I recently noticed that tomorrow would have been the 100th birthday of Robert Johnson. Don’t think you know him? I suspect that, if you listen to music, you probably do. He’s the guy who over a reasonably short period wrote and recorded a number of songs that became staples of rock and blues artists.
Probably the first Johnson song I heard was Crossroads by Cream a song a/k/a Crossroads Blues.
There’s also The Rolling Stones’ Love in Vain and Travelling Riverside Blues by Led Zeppelin. One standard is Sweet Home Chicago, here performed by Robert Lockwood Jr. Here’s a list of Johnson songs. My favorite may be Walkin’ Blues by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band; unfortunately, I can’t find a direct link, though if you follow this link, you can join some website for free for a week, which will let you hear it.
Eric Clapton, formerly of the aforementioned Cream, recorded a whole 2004 album of Robert Johnson songs called Me and Mr. Johnson. A version of a song from that album, They’re Red Hot.
This week’s cover story edition on Coverville features the songs of Robert Johnson, including a couple I’ve mentioned.
What are your favorite Robert Johnson recordings or covers?