neal, Jim. “Ma Rainey | Biography & History.” AllMusic. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ma-rainey-mn0000188279/biography.

Orr, Lee N. “Gertrude “Ma” Rainey (1886-1939).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. May 09, 2013. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/gertrude-ma-rainey-1886-1939.

Sources: Elvis Presley, Linkin Park

Summary

Together we will explore the journey of rock and roll between the legendary Elvis Presley and the modern artist Linkin Park. Led Zeppelin and Helmet will also be discussed as they form the bridge that connect the two very different iterations of rock. With the help of  Elvisualization (made by Spotify),we can see how each band influenced one another. It is remember to note that Elvis Presley is the root in the Elvisualization graph; he has heavily influenced popular music in today’s world and will continue to in the future. First we will look at how Linkin Park was affected by Helmet. Then we will explore how Led Zeppelin impacted Helmet, and close the article on how Elvis Presley influenced Led Zeppelin.

Linkin Park – Helmet

Linkin Park has transformed throughout the years, starting with an angry style of punk rock. The song linked below (In the End) is a great example of how their earlier music sounded. In 2014, Yahoo interviewed Linkin Park member Mike Shinoda and questioned him about their roots; in the article Shinoda expresses: [1]

“The kind of aggressive and angry lyrics that we were coming up with for The Hunting Party were more mature than what we would have written to these types of songs 10 years ago.”

 – Mike Shinoda (2014 , Yahoo Interview)

This aggressive style of rock expressed in the popular hit In the End is also heard in Helmet’s songs as well which we will explore soon. In an LA times interview also conducted in 2014 when their newest album Hunting Party was just released; in it they mention that Linkin Park relied on bands such as Helmet, Minor threat, and Refused for inspiration when they initially began.^[4] The Yahoo interview also confirmed that bands like Helmet, Strife, and Refused were major influences in their uprising.^[3] 

Apart from musical similarities between the two bands, one can simply look at their album and band covers to see the resemblance. Both bands tend to wear darker colours and a casual to semi-casual attire with the occasional plaid shirt mixed in as well.

Before we move on to talk about Led Zeppelin’s influences on Helmet, its worth talking about the song linked below One More Light – Linkin Park.

Chester Bennington, the previous singer for Linkin Park commit suicide nearly one year ago on July 17th (2017).The song expresses the importance of human life and self-worth, that everyone should care about the health and happiness of others; it will serves as a tribute to Chester and many others who’ve decided to take their own life. It also shows the transformation of Linkin Park from angry punk rock to a more soothing and relaxed punk rock that focuses on incorporating deeper meaning into their lyrics.

Helmet – Led Zeppelin

Helmet has seen several different members come and go but Page Hamilton has been with them since 1989. Its worth noting his significance to the band before we dive into an interview between him and Guitar World. In this interview Hamilton reveals that he was inspired to start playing guitar after listening to Led Zeppelin at the age of 17.^[1]  Hamilton goes onto to express his love for guitar and that he really wanted to create his own style of music. ^[1]   This explains why Helmet and Led Zeppelin have their own distinct sounds, not a carbon copy of one another. However, both have an emphasis on letting the guitar “sing” with magical solos.

Appearance-wise, Helmet was formed nearly a decade after Led Zeppelin’s first break-up in 1980; as such, there aren’t any outstanding physical similarities between the two groups. Unfortunately for Helmet, long luscious hair seemed to die with the first rendition of Led Zeppelin.  Before our next discussion, here is Unsung, a popular hit by Helmet. Notice the role that the electrical guitar plays in their song and keep that in mind when we explore Led Zeppelin and Elvis Presley.

Led Zeppelin – Elvis Presley

The legendary Led Zeppelin is hard rock band that formed out of England in the late 1960’s. Their most iconic song is without a doubt Stairway to Heaven.

You might be wondering why the song is over 10 minutes long at first but will then shortly realize how much emphasis they like to put on their guitar solos. Although the band may not have the magical voice that the King, Elvis Presley had, they make up for it in their ridiculous solos. Ultimate Class Rock covers the first human interaction that Led Zeppelin had with Elvis; during their meeting, Led Zeppelin member Robert Plant made a joke about how they never perform sounds checks, but if they did it would be to Presley’s music.^[2] This puts into perspective how influential Elvis really was on the world of rock when Led Zeppelin worships him too.

Elvis Presley’s influence on Led Zeppelin, Helmet, and Linkin Park

Elvis Presley serves as the ultimate role model for rock music even in today’s world. His mesmerizing guitar skills definitely had on impact on all three of the bands we focused on. Although Led Zeppelin, Helmet, and Linkin Park all had a different style and mood than Elvis, they all had strong support from their lead guitarist and drummer. They did not adopt his fashion sense or dance moves but were still able to put on a show much like he did, getting the crowd into their respective moods.

In the Ghetto is an emotional song about the cycle of poverty in America; although it is not an original, Elvis turns it into his own here.  One More Light by Linkin Park has a lot of similarities with In the Ghetto. In both instances the artists pour all of their emotion into the song to raise awareness for their listeners. It is clear to see that Elvis has made a long-lasting impact on today’s music as current artists still cast a shadow of what once was the King.

References

1. “Interview – Guitar World – August 1992.” Interview with Auster. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://www.bluecricket.com/helmet/interviews/gw892.html.
2. Corbinreiff. “The Day Led Zeppelin Met Elvis Presley.” Ultimate Classic Rock. May 11, 2015. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-meet-elvis-presley/.
3. Wiederhorn, Jon. “Linkin Park Seek Original Sound for ‘The Hunting Party’.” Yahoo! News. June 25, 2014. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/yahoo-music/linkin-park-seek-original-sound-hunting-party-183836270.html.
4. Wood, Mikael. “Linkin Park Comes Screaming Back with ‘Hunting Party’.” Los Angeles Times. June 21, 2014. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-linkin-park-hunting-party-20140621-story.html.

The song I’ve chosen to blog about is called “Me and the Devil”, written by Robert Johnson. I was quite surprised to find out that it was written by Robert Johnson, as I am quite familiar with the version performed by Gil Scott Heron, and I had assumed it was written by him.

Heron’s version instrumentally is much darker, with a wider array of sounds including very prominent drums and synths, and obviously crisper due to technological improvements. His voice is also much raspier due to decades of crack smoking[2]. But, I digress. The version we’re talking about is the original.

Musically, the instrumental is skeletal, just Johnson plucking sadly on his guitar. Often its quietly in the background, but then it breaks into the forefront with a brief eerie riff, and then its back to the background. It paints an image of the kind of sound W. C. Handy would have heard when he first discovered someone playing what he would call blues in 1903[3], though obviously not quite as skilled. Its known as a shuffle rhythm, where the beat is divided into two unequal parts.

Accompanying the skeletal instrumental is Johnson’s masterful blues vocal style. Its a mixture between singing and talking, starting high and ending low. There are frequent long pauses in both vocal and guitar playing. The vocals combined with the guitar create a sound that is both creepy and sad simultaneously, or blue rather. At times Johnson seems full of emotion, other times hopeless, others darkly comical such as when he throws in an adlib (“babe I don’t care where you bury my body when I’m dead and gone”).

The lyrics are very dark and solemn, painting a picture of Johnson becoming one with the devil. The devil comes knocking at his door, and he greets him as an old friend,  in a sort of reluctant acceptance.  The refrain “Me and the Devil, walking side by side” repeats over and over. There is some suggestive and violent imagery, as Johnson says he’ll “beat his woman, until he’s satisfied”. He says explains the reason he’s “dogging her ’round” is the evil spirit inside of him. The song ends with him saying that they may bury his body down by the highway side so his evil spirit can ride the greyhound bus.

The lyrics are simplistic, but paint such a vivid picture. Its quick and swift but straight to the point. Its also one of the most well known tales of selling a soul to the devil, similar to the German play Faust. Johnson has another song with similar themes, crossroads, though it doesn’t explicitly mention the devil. Its become somewhat of a legend with Johnson however, that he took his guitar to the crossroads of highway 49 and 61 in Clarksdale, Mississippi to sell his soul. In return he was given mastery of the guitar.[1] This theory is also crafted from another song, “Cross Road Blues” by Johnson, though it doesn’t contain any explicit references to the devil.

One of the most interesting things about the legend is how many versions and variations of it there are. Some tales simply refer to the devil as a large black man, and there is a noticeable minority of fans who speculate that the real crossroad is in Memphis, Tennessee.[5] Numerous bars, and restaurants have popped up in spirit of this. There are also others who believe the figure Johnson met was not the devil, but the Voodoo trickster god Papa Legba.[6] Papa Legba is said to stand at crossroads, and direct appeals to the spiritual realm. Another interesting aspect is the idea that Johnson doesn’t care where he’s buried, and it might as well be by the highwayside where he can catch a bus. Its fitting in the regard that no one knows for sure where Johnson is buried, and there are a host of speculative graves.

I actually really enjoyed this song, as well as the other Johnson songs I’ve recently begun listening to. Its refreshing to listen to a song that is both meaningful and relatively simple. The instrumental does an excellent job of augmenting the yelpy, high pitched singing and dark lyrics. Reading about the legends and mythology surrounding Robert Johnson, and his supposed deal with the devil most likely impacted my view of the song, as it caused me to examine it more closely and in a different light.

This creepy song did a ton to cement Robert Johnson’s legacy. It helped shape the mythos and speculation about his life, and left questions in peoples minds about what had come of him, what was true and what was fiction. Even his mysterious death seemed fitting where he joined the 27 club and supposedly was murdered by a jealous husband of a woman he slept with.[4]

Sources:

1. Lewis, John. “Robert Johnson Sells His Souls to the Devil.” The Guardian. June 15, 2011. Accessed July 13, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/16/robert-johnson-sells-soul-devil.
2. Lynskey, Dorian. “The Downfall of Gil Scott-Heron.” The Guardian. November 15, 2001. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/nov/15/artsfeatures1.
3. “W.C. Handy Encounters the Blues – Tutwiler.” Paramount Records. Accessed July 17, 2018. http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/w-c-handy.
4. “The Story of Bluesman Robert Johnson’s Famous Deal With the Devil Retold in Three Animations.” Open Culture. July 21, 2015 Accessed July 17, 2018. http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/the-story-of-bluesman-robert-johnsons-famous-deal-with-the-devil-retold-in-three-animations.html.
5. “The Crossroads: Where Robert Johnson Sold His Soul to the Devil.” WONDERLUST. February 27, 2018. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://wonderlusttravel.com/black-history-month-clarksdale-mississippi-robert-johnson/.
6. Watman, Max. “Drinking at the Crossroads With the Ghost of Robert Johnson.” The Daily Beast. July 18, 2017. Accessed July 17, 2018. https://www.thedailybeast.com/drinking-at-the-crossroads-with-the-ghost-of-robert-johnson.