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Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson
An essential story of blues lore, black culture, and American music history
Robert Johnson’s recordings, made in 1936 and 1937, have profoundly influenced generations of singers, guitarists, and songwriters. Yet until now, his short life—he was murdered at the age of 27—has been poorly documented.
Gayle Dean Wardlow has been interviewing people who knew Johnson since the early 1960s, and he was the person who discovered Johnson’s death certificate in 1967. Bruce Conforth began his study of Johnson’s life and music in 1970 and made it his mission to fill in what was still unknown about him. In this definitive biography, the two authors relied on every interview, resource, and document, much of it material no one has seen before .
This is the first book about Johnson that documents his lifelong relationship with family and friends in Memphis, details his trip to New York, uncovers where and when his wife Virginia died and the impact this had on him, fully portrays the other women Johnson was involved with and tells exactly how and why he died and who gave him the poison that killed him.
Up Jumped the Devil will astonish blues fans worldwide by painting a living, breathing portrait of a man who was heretofore little more than a legend.
Robert Johnson’s recordings, made in 1936 and 1937, have profoundly influenced generations of singers, guitarists, and songwriters. Yet until now, his short life—he was murdered at the age of 27—has been poorly documented.
Gayle Dean Wardlow has been interviewing people who knew Johnson since the early 1960s, and he was the person who discovered Johnson’s death certificate in 1967. Bruce Conforth began his study of Johnson’s life and music in 1970 and made it his mission to fill in what was still unknown about him. In this definitive biography, the two authors relied on every interview, resource, and document, much of it material no one has seen before .
This is the first book about Johnson that documents his lifelong relationship with family and friends in Memphis, details his trip to New York, uncovers where and when his wife Virginia died and the impact this had on him, fully portrays the other women Johnson was involved with and tells exactly how and why he died and who gave him the poison that killed him.
Up Jumped the Devil will astonish blues fans worldwide by painting a living, breathing portrait of a man who was heretofore little more than a legend.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2019
101 people are currently reading
1192 people want to read
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January 31, 2020
Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson by Bruce Conforth is a 2019 Chicago Review Press publication.
Finally! A worthy biography of blues great Robert Johnson!
Even if you are not familiar with Robert Johnson, you have most likely heard his music, which has been covered by countless other Bluesmen and rock stars- most famously perhaps is Cream’s version of "Crossroads Blues", featuring Eric Clapton.
If you are familiar with Johnson, then you are probably aware of the aura of mystery and myth surrounding his life and his music. Legend has it that Johnson made a deal with the devil at the Mississippi crossroads in exchange for his extraordinary talent as a blues guitarist. What fueled this speculation was that Johnson appeared to have achieved virtuoso status in a very short span of time.
Although many were hearing Johnson’s songs, through other artists, and most assuredly his influence on music, for decades, it wasn’t until the early 1990s, when a box set of his music was released, containing all of his previous recordings, that he began to gain wide, commercial recognition.
The legends and myths surrounding Johnson and his alleged pact with the devil seemed to have been packaged right along with his Grammy winning box set, taking on a life of its own.
Suddenly people were wildly curious about Robert Johnson, whose apparently dubious and painful death at the age of twenty-seven, added even more mystique to his legacy.
There have been books written and documentaries made about Robert Johnson. One documentary - Can't You Hear the Wind Howl- The Life and Music of Robert Johnson- is one I can vouch for- although is was made many years back. There is another one on Netflix, Devil at the Crossroads, but I haven't seen it yet and can't speak to its quality or accuracy.
When it comes to the various books written about him, the ones I have read have been underwhelming- until now.
This book puts most things about Johnson's life into a proper perspective, dispelling a few myths along the way. Although the organization wasn’t as tight as I would have liked, for once, I came away with a descent portrait of Robert Johnson, both personally and musically.
Overall, if you are interested in learning more about Robert Johnson, this is the book you want to invest in.
*I listened to this book on Hoopla. The narration is very good- highly recommend!
4 stars
Finally! A worthy biography of blues great Robert Johnson!
Even if you are not familiar with Robert Johnson, you have most likely heard his music, which has been covered by countless other Bluesmen and rock stars- most famously perhaps is Cream’s version of "Crossroads Blues", featuring Eric Clapton.
If you are familiar with Johnson, then you are probably aware of the aura of mystery and myth surrounding his life and his music. Legend has it that Johnson made a deal with the devil at the Mississippi crossroads in exchange for his extraordinary talent as a blues guitarist. What fueled this speculation was that Johnson appeared to have achieved virtuoso status in a very short span of time.
Although many were hearing Johnson’s songs, through other artists, and most assuredly his influence on music, for decades, it wasn’t until the early 1990s, when a box set of his music was released, containing all of his previous recordings, that he began to gain wide, commercial recognition.
The legends and myths surrounding Johnson and his alleged pact with the devil seemed to have been packaged right along with his Grammy winning box set, taking on a life of its own.
Suddenly people were wildly curious about Robert Johnson, whose apparently dubious and painful death at the age of twenty-seven, added even more mystique to his legacy.
There have been books written and documentaries made about Robert Johnson. One documentary - Can't You Hear the Wind Howl- The Life and Music of Robert Johnson- is one I can vouch for- although is was made many years back. There is another one on Netflix, Devil at the Crossroads, but I haven't seen it yet and can't speak to its quality or accuracy.
When it comes to the various books written about him, the ones I have read have been underwhelming- until now.
This book puts most things about Johnson's life into a proper perspective, dispelling a few myths along the way. Although the organization wasn’t as tight as I would have liked, for once, I came away with a descent portrait of Robert Johnson, both personally and musically.
Overall, if you are interested in learning more about Robert Johnson, this is the book you want to invest in.
*I listened to this book on Hoopla. The narration is very good- highly recommend!
4 stars
June 6, 2019
Of the biographies written about Robert Johnson, this one now takes front and center. I've read several of those books, and although the ones I read were well-written, this book occupies a place apart for Johnson biography. This is primarily due to the authors having a 50 year association with Johnson research: his times and his craft. Both authors began their research 50 years ago and thus actually spoke to people who knew Johnson. This book is not filled with speculation. Rather, it is a calm and scholarly and informed look at a brief life. In my opinion, if you wish to read one book about Johnson, this should be the choice.
May 3, 2019
Everyone knows the story about blues musician Robert Johnson selling his soul to the Devil at a Mississippi crossroads to become the greatest guitar player the world had ever seen.
Most have probably heard the story about the bluesman being cut down in his prime by a bitter woman who poisoned him.
Johnson's legacy is full of tall tales and inaccuracies that were never corrected after his untimely death.
Few facts are known about Robert Johnson's life and those that are have rarely been shared because most prefer to believe the tall tales that create a myth rather than a man.
"What we produced is a book based not on conjecture about Robert Johnson, but on first-person accounts of who he actually was. By doing so we hope to free Johnson from being the sign and myth that blues fan created and return him to his human particulars." *
Up Jumped the Devil collects these first-person accounts to share the story of Johnson's life from birth to death and includes birth, marriage, and death certificates along with census records and a surprisingly complete geneaology.
Readers learn that Johnson was born the illegitmate son of Noah Johnson and Julia Dodds. Julia left Noah Johnson when Robert was still an infant and eventually turned to her ex-husband (whom she had three previous children with), Charles Spencer (former last name Dodds), for help with the children. Julia left all of her children, including Robert, with Charles and his new wife Mollie while she struck out to find a way to support herself.
Robert grew up believing Charles Spencer was his father and it wasn't until much later he learned about Noah Johnson. Still, the Spencers became Robert's true family and he divided his time between Memphis and the Delta to be near them.
His mother eventually came to collect him from the Spencer home after she married a sharecropper and Robert was expected to work the fields and could no longer attend school.
Robert's disinterest in field work angered his stepfather and Robert would often disappear to visit the Spencers and ramble around with his guitar, which became his passion.
The one and only thing that ever took Robert away from his guitar was love. In 1929 he married Virginia Travis and became a sharecropper to support his wife. By the end of the year, Virginia was expecting their first child and she eventually traveled to her grandmother's home to prepare for the baby's birth.
Tragically, Viriginia and the baby died from birth complications and it wasn't until Robert arrived weeks later that he learned of their deaths. Virginia's family blamed Robert's music for the deaths of his wife and child. Robert's friends say this event caused him to turn his back on God.
At 19 years old Robert Johnson had lost his wife and his child. He eventually headed South to look for his biological father but instead found a friend and guitar mentor in Ike Zimmerman. Zimmerman helped Johnson realize his unique sound and part of their rehearsals led to the infamous myth of the Devil's Crossroads.
Ike's daughter admits her father practiced guitar with Robert Johnson in a graveyard but laughs at the crossroads myth; she thinks it was for the peace and quiet so they wouldn't be interrupted.
"They would leave and go to that cemetery. It's got them old tombstones, you know some of them new, it was some of them old ones. He'd sit back there with him. He wasn't at no crossroads. [It] was just a path. There wasn't no crossroads. They went 'cross the road [laughs]. 'Cause you gotta go across [the] road and go to that cemetery. They went over there and sat on the tombstones. Exactly. And that's where they was. Sitting there playing." *
By age 25, Robert's dream was realized when he became a recorded bluesman and his records could be found on jukeboxes and in record shops. He managed to record eight songs in his first session, which couldn't have been easy when he'd spent the previous night in jail and taken a beating.
As Robert's fame grew, so did the tall tales.
"Since Robert never spoke about his family or background, none of his musical acquaintances had any idea that he had received music lessons in school in Memphis, that his older stepbrother Charles had given him some lessons on the guitar and piano, that he literally got beatings for devoting his time to music instead of field work, that he had apprenticed with Ike Zimmerman, one of Mississippi's finest guitarists, nor that he might have had an eidetic memory for music. To them he was just a natural genius. They had no idea of the hours, months, and years he had devoted to learning his craft. Instead, his contemporaries attributed his abilities to some unseen talent that none of them possessed." *
"Given Robert's seemingly effortless abilities, it's understandable that some people attributed his skills to supernatural forces. How else could one man be so good at so many different styles of playing? And Robert, as protective of his playing technique as he was, was certainly not going to reveal any of his secrets to anyone." *
Johnson's journey was a downward spiral, especially after he got a local girl pregnant. He tried to get her and the baby to leave with him but the girl's family obviously thought Robert was no good and the girl listened to her family, refusing to leave after he asked countless times.
Robert's livelihood was juking. He went from town to town performing, chasing women, and drinking heavily.
"He couldn't seem to stay away from imminent dangers or dangerous women. He had no love for working in the cotton fields and the church had no appeal. All he could do was keep moving and try to outrun the danger, both imaginary and real." *
It comes as no surprise that Robert Johnson's downfall was a woman.
After a man discovered his wife was having an affair with Johnson, he dissolved several mothballs into a jar of corn liquor, which his wife shared with Johnson during a break from his performance. The tasteless poison isn't usually fatal; normally it causes no more than a bout of nausea, vomiting, and confusion.
However, Robert had been diagnosed a month before with an ulcer and esophageal varices. The poison caused the ulcer and varices to hemorrhage and Robert Johnson died a slow and painful death at the age of 27.
Up Jumped the Devil is a fascinating look at Robert Johnson's brief life, from his incredible talent to his inner demons. It strives to give an accurate account of a man who became a musician, rather than a musician who became a legend, and I believe it succeeds in its delivery.
While we're left with far more questions than answers, it's easy to see in this book the events that shaped Robert Johnson and his music. It may not be as shocking as the legend of the Devil's Crossroads but the truth is just as appealing for me personally. I'm happy to finally have some solid facts about this talented musician.
Thanks to Chicago Review Press and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review. Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson is scheduled for release on June 4, 2019.
*Quotes included are from a digital review copy and are subject to change upon final publication.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Most have probably heard the story about the bluesman being cut down in his prime by a bitter woman who poisoned him.
Johnson's legacy is full of tall tales and inaccuracies that were never corrected after his untimely death.
Few facts are known about Robert Johnson's life and those that are have rarely been shared because most prefer to believe the tall tales that create a myth rather than a man.
"What we produced is a book based not on conjecture about Robert Johnson, but on first-person accounts of who he actually was. By doing so we hope to free Johnson from being the sign and myth that blues fan created and return him to his human particulars." *
Up Jumped the Devil collects these first-person accounts to share the story of Johnson's life from birth to death and includes birth, marriage, and death certificates along with census records and a surprisingly complete geneaology.
Readers learn that Johnson was born the illegitmate son of Noah Johnson and Julia Dodds. Julia left Noah Johnson when Robert was still an infant and eventually turned to her ex-husband (whom she had three previous children with), Charles Spencer (former last name Dodds), for help with the children. Julia left all of her children, including Robert, with Charles and his new wife Mollie while she struck out to find a way to support herself.
Robert grew up believing Charles Spencer was his father and it wasn't until much later he learned about Noah Johnson. Still, the Spencers became Robert's true family and he divided his time between Memphis and the Delta to be near them.
His mother eventually came to collect him from the Spencer home after she married a sharecropper and Robert was expected to work the fields and could no longer attend school.
Robert's disinterest in field work angered his stepfather and Robert would often disappear to visit the Spencers and ramble around with his guitar, which became his passion.
The one and only thing that ever took Robert away from his guitar was love. In 1929 he married Virginia Travis and became a sharecropper to support his wife. By the end of the year, Virginia was expecting their first child and she eventually traveled to her grandmother's home to prepare for the baby's birth.
Tragically, Viriginia and the baby died from birth complications and it wasn't until Robert arrived weeks later that he learned of their deaths. Virginia's family blamed Robert's music for the deaths of his wife and child. Robert's friends say this event caused him to turn his back on God.
At 19 years old Robert Johnson had lost his wife and his child. He eventually headed South to look for his biological father but instead found a friend and guitar mentor in Ike Zimmerman. Zimmerman helped Johnson realize his unique sound and part of their rehearsals led to the infamous myth of the Devil's Crossroads.
Ike's daughter admits her father practiced guitar with Robert Johnson in a graveyard but laughs at the crossroads myth; she thinks it was for the peace and quiet so they wouldn't be interrupted.
"They would leave and go to that cemetery. It's got them old tombstones, you know some of them new, it was some of them old ones. He'd sit back there with him. He wasn't at no crossroads. [It] was just a path. There wasn't no crossroads. They went 'cross the road [laughs]. 'Cause you gotta go across [the] road and go to that cemetery. They went over there and sat on the tombstones. Exactly. And that's where they was. Sitting there playing." *
By age 25, Robert's dream was realized when he became a recorded bluesman and his records could be found on jukeboxes and in record shops. He managed to record eight songs in his first session, which couldn't have been easy when he'd spent the previous night in jail and taken a beating.
As Robert's fame grew, so did the tall tales.
"Since Robert never spoke about his family or background, none of his musical acquaintances had any idea that he had received music lessons in school in Memphis, that his older stepbrother Charles had given him some lessons on the guitar and piano, that he literally got beatings for devoting his time to music instead of field work, that he had apprenticed with Ike Zimmerman, one of Mississippi's finest guitarists, nor that he might have had an eidetic memory for music. To them he was just a natural genius. They had no idea of the hours, months, and years he had devoted to learning his craft. Instead, his contemporaries attributed his abilities to some unseen talent that none of them possessed." *
"Given Robert's seemingly effortless abilities, it's understandable that some people attributed his skills to supernatural forces. How else could one man be so good at so many different styles of playing? And Robert, as protective of his playing technique as he was, was certainly not going to reveal any of his secrets to anyone." *
Johnson's journey was a downward spiral, especially after he got a local girl pregnant. He tried to get her and the baby to leave with him but the girl's family obviously thought Robert was no good and the girl listened to her family, refusing to leave after he asked countless times.
Robert's livelihood was juking. He went from town to town performing, chasing women, and drinking heavily.
"He couldn't seem to stay away from imminent dangers or dangerous women. He had no love for working in the cotton fields and the church had no appeal. All he could do was keep moving and try to outrun the danger, both imaginary and real." *
It comes as no surprise that Robert Johnson's downfall was a woman.
After a man discovered his wife was having an affair with Johnson, he dissolved several mothballs into a jar of corn liquor, which his wife shared with Johnson during a break from his performance. The tasteless poison isn't usually fatal; normally it causes no more than a bout of nausea, vomiting, and confusion.
However, Robert had been diagnosed a month before with an ulcer and esophageal varices. The poison caused the ulcer and varices to hemorrhage and Robert Johnson died a slow and painful death at the age of 27.
Up Jumped the Devil is a fascinating look at Robert Johnson's brief life, from his incredible talent to his inner demons. It strives to give an accurate account of a man who became a musician, rather than a musician who became a legend, and I believe it succeeds in its delivery.
While we're left with far more questions than answers, it's easy to see in this book the events that shaped Robert Johnson and his music. It may not be as shocking as the legend of the Devil's Crossroads but the truth is just as appealing for me personally. I'm happy to finally have some solid facts about this talented musician.
Thanks to Chicago Review Press and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review. Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson is scheduled for release on June 4, 2019.
*Quotes included are from a digital review copy and are subject to change upon final publication.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Read
July 17, 2019I really have to give this one some thought. Long before reading this book, and long before watching the Netflix documentary, I had already seen a documentary called Can't You Hear The Wind Howl: The Life and Music of Robert Johnson (1997) that goes over most of this same material. No surprise there, since Wardlow did a great deal of work for that documentary. Personally, I was really into Johnson's story in this book, but my thing is that that the information could have been organized a wee bit better, and that a bit more historical background/context would not have gone amiss. But overall, a very fine read that blues lovers/fans of Robert Johnson will genuinely appreciate.
More later -- actually I've been up since 4 a.m. and I'm pretty much fried.
More later -- actually I've been up since 4 a.m. and I'm pretty much fried.
Read
June 4, 2024I was already a fan of delta blues before I read this book though to be honest I had not (knowingly) heard Robert Johnson’s blues. This book tries to remedy the misinformation, myth and outright lies that still surround Johnson’s life and death. It’s thorough. So thorough. And it’s not written in the style of a can’t put down expose. You know what? Johnson’s life was exciting enough, without all the bull****. This book had the blues, the musicians, the time period (1930’s), the people, the homes, the families, love, loss, poverty, the American South, and hoodoo. For heaven’s sake, who needs beat up stories?!
Johnson was born in 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi and died twenty-seven years later (yes, that’s 27) in Greenwood, Mississippi. It was a short life and a short career. He only managed two recording sessions in that time, but wow could the guy play. I’m no expert musically but I love his sound and musicians have commented that they can’t believe the sound came from one man and a guitar. Surely there was a second guitarist? But no, just Johnson doing what he’d decided he wanted as a young boy and what he worked hard to succeed at.
The myth
I feel this brings us to the elephant in the room. The story about Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads for his blues skills. Well, I don’t consider this a spoiler so I hope you don’t either, but there is no evidence of that ever happening. Johnson never said so to anyone, he never wrote of it in his songs. If Johnson believed it happened, he never said so. Conforth and Wardlow do give suggestions in the biography of how this myth came about. I think a summary would be to say that hoodoo and conjure were very common in the areas Johnson lived, travelled and worked in that time period and selling your soul at the crossroads was already a known thing. Some of Johnson’s songs have mentions of hoodoo practices such as throwing down tricks, and even crossroads—but that wasn’t uncommon in delta blues music. Also, he learned some of his guitar skills from a man called Ike who, according to Ike’s children, used to go to the cemetery at night to practice his guitar. Finally…Johnson’s skills did improve by all reports.
The reality
It seems that Johnson became a master through sheer practice and hard work, and it feels disingenuous to cover that up. Johnson was said to have an incredible memory for songs, being able to play them after hearing them on the jukebox or by another musician just the once. That helped him get work because in the ‘jukes’ where he played people would often request songs. He couldn’t read music although he was taught to play piano for a short time as a youngster and there was no doubt he knew all the guitar cords. He even became a little secretive of his style after a bad experience sharing his personal way of playing with another musician who then recorded the sound—the first known recording of a new style—before Johnson got his chance. Ouch! Even so, it sounds like reports of Johnson playing with his back to people to protect his skills, where exaggerated.
It’s likely that Johnson would have made it big had he lived longer. He hadn’t long made his second group of recordings when he was murdered. A longer life would probably assume that he kept his drinking—which sounded like it was always heavy, but may have been worsening still near the end—and his way with women under control. Johnson loved women and found himself involved in every town he went to—as a travelling musician that was a lot of towns! That doesn’t have to mean ‘health hazard’ however, in Johnson’s case it did. Friends had warned Johnson many times to be careful of women who were married but he took a rather blase attitude. With hindsight, it was probably the best advice he ever got. I have to admit the further I read into the book the sadder I felt knowing that his life and music would be cut short unnecessarily.
The other side of Robert Johnson
I don’t want to leave it sounding as though music, women and booze sums up Johnson. Though that was the life he chose he also, though he never knew his father, had strong familial connections. Often described as a loner he nonetheless formed relationships with some other blues players and he was in love twice. Some tenderness was described, and the man had his fair share of trials and losses. It was heartbreaking to read about it.
This was a fantastic biography and well worth a read. It provided a ‘slice of life' through the story of one person because it captured the time, the lives of black people living in the south, the lives of the Delta Blues musicians and giving the most honest and thorough account of Robert Johnson himself. I like that Conforth and Wardlow don’t attempt to paint Johnson as a saint or a devil. They simply scoured through everything that is known about Johnson and presented him as the man he was.
Listen to Robert Johnson's 'Kind hearted woman blues' on Youtube
Johnson was born in 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi and died twenty-seven years later (yes, that’s 27) in Greenwood, Mississippi. It was a short life and a short career. He only managed two recording sessions in that time, but wow could the guy play. I’m no expert musically but I love his sound and musicians have commented that they can’t believe the sound came from one man and a guitar. Surely there was a second guitarist? But no, just Johnson doing what he’d decided he wanted as a young boy and what he worked hard to succeed at.
The myth
I feel this brings us to the elephant in the room. The story about Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads for his blues skills. Well, I don’t consider this a spoiler so I hope you don’t either, but there is no evidence of that ever happening. Johnson never said so to anyone, he never wrote of it in his songs. If Johnson believed it happened, he never said so. Conforth and Wardlow do give suggestions in the biography of how this myth came about. I think a summary would be to say that hoodoo and conjure were very common in the areas Johnson lived, travelled and worked in that time period and selling your soul at the crossroads was already a known thing. Some of Johnson’s songs have mentions of hoodoo practices such as throwing down tricks, and even crossroads—but that wasn’t uncommon in delta blues music. Also, he learned some of his guitar skills from a man called Ike who, according to Ike’s children, used to go to the cemetery at night to practice his guitar. Finally…Johnson’s skills did improve by all reports.
The reality
It seems that Johnson became a master through sheer practice and hard work, and it feels disingenuous to cover that up. Johnson was said to have an incredible memory for songs, being able to play them after hearing them on the jukebox or by another musician just the once. That helped him get work because in the ‘jukes’ where he played people would often request songs. He couldn’t read music although he was taught to play piano for a short time as a youngster and there was no doubt he knew all the guitar cords. He even became a little secretive of his style after a bad experience sharing his personal way of playing with another musician who then recorded the sound—the first known recording of a new style—before Johnson got his chance. Ouch! Even so, it sounds like reports of Johnson playing with his back to people to protect his skills, where exaggerated.
It’s likely that Johnson would have made it big had he lived longer. He hadn’t long made his second group of recordings when he was murdered. A longer life would probably assume that he kept his drinking—which sounded like it was always heavy, but may have been worsening still near the end—and his way with women under control. Johnson loved women and found himself involved in every town he went to—as a travelling musician that was a lot of towns! That doesn’t have to mean ‘health hazard’ however, in Johnson’s case it did. Friends had warned Johnson many times to be careful of women who were married but he took a rather blase attitude. With hindsight, it was probably the best advice he ever got. I have to admit the further I read into the book the sadder I felt knowing that his life and music would be cut short unnecessarily.
The other side of Robert Johnson
I don’t want to leave it sounding as though music, women and booze sums up Johnson. Though that was the life he chose he also, though he never knew his father, had strong familial connections. Often described as a loner he nonetheless formed relationships with some other blues players and he was in love twice. Some tenderness was described, and the man had his fair share of trials and losses. It was heartbreaking to read about it.
This was a fantastic biography and well worth a read. It provided a ‘slice of life' through the story of one person because it captured the time, the lives of black people living in the south, the lives of the Delta Blues musicians and giving the most honest and thorough account of Robert Johnson himself. I like that Conforth and Wardlow don’t attempt to paint Johnson as a saint or a devil. They simply scoured through everything that is known about Johnson and presented him as the man he was.
Listen to Robert Johnson's 'Kind hearted woman blues' on Youtube
November 13, 2019
This is the book about legendary bluesman Robert Johnson that I thought would never be written. It's certainly not the most comprehensive biography ever, but Conforth and Wardlow have assembled everything that has been uncovered about Johnson, and it's a lot more than I would have thought. It seems that more people who actually knew Johnson have been found and interviewed over the years than I realized. To my surprise, there is enough here to actually get some sense of what the great bluesman was like as a person - although the picture is still not complete. And the writers have convinced me which of Johnson's three "gravesites" (I've visited them all) is the real one.
I can't imagine that we will ever know more about Robert Johnson that what is in this book. Highly recommended for blues fans.
I can't imagine that we will ever know more about Robert Johnson that what is in this book. Highly recommended for blues fans.
July 9, 2019
Detailed look at Robert Johnson the man & his growth & progression as a musician, often debunking the long-standing myths surrounding him. Many interviews with those who knew him going back 50 years. Particularly illuminating stories from Johnny Shines.
June 23, 2019
This is the definitive story of Robert Johnson. No nonsense and extremely thorough. It sheds light on all of the mystery without diminishing any of Robert Johnson’s mythical power. Excellent.
April 11, 2020
A book after my own heart--based on careful research through obscure sources. One of the authors, Wardlow, has been researching Robert Johnson for over 50 years. The book is also well-written and the story well-told.
Robert Johnson was the first Delta blues singer I heard, on the King of the Delta Blues, v. 1, LP, in college in 1973. That led me to other Delta blues singers, and then also to electric Chicago blues. I always wondered how he would have sounded if he lived a little later in the electric era. It turns out there's a bit of evidence about that. Johnson was visiting Harlem in 1938 with Johnny Shines, when a local electric guitarist (p. 245) "took them to the club where his guitar and amplifier were set up and let Robert try his hand at playing it. Although he liked the volume, Robert told the guitarist and Shines he 'couldn't make it talk' like he wanted." I like to think, though, that Elmore James is what Johnson might have sounded like if he had lived longer. Johnson's loner and wanderer persona also likely would not have suited him to be part of a band.
The authors do a good job of identifying and explaining away infamous myths about Johnson--especially the ones about selling his soul to the devil, and how he died. But there is a recent one that they never mentioned--that (some of) Johnson's recordings were sped up slightly when they were issued. His issued recordings do sound somewhat ghostly (higher and faster? presumably that is what makes him memorable), and sound unlike other Delta blues singers. I have a cd-r produced by John Gibbens of his songs slowed down (about 20%?), which makes for interesting listening. The theory certainly has its opponents https://www.elijahwald.com/johnsonspe..., but I would have enjoyed a discussion. Presumably the authors did not wish to dignify it with a response.
All in all, a fine book.
Robert Johnson was the first Delta blues singer I heard, on the King of the Delta Blues, v. 1, LP, in college in 1973. That led me to other Delta blues singers, and then also to electric Chicago blues. I always wondered how he would have sounded if he lived a little later in the electric era. It turns out there's a bit of evidence about that. Johnson was visiting Harlem in 1938 with Johnny Shines, when a local electric guitarist (p. 245) "took them to the club where his guitar and amplifier were set up and let Robert try his hand at playing it. Although he liked the volume, Robert told the guitarist and Shines he 'couldn't make it talk' like he wanted." I like to think, though, that Elmore James is what Johnson might have sounded like if he had lived longer. Johnson's loner and wanderer persona also likely would not have suited him to be part of a band.
The authors do a good job of identifying and explaining away infamous myths about Johnson--especially the ones about selling his soul to the devil, and how he died. But there is a recent one that they never mentioned--that (some of) Johnson's recordings were sped up slightly when they were issued. His issued recordings do sound somewhat ghostly (higher and faster? presumably that is what makes him memorable), and sound unlike other Delta blues singers. I have a cd-r produced by John Gibbens of his songs slowed down (about 20%?), which makes for interesting listening. The theory certainly has its opponents https://www.elijahwald.com/johnsonspe..., but I would have enjoyed a discussion. Presumably the authors did not wish to dignify it with a response.
All in all, a fine book.
July 2, 2019
I couldn't give it a fifth star because of just how many times the authors put down other writers for mythologizing Robert Johnson, even though they acknowledge how difficult the truthful source material was to find.
Amazingly, though, that's the only weak part of the book. The factual information was amazing, and ranged from maps and photos of the places that Johnson lived and played to details about who else was recorded during the days in which he made his two sets of recordings. The amazing thing is that all but one take of one of his recordings survived somehow. It's a huge shame that he didn't make any more recordings, because the material described in the book would have been great to hear, but a longer career might have led to a less mythical figure. If he'd been a "normal" guitarist, would we still be listening to him?
Amazingly, though, that's the only weak part of the book. The factual information was amazing, and ranged from maps and photos of the places that Johnson lived and played to details about who else was recorded during the days in which he made his two sets of recordings. The amazing thing is that all but one take of one of his recordings survived somehow. It's a huge shame that he didn't make any more recordings, because the material described in the book would have been great to hear, but a longer career might have led to a less mythical figure. If he'd been a "normal" guitarist, would we still be listening to him?
August 18, 2023
A well-researched biography of Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson that emphasizes the intentionality of his career as a musician rather the mythical and mystical phenom often depicted. Conforth demonstrates that Johnson saw his musicianship as a way to escape a life of backbreaking labor in favor of one of excitement, novelty, physical and sexual freedom, and even wealth and fame. Johnson could do things with a guitar that no one else had thought of, but this talent was not just inherent; his near-constant playing at jukes, parties, dances, and street corners honed his skills. Conforth traces his work on the way to recording sessions in Texas, where he shaped his sound and jealously guarded his technique from those who might imitate him. A tour of northern cities—Chicago, Detroit, and NYC—near the end of his life suggests what might have been had the twenty-six-year-old loved to old age. The trip itself must have been a revelation to him, as he moved through neighborhoods of urban blacks who had escaped the South’s poverty and race terrorism. Only the electric guitar, just coming into wide use in 1938, seemed to stymie him: “Although he like the volume, Robert told the guitarist…he ‘couldn’t make it talk’ like he wanted” (245). Poisoned by a jealous husband, Johnson never got the chance to move with the times, and that’s a terrible shame.
June 4, 2019
Up Jumped the Devil is a no holds barred account of the seemingly mythical life of the man known as Robert Johnson, or was it Robert Spencer, or RL, or Lil Dusty? These are just some of the names that you learn about that this man went under making his life story a difficult one to come by with facts. The author of this book does a great job separating fact from fiction, and has wrote a book that will hopefully come to be the definitive biography of Robert Johnson. As previously mentioned, Robert Johnson went under many different names in his travels, so I admire the hard work the author undertook to dig and find the facts about this man.
Robert Johnson was a man turned myth who had a rough life as we learn in this book. He was born in a little house on a plantation in the Delta In Hazlehurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911. He was born to a working mother and father, and an older sister named Carrie who would look after him for the rest of his life. He never knew his biological father and his mother abandoned him and left him with another family in Memphis When he was young, which traumatized him even further. He grew to love his adoptive family, the Spencers, and he took on that name for years. Years later his mother came back to get him and take him to a sharecropping plantation with her new husband Dusty. Robert hated Dusty and refused to work in the fields because he wanted to work at his music, which would lead to frequent beatings from Dusty. And thus, Robert Johnson started traveling from city to city playing his music at all the juke joints. A legend was born.
Robert Johnson would shadow other musicians such as Son House, but he would later surpass all of them much to their chagrin. Robert Johnson went away for one year and that is what started the mythological tale of him beating the devil at the crossroads, Because when he came back after that year practicing his music he was a lot better than people knew him to be before. In reality Robert Johnson just spent some time in the Delta learning new tunes that people weren’t used to and fused those with his already rich repertoire.
Robert Johnson was both a man’s man and a ladies man. All of his relationships are complicated and ended in tragedy. His first love was a church girl named Virginia who he got pregnant much to the disapproval of her family. She went on to unfortunately passed away with the baby. Second girl he fell in love with was a girl name Virgie who also had a highly religious family that disapproved of Robert because of his “playing devil music”, which is how religious Black folks back then thought of Blues music. He ended up getting Virgie pregnant and they had a son, but when Robert asked her to leave with him, she decided to stay with her family and he had to move on. He tried again to convince her to leave with him but she refused. His son, Claud Johnson only ever remembers seeing his father once in his life and that is when he try to bring some money for the boy but her family didn’t let him see his son. He then went on to date and marry an older woman named Caletta Craft who he never really loved, but only got with to make Virgie jealous since she turned on him. He would stay married to her on to her death from an illness shortly after. He didn’t even show any sympathy toward her death and just continued with his work.
This book also goes over how other people who were n Robert Johnson’s time saw him. The book is filled with quotes from his friends, family, and peers. You get a good understanding of the mans character and personality. I really enjoyed reading about some of his exploits. He was a very adventurous and brave man in a time where a Black man could have gotten into trouble for being like that. He was loud and loved the ladies. He also loved to drink, and those things led to his unfortunate downfall. Robert Johnson was also described as being a blasphemer in a time where practically every souther Black person was religious, Robert Johnson made a gimmick out of talking to the devil in his music. I really gained respect for this mans sheer gall and badassery!
Robert Johnson would continue to master his craft until his untimely death at age 27 on August 16, 1938. He is the influence for many musical genres that we have today. His guitar playing laid the foundation for our future blues, rock and practically all music that has come out. He was way ahead of his time, and it is amazing that some of his records still survive. You can actually hear the pain in his music. I guess you could say that he was the 2pac of his generation but some may take that as an insult, which is not my intent, but just to say that he was a great artist who was mistreated while he was alive and who died at such a tragically young age. He actually falls into the 27 club; a club composed of great artists who died at the age of 27 including: Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and Jim Morrison.
This book doesn’t pull any punches and gives us the facts of Robert Johnson’s life straight up. I am amazed by the amount of factual information, documents, pictures, and maps in the book. There are marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, census records, and picture of people who knew rRobert or who he knew. I can tell that this book was a labor of love, and apparently it too over 30 year of research to complete. It is a very thorough look into a short, yet impactful life of a man who was shrouded in mystery...until now.
Robert Johnson was a man turned myth who had a rough life as we learn in this book. He was born in a little house on a plantation in the Delta In Hazlehurst, Mississippi on May 8, 1911. He was born to a working mother and father, and an older sister named Carrie who would look after him for the rest of his life. He never knew his biological father and his mother abandoned him and left him with another family in Memphis When he was young, which traumatized him even further. He grew to love his adoptive family, the Spencers, and he took on that name for years. Years later his mother came back to get him and take him to a sharecropping plantation with her new husband Dusty. Robert hated Dusty and refused to work in the fields because he wanted to work at his music, which would lead to frequent beatings from Dusty. And thus, Robert Johnson started traveling from city to city playing his music at all the juke joints. A legend was born.
Robert Johnson would shadow other musicians such as Son House, but he would later surpass all of them much to their chagrin. Robert Johnson went away for one year and that is what started the mythological tale of him beating the devil at the crossroads, Because when he came back after that year practicing his music he was a lot better than people knew him to be before. In reality Robert Johnson just spent some time in the Delta learning new tunes that people weren’t used to and fused those with his already rich repertoire.
Robert Johnson was both a man’s man and a ladies man. All of his relationships are complicated and ended in tragedy. His first love was a church girl named Virginia who he got pregnant much to the disapproval of her family. She went on to unfortunately passed away with the baby. Second girl he fell in love with was a girl name Virgie who also had a highly religious family that disapproved of Robert because of his “playing devil music”, which is how religious Black folks back then thought of Blues music. He ended up getting Virgie pregnant and they had a son, but when Robert asked her to leave with him, she decided to stay with her family and he had to move on. He tried again to convince her to leave with him but she refused. His son, Claud Johnson only ever remembers seeing his father once in his life and that is when he try to bring some money for the boy but her family didn’t let him see his son. He then went on to date and marry an older woman named Caletta Craft who he never really loved, but only got with to make Virgie jealous since she turned on him. He would stay married to her on to her death from an illness shortly after. He didn’t even show any sympathy toward her death and just continued with his work.
This book also goes over how other people who were n Robert Johnson’s time saw him. The book is filled with quotes from his friends, family, and peers. You get a good understanding of the mans character and personality. I really enjoyed reading about some of his exploits. He was a very adventurous and brave man in a time where a Black man could have gotten into trouble for being like that. He was loud and loved the ladies. He also loved to drink, and those things led to his unfortunate downfall. Robert Johnson was also described as being a blasphemer in a time where practically every souther Black person was religious, Robert Johnson made a gimmick out of talking to the devil in his music. I really gained respect for this mans sheer gall and badassery!
Robert Johnson would continue to master his craft until his untimely death at age 27 on August 16, 1938. He is the influence for many musical genres that we have today. His guitar playing laid the foundation for our future blues, rock and practically all music that has come out. He was way ahead of his time, and it is amazing that some of his records still survive. You can actually hear the pain in his music. I guess you could say that he was the 2pac of his generation but some may take that as an insult, which is not my intent, but just to say that he was a great artist who was mistreated while he was alive and who died at such a tragically young age. He actually falls into the 27 club; a club composed of great artists who died at the age of 27 including: Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and Jim Morrison.
This book doesn’t pull any punches and gives us the facts of Robert Johnson’s life straight up. I am amazed by the amount of factual information, documents, pictures, and maps in the book. There are marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, census records, and picture of people who knew rRobert or who he knew. I can tell that this book was a labor of love, and apparently it too over 30 year of research to complete. It is a very thorough look into a short, yet impactful life of a man who was shrouded in mystery...until now.
May 23, 2020
Shame he dies in the end.
July 30, 2022
I’ve always been enamored with the myth or legend of Robert Johnson and this book (in a kind way) dispels all that. In fact, I even felt it was a little too detailed, if that’s possible.
July 13, 2024
Essential book for fans of the blues and American mythology. An astonishingly thorough examination of almost a century of truths and legends about Johnson that reveals the real story, the real man. And, ultimately, his genius.
August 12, 2019
Dazzling, thought-provoking, captivating, educational.
Iconic book for an iconic musician. "He allegedly sold his soul at the crossroads in exchange for his incredible talent" is one of the famous rumors for Robert Johnson's fame and death. He even has a song about the devil, so it makes you think, and the songs rhythm's hypnotic, too. When I listen to his blues I hear how he's significantly affected the music today.
The novels written in a historical context with suprising details about Robert Johnson, his family, friends, land rights and even census details. The book is fascinating and entertaining with a wealth of detail. This is a must have for anyone that loves history, truth, music, and important times within our countries history.
The novel begins with a family background, weaving how Robert Johnson started his musical career. I enjoyed reading the details about all of the other documentaries, and books that have been covered about Robert Johnson. The pictures, maps, and documents add intrigue and credibility.
The authors did an excellent job researching credible information about an amazing talented musician taken away from us too soon.
The book itself is beautiful, the paper, hardcover and covers picture is made to last a lifetime in remembrance of this Iconic star. Well worth every dime!
Iconic book for an iconic musician. "He allegedly sold his soul at the crossroads in exchange for his incredible talent" is one of the famous rumors for Robert Johnson's fame and death. He even has a song about the devil, so it makes you think, and the songs rhythm's hypnotic, too. When I listen to his blues I hear how he's significantly affected the music today.
The novels written in a historical context with suprising details about Robert Johnson, his family, friends, land rights and even census details. The book is fascinating and entertaining with a wealth of detail. This is a must have for anyone that loves history, truth, music, and important times within our countries history.
The novel begins with a family background, weaving how Robert Johnson started his musical career. I enjoyed reading the details about all of the other documentaries, and books that have been covered about Robert Johnson. The pictures, maps, and documents add intrigue and credibility.
The authors did an excellent job researching credible information about an amazing talented musician taken away from us too soon.
The book itself is beautiful, the paper, hardcover and covers picture is made to last a lifetime in remembrance of this Iconic star. Well worth every dime!
January 17, 2025
I'm pretty sure that my first encounter with the music of Robert Johnson was a scene in the 1970 film Performance, which movie was featured regularly at the repertory cinema where I mis-spent a good portion of my youth. In that scene, Mick Jagger, playing a sorta sinister, reclusive rock star, sings "Me and the Devil Blues" to his own highly percussive guitar accompaniment. It's a creepily effective scene that leans heavily into a longstanding association in Western culture of Black people with evil*.
While I would've been offended, even as a teen, at any suggestion that I might a racist, I have long loved the titillation that I got from my own unexamined embrace of this sinister otherness. My ongoing delight in contemplating the idea of Robert Johnson's crossroads bargain , which I shared with probably every annoying, old, white-guy, rock fan of my generation, is probably the ultimate example of this fetish of occult exoticism. All my seventies, blues-rock heroes and their weird, lyrical mix of hobbits and Nazguls, Aleister Crowley magick, whipping the women just around midnight, and goin' down to Rosedale certainly didn't help. I haven't believed in the Devil since I was, like, five or so, so why does a Faustian bargain on some Delta midnight seem, at some level, vaguely plausible enough to quicken my pulse a little?
Racism, to be certain, but, also, marketing. The crossroads myth doesn't begin with the dark fantasies of white people. Robert Johnson deliberately associated himself with the diabolical as a means of self-promotion. When not yet out of his teens, Johnson suffered the deaths of his wife and infant son and his wife's family blamed him for those deaths because he played the Devil's music. Johnson was a chronic alcoholic and, when drunk, his understandable bitterness prompted angry, blasphemous tirades that were alarming to listeners. An association with devilment was self-consciously part of his brand and a deep rejection of redemption and community was ineluctably part of his psyche.
The Devil's-pact story got longer legs when Son House claimed to interviewers during the blues revival of the fifties and sixties that Johnson as a teen was a terrible guitarist who hung around, annoying and unwelcome, at the jukes and house parties where House was performing, but that Johnson went away for a year and, upon his return, had mysteriously become a player of remarkable ability. In this exhaustively researched biography, I learned a couple of things that punctured this titillating mystery. First, that Johnson was already an accomplished guitarist when he left the Delta for that year and second that he spent the time while he was away studying with a virtuoso named Ike Zimmerman. This study was done late at night in a graveyard - "playing for the haints," as, apparently, Zimmerman liked to put it - so I've been able to salvage a whisper of spooky thrill from the odious myth.
The most interesting thing that I learned , in this astonishingly well-researched book, and something that I have encountered nowhere else, not even the Netflix documentary that features Bruce Conforth, one of the authors of Up Jumped the Devil, as one of its talking heads, is about Robert Johnson's childhood in Memphis. Jim Crow and lynching had made the life of Johnson's mother, Julia, exceptionally hard even for a Black woman of her time and place and she had been forced to pick up stakes and move over and over again . One of these moves necessitated that she leave young Robert in the care of a former lover and his new family. This situation persisted for more than five years, and while Robert was living in the middle-class Spencer home, he went to school, where he learned to read and write, and he received formal musical education as well. He remained a part of that family and he visited Memphis, which he considered his home, as often as he could in his short life. Robert Johnson was no untutored sharecropper, as the myth would have it. He considered himself an urban sophisticate.
*It was a huge element in one of the very few other books that I managed to read this year , which probably says more about me than it does about Western culture.
While I would've been offended, even as a teen, at any suggestion that I might a racist, I have long loved the titillation that I got from my own unexamined embrace of this sinister otherness. My ongoing delight in contemplating the idea of Robert Johnson's crossroads bargain , which I shared with probably every annoying, old, white-guy, rock fan of my generation, is probably the ultimate example of this fetish of occult exoticism. All my seventies, blues-rock heroes and their weird, lyrical mix of hobbits and Nazguls, Aleister Crowley magick, whipping the women just around midnight, and goin' down to Rosedale certainly didn't help. I haven't believed in the Devil since I was, like, five or so, so why does a Faustian bargain on some Delta midnight seem, at some level, vaguely plausible enough to quicken my pulse a little?
Racism, to be certain, but, also, marketing. The crossroads myth doesn't begin with the dark fantasies of white people. Robert Johnson deliberately associated himself with the diabolical as a means of self-promotion. When not yet out of his teens, Johnson suffered the deaths of his wife and infant son and his wife's family blamed him for those deaths because he played the Devil's music. Johnson was a chronic alcoholic and, when drunk, his understandable bitterness prompted angry, blasphemous tirades that were alarming to listeners. An association with devilment was self-consciously part of his brand and a deep rejection of redemption and community was ineluctably part of his psyche.
The Devil's-pact story got longer legs when Son House claimed to interviewers during the blues revival of the fifties and sixties that Johnson as a teen was a terrible guitarist who hung around, annoying and unwelcome, at the jukes and house parties where House was performing, but that Johnson went away for a year and, upon his return, had mysteriously become a player of remarkable ability. In this exhaustively researched biography, I learned a couple of things that punctured this titillating mystery. First, that Johnson was already an accomplished guitarist when he left the Delta for that year and second that he spent the time while he was away studying with a virtuoso named Ike Zimmerman. This study was done late at night in a graveyard - "playing for the haints," as, apparently, Zimmerman liked to put it - so I've been able to salvage a whisper of spooky thrill from the odious myth.
The most interesting thing that I learned , in this astonishingly well-researched book, and something that I have encountered nowhere else, not even the Netflix documentary that features Bruce Conforth, one of the authors of Up Jumped the Devil, as one of its talking heads, is about Robert Johnson's childhood in Memphis. Jim Crow and lynching had made the life of Johnson's mother, Julia, exceptionally hard even for a Black woman of her time and place and she had been forced to pick up stakes and move over and over again . One of these moves necessitated that she leave young Robert in the care of a former lover and his new family. This situation persisted for more than five years, and while Robert was living in the middle-class Spencer home, he went to school, where he learned to read and write, and he received formal musical education as well. He remained a part of that family and he visited Memphis, which he considered his home, as often as he could in his short life. Robert Johnson was no untutored sharecropper, as the myth would have it. He considered himself an urban sophisticate.
*It was a huge element in one of the very few other books that I managed to read this year , which probably says more about me than it does about Western culture.
July 30, 2019
A really in depth view into Robert Johnson's life. Following Johnson through his trials and adventures in life on the quest to play the blues. I liked how much detail this book went into. Already of fan of the blues, especially players such as Johnson and Howling Wolf, and Muddy Waters, this book has really sparked my interest in researching the Delta Blues more. Especially considering my close proximity to many of the places mentioned in this book.
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July 12, 2019This book here is a nice study of the interplay between life and art, how life affects art how art affects life and how the two together go to forth to the creation of a legend. Robert Johnson, bluesman, often called the King of the Delta Blues, was a well practiced musician who hopped freight trains and traveled along roads both in the country and in the city to play his guitar as well as other men have played the piano, capturing that old drawn out sound he would often play with his friend and mentor, Ike Zimmerman, among the graves, and yet the legend persists of a largely untutored man who sold his soul for the secret to the blues.
How did such a legend come about? Well, for that, we have no more than to look to musicians of our own recent years such as Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osborne who have been known to play up the notion, prevalent when I was coming up as a young man in the '70s and '80s, of that being the devil's music by poking fun at it all and singing Satanic lyrics to laugh at the ridiculous notion of it all. So, too, when Robert Johnson was starting out as a musician in the 1930s was blues music derided as the devil's music and, so, too, did he and other wandering bards poke fun at the idea of blues as devil's music by including voodoo and other local practices in the lyrics they sang (to the point that another blues singer advertised himself as "the Devil's righthand man").
It was all of course, intended as some kind of bizarre joke. But, what with Johnson's death at the hands of a cuckolded husband (by poison, no less), and Son House and Howling Wolf's uproarious talk, well out of such things were legends born and decades later people began to take all that talk a lot more seriously. That and, of course, having the scion of the Vanderbilt fortune championing Johnson's music helped, too, of course. Still, now, nearly, a century later, the myth endures, every bit as strong as the man's music. I, for one, am thrilled to have read this book and would strongly recommend it to many others.
How did such a legend come about? Well, for that, we have no more than to look to musicians of our own recent years such as Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osborne who have been known to play up the notion, prevalent when I was coming up as a young man in the '70s and '80s, of that being the devil's music by poking fun at it all and singing Satanic lyrics to laugh at the ridiculous notion of it all. So, too, when Robert Johnson was starting out as a musician in the 1930s was blues music derided as the devil's music and, so, too, did he and other wandering bards poke fun at the idea of blues as devil's music by including voodoo and other local practices in the lyrics they sang (to the point that another blues singer advertised himself as "the Devil's righthand man").
It was all of course, intended as some kind of bizarre joke. But, what with Johnson's death at the hands of a cuckolded husband (by poison, no less), and Son House and Howling Wolf's uproarious talk, well out of such things were legends born and decades later people began to take all that talk a lot more seriously. That and, of course, having the scion of the Vanderbilt fortune championing Johnson's music helped, too, of course. Still, now, nearly, a century later, the myth endures, every bit as strong as the man's music. I, for one, am thrilled to have read this book and would strongly recommend it to many others.
July 16, 2019
Well, the actual definitive BIO of famed Robert Johnson, painstakingly researched by Wardlow & Conforth for the past 50 years, dispels the inaccuracies and find some truth about his real life. Indispensable for those fascinated by his music, his mythology.
July 5, 2019
The finest biography of Johnson clears up many of the myth's that have surrounded the man since the early 1960s.
June 25, 2019
Excellent biography of one of the legends of American music. Johnson’s life was Shakespearean in scope and this book is the biography that this great musician deserves. Recommended both as a musical biography and as a look at times gone by.
July 18, 2019
the authors did their homework and set the record straight on Johnson's roots and travels and recording career ... in Johnson's case the music + the myth = the legend ... none of us believe Johnson sold his soul, so the "myth" has never needed to be literally disproven; the facts are enlightening, but the myth is simply more intriguing than this book
June 11, 2019
Stunning.
The authors have brought Robert Johnson to life in a way that will probably remain unrivaled forever. Definitive is a word tossed around a lot but, in this case, it's wholly applicable.
The authors have brought Robert Johnson to life in a way that will probably remain unrivaled forever. Definitive is a word tossed around a lot but, in this case, it's wholly applicable.
June 15, 2019
Dreadfully self-absorbed intro (we get it, you did the research no one else did), but after that 5 stars. Exhaustive detail, good narrative, relatively few leaps of faith. Would have liked more analysis of hte music but there's other books that do that.
July 20, 2019
64-2019.. Well researched, but awfully dry account of Robert Johnson’s short life. The real story of his death and the debunking of the Crossroads deal with the Devil are good to know. His music lives on, no matter the circumstances of that life and death.
December 18, 2024
Descubrí a Robert Johnson en mi adolescencia a través de la película 'Crossroads' interpretada por Ralph Machio. En ella se hablaba de su pacto con el diablo en un cruce de caminos para aprender a tocar la guitarra, y de la búsqueda de una grabación inédita. Gracias a esa película descubrí al artista y su influencia en músicos posteriores. Incluso Eric Clapton tiene un disco homenaje titulado «Mr. Johnson and me».
Siempre que se habla de Robert Johnson se habla de una forma casi mística, como si nadie supiera quien era, de dónde venía y como había aprendido a tocar el blues como nadie lo había lo había hecho antes. Y yo lo había asumido como algo normal.
Y de pronto me encuentro con el libro de Bruce Conforth y Gayle Dean Wardlow donde no solo narran la verdadera historia de Robert Johnson, sino que poco les falta para detallar la talla de cazoncillos que usaba.
La labor de documentación de este libro es impresionante. Aparte de recopilar y comparar las entrevistas personales de la gente que convivió con Robert Johnson, los autores han recuperado partidas de nacimiento, documentos censales y otras informaciones para explicar donde estaba Robert Johnson en cada momento y que era lo que hacía. No se han limitado a dar por válidas las historias que los allegados de Johnson les contaban, sino que las cotejaban con los datos y contrastaban las distintas versiones. Hay que tener en cuenta que habían pasado décadas desde que Johnson falleciera hasta que los entrevistaron, y en el momento de hacerlo Johnson ya tenía una leyenda a su alrededor. Todos querían participar de ella.
El caso es que el libro corrige muchas suposiciones erróneas, como la de que Johnson no era un músico profesional antes de su «misterioso año desaparecido» y que su diablo personal se podía ubicar fácilmente en un tutor, Ike Zimmerman, que le enseñó las nociones de lo que luego Johnson desarrollaría como un estilo propio. También aclara bastante que fue lo que sucedió con la muerte de Johnson.
¿Pueden estar equivocados Conforth y Wardlow? Pueden. Pero la verdad es que leyendo su reconstrucción, con las entrevistas y con los datos censales, lo dudo. Este libro es el resultado de un trabajo de investigación metódico durante años y se nota.
Pese a la enorme cantidad de datos que aporta, el libro se hace ameno de leer. Pareciera que vamos a espaldas de Johnson, como su inseparable guitarra, viajando por el delta del Missisipi. Y aparte de conocer la historia del músico también nos impregnamos de esa época, de los artistas que lo rodearon, de los estilos que dieron lugar al blues que hoy en día conocemos. Es un viaje que ningún melómano se debería perder.
Lo que más me sorprende es que, pese a la cantidad de datos, seguimos sin saber exactamente quién era Robert Johnson. Era un hombre de luces y sombras, sin duda, con grandes tragedias a sus espaldas. Alguien que brilló con mucha fuerza y se apagó antes de llegar a los treinta. Sus allegados lo describen como un hombre seguro de su música, mujeriego, bebedor y siempre dispuesto para tocar en cualquier fiesta, pero reservado y silencioso en lo que respecta a su persona. Me fascina una frase que repiten varios de los entrevistados «nunca sabías cuando se iba a ir, jamás se despedía y simplemente desaparecía».
Siempre que se habla de Robert Johnson se habla de una forma casi mística, como si nadie supiera quien era, de dónde venía y como había aprendido a tocar el blues como nadie lo había lo había hecho antes. Y yo lo había asumido como algo normal.
Y de pronto me encuentro con el libro de Bruce Conforth y Gayle Dean Wardlow donde no solo narran la verdadera historia de Robert Johnson, sino que poco les falta para detallar la talla de cazoncillos que usaba.
La labor de documentación de este libro es impresionante. Aparte de recopilar y comparar las entrevistas personales de la gente que convivió con Robert Johnson, los autores han recuperado partidas de nacimiento, documentos censales y otras informaciones para explicar donde estaba Robert Johnson en cada momento y que era lo que hacía. No se han limitado a dar por válidas las historias que los allegados de Johnson les contaban, sino que las cotejaban con los datos y contrastaban las distintas versiones. Hay que tener en cuenta que habían pasado décadas desde que Johnson falleciera hasta que los entrevistaron, y en el momento de hacerlo Johnson ya tenía una leyenda a su alrededor. Todos querían participar de ella.
El caso es que el libro corrige muchas suposiciones erróneas, como la de que Johnson no era un músico profesional antes de su «misterioso año desaparecido» y que su diablo personal se podía ubicar fácilmente en un tutor, Ike Zimmerman, que le enseñó las nociones de lo que luego Johnson desarrollaría como un estilo propio. También aclara bastante que fue lo que sucedió con la muerte de Johnson.
¿Pueden estar equivocados Conforth y Wardlow? Pueden. Pero la verdad es que leyendo su reconstrucción, con las entrevistas y con los datos censales, lo dudo. Este libro es el resultado de un trabajo de investigación metódico durante años y se nota.
Pese a la enorme cantidad de datos que aporta, el libro se hace ameno de leer. Pareciera que vamos a espaldas de Johnson, como su inseparable guitarra, viajando por el delta del Missisipi. Y aparte de conocer la historia del músico también nos impregnamos de esa época, de los artistas que lo rodearon, de los estilos que dieron lugar al blues que hoy en día conocemos. Es un viaje que ningún melómano se debería perder.
Lo que más me sorprende es que, pese a la cantidad de datos, seguimos sin saber exactamente quién era Robert Johnson. Era un hombre de luces y sombras, sin duda, con grandes tragedias a sus espaldas. Alguien que brilló con mucha fuerza y se apagó antes de llegar a los treinta. Sus allegados lo describen como un hombre seguro de su música, mujeriego, bebedor y siempre dispuesto para tocar en cualquier fiesta, pero reservado y silencioso en lo que respecta a su persona. Me fascina una frase que repiten varios de los entrevistados «nunca sabías cuando se iba a ir, jamás se despedía y simplemente desaparecía».
August 29, 2023
I've spent years studying music, especially the origin and development of rock. Thus it was I came to this book. I found it marred, but helpful.
It was marred primarily by three things, the first merely annoying, the second intellectually dishonest, the third a missed opportunity. On the annoying side, Conforth insisted on telling us in detail about every book and/or article ever written about Johnson and why it was deficient. I can appreciate that as motivation to write your own book, but that kind of thing belongs in an appendix, if anything. On the missed opportunity side, Conforth could have and should have done a better job explaining how Johnson's music influenced his successors and the music and the artists that flowed from Johnson's blues in the decades to come. He failed here, and he shouldn't have. After all, this is why we remember him, because he mattered.
The more serious objection I have to the work is Conforth's strenuously repeated insistence that Johnson didn't actually sell his soul to the devil. It may seem presumptuous to assert a scholar like Conforth is wrong, but it is plain to me he is. Shines said Johnson did. Two of Johnson's short term girlfriends said he did. All three of these Conforth admits. More damning still is the absolute fact that Johnson's music is soaked in voodoo, a fact Conforth must admit and one that comes up repeatedly in examinations of Johnson's songs because it must. Johnson's mentor during his missing year wrote/sang about it. Yet somehow, in spite of all of this genuine evidence, Conforth insists Crossroads Blues isn't about that, and that there is no evidence he did. All this makes Conforth's denial a blatant, strident dismissal, one I think that says more about Conforth than it does about Johnson. In short, I think Conforth doesn't want to believe in a devil or the genuine power of the devil in spite of spending a lifetime studying what the performers themselves insist is the devil's music. Intellectuals...
Having finished my rant, let me turn back to what is positive about the book. Conforth does a rather good job of showing us the world Johnson grew up in, and the rather horrendous conditions of his coming up. Conforth particular excels in showing us Johnson's growing ability and desire to play music, and how that drove him on. Conforth sets the scene of the jukes well, and traces Johnson's musical development and personal regression at the same time. As he should, he examines Johnson's discography, but better, he shows us the man as the music devoured him - his alcoholism, his hatred of God, his rootlessness, his sexual excess, his destruction basically. In the end, we see Johnson dying in awful pain miserably alone. At the last, it is a sobering tale, and a classic example of what the devil's music costs the performer if not the listener.
It was marred primarily by three things, the first merely annoying, the second intellectually dishonest, the third a missed opportunity. On the annoying side, Conforth insisted on telling us in detail about every book and/or article ever written about Johnson and why it was deficient. I can appreciate that as motivation to write your own book, but that kind of thing belongs in an appendix, if anything. On the missed opportunity side, Conforth could have and should have done a better job explaining how Johnson's music influenced his successors and the music and the artists that flowed from Johnson's blues in the decades to come. He failed here, and he shouldn't have. After all, this is why we remember him, because he mattered.
The more serious objection I have to the work is Conforth's strenuously repeated insistence that Johnson didn't actually sell his soul to the devil. It may seem presumptuous to assert a scholar like Conforth is wrong, but it is plain to me he is. Shines said Johnson did. Two of Johnson's short term girlfriends said he did. All three of these Conforth admits. More damning still is the absolute fact that Johnson's music is soaked in voodoo, a fact Conforth must admit and one that comes up repeatedly in examinations of Johnson's songs because it must. Johnson's mentor during his missing year wrote/sang about it. Yet somehow, in spite of all of this genuine evidence, Conforth insists Crossroads Blues isn't about that, and that there is no evidence he did. All this makes Conforth's denial a blatant, strident dismissal, one I think that says more about Conforth than it does about Johnson. In short, I think Conforth doesn't want to believe in a devil or the genuine power of the devil in spite of spending a lifetime studying what the performers themselves insist is the devil's music. Intellectuals...
Having finished my rant, let me turn back to what is positive about the book. Conforth does a rather good job of showing us the world Johnson grew up in, and the rather horrendous conditions of his coming up. Conforth particular excels in showing us Johnson's growing ability and desire to play music, and how that drove him on. Conforth sets the scene of the jukes well, and traces Johnson's musical development and personal regression at the same time. As he should, he examines Johnson's discography, but better, he shows us the man as the music devoured him - his alcoholism, his hatred of God, his rootlessness, his sexual excess, his destruction basically. In the end, we see Johnson dying in awful pain miserably alone. At the last, it is a sobering tale, and a classic example of what the devil's music costs the performer if not the listener.
May 20, 2025
Here in this year of 2025, at the age of seventy three, I bought Robert Johnson- The Complete Recordings - The Centennial Collection, a two CD set, released in 2011. I was astounded by how good Robert Johnson was as a singer, acoustic guitar player, and song writer. His songs led me to want to read his biography. Of the books I discovered that were about him, it was Up Jumped the Devil - The Real Life of Robert Johnson by Bruce Cornforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow, which was highly recommended and praised by experts on the blues and blues musicians, so I bought it and I am glad I did. More than fifty years of research went into the writing of the book, which made me feel I was in good hands. I found the biography to be a pleasure to read, being written in fine, clear, flowing, readable prose. Its authors were motivated by the search for the truth about Robert Johnson, to reveal him as a man, shed of the myth that has been woven around him. There are many quotes in the book from people who knew Robert Johnson, which adds interest to its pages, and helps the reader to see him as a living person. The authors do not impose their own thoughts on him or his songs, giving the reader the freedom to see him as they wish.
What is important about Robert Johnson is his songs, so I was pleased to read in the biography about his two recording sessions, the first in 1936, the second in 1937, and details about the tunes and words of his songs. The last chapter, concerned with his death in 1938, at the age of twenty seven, I found upsetting to read, even though I knew how he died. Had he lived, he would have been fifty seven in 1968. The 1960's would have been his time. King of the Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson, released in 1961, was listened to and praised highly by Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, John Martyn, and Keith Richards, among many other musicians and singers, some of whom recorded their own versions of his songs. In the 1960's Robert Johnson would have become famous and rich beyond his hopes and dreams. But he died in 1938, sad to say.
To me Robert Johnson did for acoustic blues what Woody Guthrie did for acoustic folk. Both of them wrote their own songs but were, of course, influenced by other musicians, singers, and song writers, as the biography makes clear. I found the biography to be a very moving, fascinating one to read. Anyone who loves to listen to the songs of Robert Johnson would enjoy reading this fine biography.
What is important about Robert Johnson is his songs, so I was pleased to read in the biography about his two recording sessions, the first in 1936, the second in 1937, and details about the tunes and words of his songs. The last chapter, concerned with his death in 1938, at the age of twenty seven, I found upsetting to read, even though I knew how he died. Had he lived, he would have been fifty seven in 1968. The 1960's would have been his time. King of the Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson, released in 1961, was listened to and praised highly by Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, John Martyn, and Keith Richards, among many other musicians and singers, some of whom recorded their own versions of his songs. In the 1960's Robert Johnson would have become famous and rich beyond his hopes and dreams. But he died in 1938, sad to say.
To me Robert Johnson did for acoustic blues what Woody Guthrie did for acoustic folk. Both of them wrote their own songs but were, of course, influenced by other musicians, singers, and song writers, as the biography makes clear. I found the biography to be a very moving, fascinating one to read. Anyone who loves to listen to the songs of Robert Johnson would enjoy reading this fine biography.
September 5, 2020
Great book. Undoubtably, the best compilation of Robert Johnson information I’ve seen. It’s amazingly difficult to put something like this together, but Bruce Conforth did a great job.
I did find a small mistake...but, I am unable to tell if its an author’s mistake, or if it’s from his source.
The error was in chapter 15, “When I leave this town I’m gon’ bid you fare, farewell.”
The book states Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, and Calvin Frazier took 51 from Memphis, to Wickliffe, Kentucky. There they stayed a bit, (met some ladies/dance group) until they “...crossed over the Mississippi, into Missouri, and followed Highway 55 north to St. Louis.”
Obviously that was impossible in 1938. 55 didn’t yet run to St. Louis. They began work in I55 in the late 50’s, and it was completed in ‘72. Long after Robert passed.
Likely, once they got into Missouri, they hopped on 55 to the Benton/Morley area. There, 55 goes into 61. They could have stayed on 61 to St. Louis, or, taken a short cut around Jackson/Fruitland, and got on 25. A lot of people would use that as a short cut while heading to the the city from the south. 25, would eventually become 61, but in 1938, it was still 25.
It was after this, while in St. Louis, they would met up with Peetie Wheatstraw.
The only reason I know this is because I’m from SEMO, and I’ve been researching local blues history.
This minor issues doesn’t take away from the greatness of this book. I prefer to think that I’m just trying to help it be as factual as possible, which is what it strives to do.
A MUST read for blues, and Robert Johnson fans.
I did find a small mistake...but, I am unable to tell if its an author’s mistake, or if it’s from his source.
The error was in chapter 15, “When I leave this town I’m gon’ bid you fare, farewell.”
The book states Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, and Calvin Frazier took 51 from Memphis, to Wickliffe, Kentucky. There they stayed a bit, (met some ladies/dance group) until they “...crossed over the Mississippi, into Missouri, and followed Highway 55 north to St. Louis.”
Obviously that was impossible in 1938. 55 didn’t yet run to St. Louis. They began work in I55 in the late 50’s, and it was completed in ‘72. Long after Robert passed.
Likely, once they got into Missouri, they hopped on 55 to the Benton/Morley area. There, 55 goes into 61. They could have stayed on 61 to St. Louis, or, taken a short cut around Jackson/Fruitland, and got on 25. A lot of people would use that as a short cut while heading to the the city from the south. 25, would eventually become 61, but in 1938, it was still 25.
It was after this, while in St. Louis, they would met up with Peetie Wheatstraw.
The only reason I know this is because I’m from SEMO, and I’ve been researching local blues history.
This minor issues doesn’t take away from the greatness of this book. I prefer to think that I’m just trying to help it be as factual as possible, which is what it strives to do.
A MUST read for blues, and Robert Johnson fans.
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