Well, I guess we can’t do an ongoing blues music feature without including Robert Johnson – our artist of the week.

This is where (arguably) rock and roll legend was born. How did this guy get so good in (reportedly) just under a year? Simple: Head down Clarksdale, find a (the) crossroads, hand your guitar over to a sketchy looking fellow who re-tunes it to (I think) open G, hand over your soul through a blood contract, and boom! Lou’s your uncle.

Charley Patton and Son House had a hard time shaking this guy who hung around with them like a lost dog, played and sang so bad that they laughed themselves to tears, and just couldn’t take a hint.

THEN…… he disappears for a while, shows up out of the blue with a talent and voice that make the aforementioned 2 blues masters roll their jaws back up off the floor, and says a whole lot of nothing about the whole thing. Then as quickly as he came, he went – either poisoned by a jealous girl, or alone in a hotel from syphilis – depends which source you reference.

Anyway, he left us 29 masterpieces of torture, love, regret, terror, and humour, and for that I am grateful. Hope you are at peace Robert. Peace out…

Key tracks:

Crossroad Blues

Hellhound  On My Trail

Kind Hearted Woman

Preaching’ Blues (my personal favourite)

Best served with: Mortise and Tenon – simple, solid, and ancient

and… a cross, bible, ankh: Some type of protective charm

 

So this week, the spotlight is on R.L. Burnside, or Rule, or simply R, depending what section of the world you’re in. This guy was the last of the real deal, farmer by trade, Hill Country Bluesman the rest of the time. He was a late bloomer for sure, playing off and on through the ’60’s and ’70’s before really hitting his stride in the ’80’s. This guy wasn’t afraid of anything, and in the early part of the decade even hooked up with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and introduced scratch, loops, and electronica into his music. I guess its pretty obvious he is one of my all time favourites, and I miss him dearly (passed away in 2005).

If I were to pose the question: “How many chords do you need for an amazing tune?” If you’re into Jazz, maybe 16, rock, 3-8, blues, just 3, but Hill Country?? 1 MY FRIEND, just 1. Don’t believe me? check out “Jumper On The Line”, and prepare to be corrected!!

Key tracks: just about any, but to narrow just a bit:

Goin’ Down South

Just Like a Woman

Jumper On The Line

Snakedrive

and the list goes on……

Best served with: Something rough, beautiful, and simple: An art metal abstract in dirty copper…..

….and a cold cold beer, with a smile – just like R.L.’s

 

This week’s artist is none other than the great Blind Willie Johnson. A fire and brimstone preacher with a voice that is equal parts scary and soulful. Aside form the signature “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” (yep, its on voyager’s golden record), “Motherless Children Have a Hard Time” is guaranteed to send shivers up your spine, unless you got a hole in your soul (Burnside, 1979 – more on him later). I drift off to sleep exhausted after a hard day at UBC more often to this artist, then all others combined. Spin this, sit back, and get carried away to a street corner somewhere in Beaumont, sometime in the 30’s…….

Key tracks:

Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground

Motherless Children Have a Hard Time

God Moves on the Water

 

Best served with:

Something old simple and beautiful  – Dovetail joint

Whiskey…neat