Today would have been Robert Johnson’s 97th Birthday
Posted by jroxx on May 8, 2008
Robert Johnson was born on May 8th, 1911 and passed away on August 13th 1938 at the too young age of 27. With today being what would have been Robert johnson’s 97th birthday, I thought I would take a look at the influence that his music still has to this day.
If you had any doubts about how much Robert Johnson influenced modern music, read the following passage from his Wikipedia page:
When Keith Richards was first introduced to Johnson’s music by his band mate Brian Jones, he replied, “Who is the other guy playing with him?”, not realizing it was all Johnson playing on one guitar. Clapton described Johnson’s music as “the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice.”
He is ranked #5 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, ahead of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana.
Just a few Robert Johnson originals that we have come to know and love from versions by modern rock & blues artists:
George Harrison (with Eric Clapton & Leon Russell) - Come on in My Kitchen
Rolling Stones - Love In Vain
Gov’t Mule - 32-20 Blues
ZZ Top - Dust My Broom
Red Hot Chili Peppers - They’re Red Hot
