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Searching for Robert Johnson: The Life and Legend of the "King of the Delta Blues Singers"
This highly acclaimed biography from the author of Last Train to Memphis illuminates the extraordinary life of one of the most influential blues singers of all time, the legendary guitarist and songwriter whose music inspired generations of musicians, from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones and beyond.
The myth of Robert Johnson’s short life has often overshadowed his music. When he died in 1938 at the age of just twenty-seven, poisoned by the jealous husband of a woman he’d been flirting with at a dance, Johnson had recorded only twenty-nine songs. But those songs would endure as musical touchstones for generations of blues performers. With fresh insights and new information gleaned since its original publication, this brief biographical exploration brilliantly examines both the myth and the music.
Much in the manner of his masterful biographies of Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke, Peter Guralnick here gives readers an insightful, thought-provoking, and deeply felt picture, removing much of the obscurity that once surrounded Johnson without forfeiting any of the mystery. “I finished the book," declared the New York Times Book Review, "feeling that, if only for a brief moment, Robert Johnson had stepped out of the mists.”
The myth of Robert Johnson’s short life has often overshadowed his music. When he died in 1938 at the age of just twenty-seven, poisoned by the jealous husband of a woman he’d been flirting with at a dance, Johnson had recorded only twenty-nine songs. But those songs would endure as musical touchstones for generations of blues performers. With fresh insights and new information gleaned since its original publication, this brief biographical exploration brilliantly examines both the myth and the music.
Much in the manner of his masterful biographies of Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke, Peter Guralnick here gives readers an insightful, thought-provoking, and deeply felt picture, removing much of the obscurity that once surrounded Johnson without forfeiting any of the mystery. “I finished the book," declared the New York Times Book Review, "feeling that, if only for a brief moment, Robert Johnson had stepped out of the mists.”
93 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1989
16 people are currently reading
908 people want to read
About the author
Peter Guralnick
59 books361 followersPeter Guralnick is an acclaimed American music critic, author, and screenwriter best known for his deeply researched works on the history of rock and roll. He earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Boston University and soon began writing about blues, country, soul, and early rock music. His two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love, is considered a definitive account of the singer’s life. Guralnick also authored landmark biographies of Sam Cooke and Sam Phillips, earning praise from critics and musicians alike. He has written liner notes for legends like Jerry Lee Lewis and Charlie Rich, winning a Grammy for his notes on Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club. His documentary scripts include Sam Cooke – Legend and Feel Like Going Home, directed by Martin Scorsese. Guralnick’s writing stands apart for its straightforward, unembellished style, earning him a reputation as one of rock’s most respected storytellers. He has taught at Vanderbilt University since 2005 and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010. His recent works include Looking to Get Lost and a forthcoming biography of Colonel Tom Parker. Guralnick lives with his wife, Alexandra, and their family. His extensive archive is housed at the University of North Carolina’s Wilson Library.
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March 22, 2010I used to know this (white) ragtime guitarist who, in the 60s, had been one of those young blues fiends who ran around, finding half-dead and ignored folk musicians like Mississippi John Hurt, and giving them a few bucks to play in front of a recorder. By the time I met him, I was teaching a classroom full of black kids, and I wanted to do a lesson on Robert Johnson for Black History Month. My friend had been teaching and playing guitar for twenty-thirty years, so I asked him if it wasn't a little dirty that I was going to lecture these kids on someone as distant from them as Ulysses Grant or Popeye cartoons, a guy Zep and Clapton stole from, and if that wasn't appropriation, or presumptuous in some way. He got really incensed.
"Say you're walking down the block and you hear some really kickass music someone's playing from their car," he said. "You love it, and you want nothing more than to listen to it some more. You go out and you hunt those records down and you start filling your own tunes with some of that guy's licks because he's all you listen to. What difference does it make if that guy's black or white? It might matter when you get a record deal and you do a lot of covers, but not when you're just listening to that car go by. Plus, those blues guys were all ripping off white gospel singers, too. You can't keep good music to yourself."
I don't know how much I agree; it's an open issue and one I think about sometimes, and one well worth exploring. Schopenhauer was right, though - music might be the most universal medium, just 'cause it's furthest from language; it has a way of effacing its origins, of kind of leaking through any bounds, like no other medium I can think of, whether you want it to or not. Maybe it always does what's dirtiest.
"Say you're walking down the block and you hear some really kickass music someone's playing from their car," he said. "You love it, and you want nothing more than to listen to it some more. You go out and you hunt those records down and you start filling your own tunes with some of that guy's licks because he's all you listen to. What difference does it make if that guy's black or white? It might matter when you get a record deal and you do a lot of covers, but not when you're just listening to that car go by. Plus, those blues guys were all ripping off white gospel singers, too. You can't keep good music to yourself."
I don't know how much I agree; it's an open issue and one I think about sometimes, and one well worth exploring. Schopenhauer was right, though - music might be the most universal medium, just 'cause it's furthest from language; it has a way of effacing its origins, of kind of leaking through any bounds, like no other medium I can think of, whether you want it to or not. Maybe it always does what's dirtiest.
February 3, 2022
There are only 68 pages here, not including bibliography, notes and further reading. Mr. Guralnick himself calls this an essay, so if you treat this like a long, scholarly article, I think you'll get more out of it. Guralnick's book is well researched, but now a little dated. The Columbia box set came out in 1990, (one year after this book was published) and it contains more detail in the liner notes regarding the songs themselves than you will find here.
Robert Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27. He released 41 songs, some of which are alternate versions. Several tunes are now standards: (Sweet Home Chicago; Love in Vain; From Four Until Late; etc...). Yet, almost nothing is known about him. Yes, we know he was murdered by a jealous husband and that he had technically good guitar skills. There are 2 known pictures of him. But if you are looking for much more, you just are not going to find it here or pretty much anywhere else. I don't think there is much more that people are going to find.
I personally much prefer Muddy Waters (I live 4 blocks away from his old house!) & Howlin' Wolf. But this was a short read which sheds a little light on a somewhat mysterious figure from the Mississippi Delta blues tradition.
Robert Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27. He released 41 songs, some of which are alternate versions. Several tunes are now standards: (Sweet Home Chicago; Love in Vain; From Four Until Late; etc...). Yet, almost nothing is known about him. Yes, we know he was murdered by a jealous husband and that he had technically good guitar skills. There are 2 known pictures of him. But if you are looking for much more, you just are not going to find it here or pretty much anywhere else. I don't think there is much more that people are going to find.
I personally much prefer Muddy Waters (I live 4 blocks away from his old house!) & Howlin' Wolf. But this was a short read which sheds a little light on a somewhat mysterious figure from the Mississippi Delta blues tradition.
May 9, 2012
still waitin' for Biography of a Phantom
June 4, 2017
Ah yes, the great bluesman that....my coworker told me about.
Anyway, this is a book about a short life of a great man who has been told to have sold his soul to the devil himself. His slender fingers were said to have produced magic every time he picked up his musical instrument. The book dwells into his early life as well as his life touring the country and hooking up with ladies. Some dubbed him as shy while others dubbed him as stern and decisive.
Like many parts of his life, the complete story will never be told in truth. It will always be surrounded by a layer of stories that his admirers have told over the years. Like the nature of his death, it will stay a mystery. Just like the nature of his death, people will always find ways to tie up the lose ends, preferably in a way that will show the greatness of this man and his talent.
Short book (can be easily read in a day) and recommended to anyone who is fan of music (any).
R.S
Anyway, this is a book about a short life of a great man who has been told to have sold his soul to the devil himself. His slender fingers were said to have produced magic every time he picked up his musical instrument. The book dwells into his early life as well as his life touring the country and hooking up with ladies. Some dubbed him as shy while others dubbed him as stern and decisive.
Like many parts of his life, the complete story will never be told in truth. It will always be surrounded by a layer of stories that his admirers have told over the years. Like the nature of his death, it will stay a mystery. Just like the nature of his death, people will always find ways to tie up the lose ends, preferably in a way that will show the greatness of this man and his talent.
Short book (can be easily read in a day) and recommended to anyone who is fan of music (any).
R.S
May 30, 2018
There's not much to go on...a handful of dusty photos...29 ghostly recordings...a midnight myth conjured up in the Southern dust...perhaps a poisoned death that left him howlin' at the moon...and so America always prints the legend.
The truth was probably less obscure, but why let that get in the way of a great story. No one knows too much..not many remembered him, but he was an almost supernaturally gifted musician who worked very hard on his devilish talents. Hearing him now is a time travelling link to the spirits of a lost world and an older, stranger America. This essay can be no more than a sketch...a faded image in a broken frame. Fractured, strange, haunted and almost unreal. Like Robert Johnson's timeless music - once heard, never forgotten.
The truth was probably less obscure, but why let that get in the way of a great story. No one knows too much..not many remembered him, but he was an almost supernaturally gifted musician who worked very hard on his devilish talents. Hearing him now is a time travelling link to the spirits of a lost world and an older, stranger America. This essay can be no more than a sketch...a faded image in a broken frame. Fractured, strange, haunted and almost unreal. Like Robert Johnson's timeless music - once heard, never forgotten.
July 22, 2012
I didn't finish it, because it was written in such a dull dull dull way. It gets two stars instead of one because the subject material was so cool, and because it reminded me to listen to Robert Johnson. But, you know, you'd think I could finish a hundred page book, but it was just too dull.
February 22, 2016
A fun, quick read about the legendary bluesman who sold his soul to the devil. Filled with myth enhancing stories by his contemporaries and many listening recommendations.
April 30, 2019
Not an entertaining biography. Unfortunately, he died young and his life was poorly documented. This book is heavy on his musicianship, detailing Robert Johnson's recordings and technique. The research Peter Guralnick put into this small book is outstanding. But, I finished the book with more questions than answers.
October 16, 2018
Liner notes.
February 8, 2025
Good info and an important read for learning about the legend. Organization, delivery and prose has room for improvement.
December 24, 2022
My teenage years were weird for so many reasons, but certainly my music taste was one of the chief elements contributing to my oddness. Because of a weird belief that somehow pop music and all modern music was an essential reason why people bullied so much caused by a spurious link between my worst bully and his adoration of Morrissey, I avoided everything remotely modern until I was about 17. My music taste was essentially classical music (a lot of Grieg and Bizet, with a fondness for Saint Saens), novelty songs (Flanders and Swann, Spike Jones, Stan Freberg), Doctor Who music and a lot of jazz. I’m not sure why I became such a fan of jazz or when it started, but I was pretty much obsessed by Louis Armstrong as a fourteen year old and had begun to explore a lot of his contemporaries, as well as a few wild cards like my love of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. But I knew one thing: and that was that I hated the blues
Whenever the blues came on Radio 2 (the only radio station I listened to), I would complain bitterly and only my dislike of country music (soppy, anodyne and irritating) and Queen would eclipse it. I would say that it was because I found it inherently depressing, and I particularly disliked anything electric because it went on too much (and oddly I already had a sort of inherent suspicion of white men playing it because it all felt a bit… rude somehow, to co-opt this music as a middle class bloke from Kent or wherever). But really it was because it scared me
There was something intense and disturbing to it that unsettled me. Someone when I was sixteen from my religious world suggested I try Rev Gary Davis and even though the lyrics were more sacred than profane, I still was a bit alarmed by it. And I think it was because this was essentially music that was lived in and based on a world that was completely alien to me. It was full of adult themes and elements and I was still very, very immature (I’d say my mental maturity always lagged about four years behind my actual age) and actively wanted to shy away from this music. Jazz was escapist and exotic and beautiful and odd and fun. Blues was dark, and brutal and seeped in pain and anguish and, quite frankly, a horniness I wasn’t even slightly comfortable with
So I ended up coming to blues very, very late in life. And as such I probably appreciated it more than I enjoyed it for many years. But something about Johnson always kind of startled me. Maybe because of some vague links to Nick Drake I’d read about, and how Hellhound and Black Eyed Dog are kindred songs (they kind of are), but also I think because Johnson seems more a rumour and a myth than a real person, in the same way Drake always feels intangible and phantom like. There’s something essentially unknowable about this strange and beautiful music
So Guralnick’s book was always going to be a tough one because it’s hard to write about someone we know so little about, but it turns out that he manages to find a way to write a book that somehow feels like a wraith about a very wraithlike person. It’s full of intelligent, thoughtful writing about this music whilst admitting that he’s very limited in what he can add to a life that’s still closer to legend than real life. There’s an added element to this that he constantly cites and imminent biography that might finally write the truths of this unknowable man, but that book has in itself taken over thirty years to be published (next year, by the looks of it). As such the book is freed from any need to be authoritative and feels as impressionistic as Johnson’s best music. On a frosty winter’s day, listening to this still unnervingly beautiful and fragile book and reading these thoughts on this somewhat intangible music, the whole effect somehow feels magical. Or at least that’s how I felt reading this beautiful book. Highly recommended
Whenever the blues came on Radio 2 (the only radio station I listened to), I would complain bitterly and only my dislike of country music (soppy, anodyne and irritating) and Queen would eclipse it. I would say that it was because I found it inherently depressing, and I particularly disliked anything electric because it went on too much (and oddly I already had a sort of inherent suspicion of white men playing it because it all felt a bit… rude somehow, to co-opt this music as a middle class bloke from Kent or wherever). But really it was because it scared me
There was something intense and disturbing to it that unsettled me. Someone when I was sixteen from my religious world suggested I try Rev Gary Davis and even though the lyrics were more sacred than profane, I still was a bit alarmed by it. And I think it was because this was essentially music that was lived in and based on a world that was completely alien to me. It was full of adult themes and elements and I was still very, very immature (I’d say my mental maturity always lagged about four years behind my actual age) and actively wanted to shy away from this music. Jazz was escapist and exotic and beautiful and odd and fun. Blues was dark, and brutal and seeped in pain and anguish and, quite frankly, a horniness I wasn’t even slightly comfortable with
So I ended up coming to blues very, very late in life. And as such I probably appreciated it more than I enjoyed it for many years. But something about Johnson always kind of startled me. Maybe because of some vague links to Nick Drake I’d read about, and how Hellhound and Black Eyed Dog are kindred songs (they kind of are), but also I think because Johnson seems more a rumour and a myth than a real person, in the same way Drake always feels intangible and phantom like. There’s something essentially unknowable about this strange and beautiful music
So Guralnick’s book was always going to be a tough one because it’s hard to write about someone we know so little about, but it turns out that he manages to find a way to write a book that somehow feels like a wraith about a very wraithlike person. It’s full of intelligent, thoughtful writing about this music whilst admitting that he’s very limited in what he can add to a life that’s still closer to legend than real life. There’s an added element to this that he constantly cites and imminent biography that might finally write the truths of this unknowable man, but that book has in itself taken over thirty years to be published (next year, by the looks of it). As such the book is freed from any need to be authoritative and feels as impressionistic as Johnson’s best music. On a frosty winter’s day, listening to this still unnervingly beautiful and fragile book and reading these thoughts on this somewhat intangible music, the whole effect somehow feels magical. Or at least that’s how I felt reading this beautiful book. Highly recommended
April 27, 2023
Not a book that terribly impressed me the first time around, which must've been 10 years ago, but after making an evening of it just now, I'm prepared to change my tune.
I think I was originally underwhelmed by Searching for Robert Johnson because I was expecting something more definitive and expansive, which I'll admit was ridiculous since it's an 85-page book with uncertainty embedded in its very title. Returning to it now, entirely as a result of rereading Greil Marcus' wonderful chapter on Johnson in Mystery Train, I'm struck by how much Guralnick makes out of such a little bit of solid information. Indeed, the "facts" of the Johnson tale are less interesting than the mysteries and the myths.
Frankly, Guralnick is such a master that this book couldn't miss. It occupies a middle ground between his mammoth biographies and his expert profiles, and I'm no longer of the opinion that it's a blight on his otherwise essential canon.
I think I was originally underwhelmed by Searching for Robert Johnson because I was expecting something more definitive and expansive, which I'll admit was ridiculous since it's an 85-page book with uncertainty embedded in its very title. Returning to it now, entirely as a result of rereading Greil Marcus' wonderful chapter on Johnson in Mystery Train, I'm struck by how much Guralnick makes out of such a little bit of solid information. Indeed, the "facts" of the Johnson tale are less interesting than the mysteries and the myths.
Frankly, Guralnick is such a master that this book couldn't miss. It occupies a middle ground between his mammoth biographies and his expert profiles, and I'm no longer of the opinion that it's a blight on his otherwise essential canon.
February 4, 2017
This is a short (96 pages -- very short!) examination of the life of the great bluesman Robert Johnson. This is the book that really kicked off the popular resurgence of Johnson's fame (along with the box set that collected his complete recorded sides.)
It's sketchy, of course, because the details of Johnson's life are sketchy, but it does a nice job of placing him in his proper context, and looking at what made him (and his short career) so special. It's a love letter to the blues, and the men that created the blues, and a paean to a lost time in American history.
It's a bit frustrating, of course, because there are so many details that are simply lost to time, and it's especially frustrating because it keeps talking about a book about Johnson that was in progress at the time of the writing (late 1980s) that has apparently never been published. (McCormick's PORTRAIT OF A PHANTOM)
Well worth reading, especially for music fans, especially if you love the blues!
It's sketchy, of course, because the details of Johnson's life are sketchy, but it does a nice job of placing him in his proper context, and looking at what made him (and his short career) so special. It's a love letter to the blues, and the men that created the blues, and a paean to a lost time in American history.
It's a bit frustrating, of course, because there are so many details that are simply lost to time, and it's especially frustrating because it keeps talking about a book about Johnson that was in progress at the time of the writing (late 1980s) that has apparently never been published. (McCormick's PORTRAIT OF A PHANTOM)
Well worth reading, especially for music fans, especially if you love the blues!
July 21, 2010
First - I read this book in one night...in fact, it was probably in two hours. I don't mean to boast of my "incredible" reading speed, but this book ended up being an easy and short read. And that can't be a bad thing!
Although this wasn't a "joy read", but a read for a blues class I'm taking, I found "Searching for Robert Johnson" to be mostly enjoyable and slightly enlightening almost all of the time. Included were lots of interesting anecdotes and Guralnick pieced them together in a way that (mostly) seemed plausible and probable. Also included were some interesting pictures of life during Johnson's lifetime. Thankfully, Guralnick didn't spend forever talking about dry, pointless, factual information, but concentrated on the discussion of Johnson and his fame. Overall, a good read.
Although this wasn't a "joy read", but a read for a blues class I'm taking, I found "Searching for Robert Johnson" to be mostly enjoyable and slightly enlightening almost all of the time. Included were lots of interesting anecdotes and Guralnick pieced them together in a way that (mostly) seemed plausible and probable. Also included were some interesting pictures of life during Johnson's lifetime. Thankfully, Guralnick didn't spend forever talking about dry, pointless, factual information, but concentrated on the discussion of Johnson and his fame. Overall, a good read.
August 20, 2013
A love song to the music of Robert Johnson. I’m glad someone successfully captured the experience of listening to Johnson with open ears, for the first time. At the very least it provides cover for the rest of us who found something entirely new and incredibly intense in that music but hold those insights close, avoiding like the plague the inevitable superlatives and dramatic phrases that will not go over well with anyone and may even do harm to your reputation. I will say, though, that it was my own initial encounter with Johnson's music that sent me on the reading (and record buying) tangent that has dominated these last couple months.
"Like the rest of his most emotionally expressive blues, [Stones in My Passway] suggests levels of real and metaphorical experience that can be extended indefinitely by the imagination of the listener"
"Like the rest of his most emotionally expressive blues, [Stones in My Passway] suggests levels of real and metaphorical experience that can be extended indefinitely by the imagination of the listener"
July 12, 2017
This was a really great read as well as a thorough examination of the life of a very mysterious and interesting figure. Robert Johnson is not only one of the greatest blues musicians and writers in the history of the genre, but he is at the center of a great deal of mythology and folklore. While not the first, he is one of the most famous (or infamous) musicians said to have made a deal with the devil for his skill on the guitar, and his talent makes the story seem more believable, to whatever extent that sort of folklore can be believable. If you have an interest in blues, Johnson, the Delta, or the folklore, read this book. It wont take long, and you'll be happy you did.
August 21, 2017
"Baby, I don't care where you bury my body when I'm dead and gone
You may bury my body, hoo
Down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit
Can get a Greyhound bus and ride" -Robert Johnson's Me and The Devil Blues.
In Peter Guralnick's 1989 book, Searching for Robert Johnson, he describes The King of The Delta Blues voice this way, it "...possessed a plasticity and adaptability that lent itself to every variety of emotional effect."
Through interviews with men who knew him and played along side him, Guralnick examines Johnson's life, his music and his death.
Did he sell his soul to the Devil?
You may bury my body, hoo
Down by the highway side
So my old evil spirit
Can get a Greyhound bus and ride" -Robert Johnson's Me and The Devil Blues.
In Peter Guralnick's 1989 book, Searching for Robert Johnson, he describes The King of The Delta Blues voice this way, it "...possessed a plasticity and adaptability that lent itself to every variety of emotional effect."
Through interviews with men who knew him and played along side him, Guralnick examines Johnson's life, his music and his death.
Did he sell his soul to the Devil?
February 7, 2015
A short book that does its best to put some meat on the bare bones of what is known about Johnson. Some good anecdotes, and a sense of the world that he operated in, he remains a figure mostly obscured by the mists of time and legend. Both frustrating and fascinating, all we can be sure of is the music.
April 3, 2015
The book fetishes that great but in my opinion overrated Robert Johnson. To me players with longer careers like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf are far more important.
The discography is fascinating though, and I expect to spend some time on Spotify with it.
Although I definitely do like the idea of crossroads magic, it is part of my old traditions of Appalachia and can go both ways.
The discography is fascinating though, and I expect to spend some time on Spotify with it.
Although I definitely do like the idea of crossroads magic, it is part of my old traditions of Appalachia and can go both ways.
October 15, 2016
As a blues fan and amateur harmonica player, Robert Johnson has always been a fascinating character to me. Having seen "The Search for Robert Johnson" a lot of this was already stuff I knew about, but even so, the way this was written made this a quite enjoyable read. Now, if only Mack McCormick would finally release his book we'd have an even more complete story of Robert Johnson.
June 4, 2014
Impressionistic and lyrical but also factual. The writing is mesmerizing at times. A beautiful little book. Fine photographs included.
August 4, 2022
Seems to cover just about everything that will ever been known about the bluesman. Could be worthwhile to check later publications though because it’s from 1989.
February 10, 2020
A summary of the little that is known about the legendary, early Delta Blues musician.
Nonfiction Review: Searching for Robert Johnson is a slender book (Guralnick calls it an "essay") because there is so little known about him, despite being someone so important in his field (much like Shakespeare, but Johnson is a bit more recent). What is known is full of confusions and contradictions. It sometimes seems that the interviewees were simply saying what they thought the interviewer wanted to hear, or had him confused with some other early bluesman. But as the Blues, Delta or otherwise, is an original American art form and Robert Johnson was one of the early and important synthesizers, Searching for Robert Johnson was worth reading. There are several entertaining and informative anecdotes in the book, which regardless of the truth of the matter made the book worth reading for me. A couple of interesting points, minor myth busters, help to improve our understanding of the Blues. First, despite the common image of the blues player in overalls, a straw hat, and accumulated dust sitting on the back porch, Robert Johnson was a purely professional and widely traveled musician who was always a sharp dressed man, and made sure he stayed that way. He was scheduled to play on a large bill at Carnegie Hall in New York at the time he died. Second, despite the also common image of blues nerds sitting around a turntable studying the music with all the intensity of aging academics, the Blues was dance music often played on Fridays and Saturdays to entertain working people after their arduous week with a paycheck to spend. A Mississippi fish fry was a good place to go to dance, drink, and eat fabulous food. (I have to admit after listening to Johnson's music that unless the dancing was quite slow because of the heat, it's hard to see how to dance to some of his songs.) One of the reasons for his lasting reputation seems to be the romantic legends about him, selling his soul at the crossroads to become an adept at guitar or being poisoned by a jealous husband. Another was his ability to synthesize the best of the various regional talents playing at the time into something closer to concert music. Finally, one can't ignore that part of his fame is due to dying young, never having lost his good looks or talent. Johnson is a member of the "27 Club," artists who died at that age, along with Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. In Searching for Robert Johnson Peter Guralnick has gathered together all the little that's known about the legendary player, and is a quick and easy read for anyone interested in the field. [3½★]
Nonfiction Review: Searching for Robert Johnson is a slender book (Guralnick calls it an "essay") because there is so little known about him, despite being someone so important in his field (much like Shakespeare, but Johnson is a bit more recent). What is known is full of confusions and contradictions. It sometimes seems that the interviewees were simply saying what they thought the interviewer wanted to hear, or had him confused with some other early bluesman. But as the Blues, Delta or otherwise, is an original American art form and Robert Johnson was one of the early and important synthesizers, Searching for Robert Johnson was worth reading. There are several entertaining and informative anecdotes in the book, which regardless of the truth of the matter made the book worth reading for me. A couple of interesting points, minor myth busters, help to improve our understanding of the Blues. First, despite the common image of the blues player in overalls, a straw hat, and accumulated dust sitting on the back porch, Robert Johnson was a purely professional and widely traveled musician who was always a sharp dressed man, and made sure he stayed that way. He was scheduled to play on a large bill at Carnegie Hall in New York at the time he died. Second, despite the also common image of blues nerds sitting around a turntable studying the music with all the intensity of aging academics, the Blues was dance music often played on Fridays and Saturdays to entertain working people after their arduous week with a paycheck to spend. A Mississippi fish fry was a good place to go to dance, drink, and eat fabulous food. (I have to admit after listening to Johnson's music that unless the dancing was quite slow because of the heat, it's hard to see how to dance to some of his songs.) One of the reasons for his lasting reputation seems to be the romantic legends about him, selling his soul at the crossroads to become an adept at guitar or being poisoned by a jealous husband. Another was his ability to synthesize the best of the various regional talents playing at the time into something closer to concert music. Finally, one can't ignore that part of his fame is due to dying young, never having lost his good looks or talent. Johnson is a member of the "27 Club," artists who died at that age, along with Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. In Searching for Robert Johnson Peter Guralnick has gathered together all the little that's known about the legendary player, and is a quick and easy read for anyone interested in the field. [3½★]
January 31, 2019
Peter Guralnick's Feel Like Goin' Home, published in 1971, contained profiles of mainly blues artists, with a couple of rock n' roll and country artists thrown in. Robert Johnson was not in it, and yet his was the mysterious ancestral shadow that had been cast over rock history. Consider that Cream's Crossroads and The Rolling Stones' Love in Vain both came out only 2 years before the publication of those profiles. In this long essay originally commissioned for the Columbia Records box set, Guralnick acknowledges the Johnson legend's grip on the blues fans of the 1950s and 1960s. This book is something of a summary of the recent detective work, uncovering plenty of material on a curiously talented, shy but outgoing, clean but dirty Southerner. So little do we know that even the contemporary anecdotes seem to clash with each other mightily. Into this void comes the whole "selling his soul to the Devil myth", married to the sometimes spooky detachment of that keening voice and sui generis guitar playing. We don't quite know what to make of this artist, at a time when we pick over the bones of just about anyone who enters the musical fray.
In the 21st century there's less myth-making and more marketing, of course, but we still get dangled a few succulent facts by which to "know" our singers and songwriters. About Robert Johnson we still have pretty well squat, which hasn't stopped us from delving. Guralnick finds some useful stuff at a time when there were things like a movie called Crossroads (starring Ralph Macchio!) with all kinds of soul-selling clichés and shameless purloining of second-hand blues, but this bio is still very much a work-in-progress, almost reluctant to give up the mysterious crevices that were lying around inside the Johnson legend when Guralnick started digging in that ground all those years ago. Indeed he seems to get most excited talking about the mysterious elements than the confirmed facts that crop up.
Robert Johnson only recorded 29 songs, 41 if we count alternate takes; in that rather paltry, sadly truncated legacy, though, lies all the mystery you might need, alongside the stunning otherworldly art.
In the 21st century there's less myth-making and more marketing, of course, but we still get dangled a few succulent facts by which to "know" our singers and songwriters. About Robert Johnson we still have pretty well squat, which hasn't stopped us from delving. Guralnick finds some useful stuff at a time when there were things like a movie called Crossroads (starring Ralph Macchio!) with all kinds of soul-selling clichés and shameless purloining of second-hand blues, but this bio is still very much a work-in-progress, almost reluctant to give up the mysterious crevices that were lying around inside the Johnson legend when Guralnick started digging in that ground all those years ago. Indeed he seems to get most excited talking about the mysterious elements than the confirmed facts that crop up.
Robert Johnson only recorded 29 songs, 41 if we count alternate takes; in that rather paltry, sadly truncated legacy, though, lies all the mystery you might need, alongside the stunning otherworldly art.
February 25, 2017
This short book is a lot like it's subject. It is brief and sketchy and leaves the reader wanting more. The life of Robert Johnson was full of myth and legend but is best remembered for two recording sessions in did in the mid 1930's and from these sessions 29 songs were captured on vinyl that would influence popular music the world over for decades to come. Within a few years Robert Johnson was dead but his music lived on and probably influenced more people than any of us can imagine. Much like his Woody Guthrie, a contemporary of his, Johnsons' songs would transcend race, musical styles and generations and this book does well to appreciate the genius of Robert Johnson as a songwriter and performer. However, unlike Guthrie, Johnson's life was so brief and clouded in mystery that there is not much left to write about. Guralnick makes a noble effort to try to flesh out his subject but there is just not much info to work with. What is a writer to do with a subject that meant so much to so many yet there is no record about his school years or early influences and who died just as he was beginning to get noticed. No-one even knows what day Robert Johnson was born or why he used the surname he did when he had other options.
This explains the shortness of the book . Promoted as an extended essay it might have been better to call it liner notes in book form under the title 'Robert Johnson and the Delta blues movement' since that is the real focus of the book. Johnson is certainly the focus of this lovingly written book but he is as much an example of the life of a delta bluesman of the time as he is the main driving force of the book. They are many more Delta bluesmen mentioned - often in the vain of how Johnson influenced them - and the juke joints and rambling lifestyle that made them are well depicted but the man in the title too often seems like a supporting character, like the long lost son/cousin from a Dickens novel who suddenly reappears after years of being away. There is very little in this book to explain why her wrote the songs he did. Why was he haunted by the devil chasing him, why did he write such original songs both lyrically and musically instead of just rehashing the existing music of his peers, where did his ambition and drive come from and how did he learn to play a guitar so uniquely that people thought he was being supported by other musicians. None of these questions are answered convincingly and many more are not addressed.
This isn't the authors fault, of course. He is writing about a man who is a true mystery. No-one is even sure if Johnson could read or write or what level he could. He was married twice but little is known of these relationships and though he knew many people it doesn't seem to have gotten close to anyone. The man was a ghost to all around him. He would appear, shake things up and than disappear leaving behind the two things that made him the great man that he became; his music and his mystic.
There is some source material and the writer uses them as best he can. He interviews people who knew Robert Johnson and also references written material but these sources often conflict one another and none of them really add any depth to subject. There are no explanations among these stories about how he composed his music or why nor is legacy ever truly addressed. There is no real depth added to Robert Johnsons story, nothing to add to his mystic. That's a shame really because this book is a well and lovingly written account of one of Americas great songsmiths but it probably is not the book that will guarantee his legend will last forever.
This explains the shortness of the book . Promoted as an extended essay it might have been better to call it liner notes in book form under the title 'Robert Johnson and the Delta blues movement' since that is the real focus of the book. Johnson is certainly the focus of this lovingly written book but he is as much an example of the life of a delta bluesman of the time as he is the main driving force of the book. They are many more Delta bluesmen mentioned - often in the vain of how Johnson influenced them - and the juke joints and rambling lifestyle that made them are well depicted but the man in the title too often seems like a supporting character, like the long lost son/cousin from a Dickens novel who suddenly reappears after years of being away. There is very little in this book to explain why her wrote the songs he did. Why was he haunted by the devil chasing him, why did he write such original songs both lyrically and musically instead of just rehashing the existing music of his peers, where did his ambition and drive come from and how did he learn to play a guitar so uniquely that people thought he was being supported by other musicians. None of these questions are answered convincingly and many more are not addressed.
This isn't the authors fault, of course. He is writing about a man who is a true mystery. No-one is even sure if Johnson could read or write or what level he could. He was married twice but little is known of these relationships and though he knew many people it doesn't seem to have gotten close to anyone. The man was a ghost to all around him. He would appear, shake things up and than disappear leaving behind the two things that made him the great man that he became; his music and his mystic.
There is some source material and the writer uses them as best he can. He interviews people who knew Robert Johnson and also references written material but these sources often conflict one another and none of them really add any depth to subject. There are no explanations among these stories about how he composed his music or why nor is legacy ever truly addressed. There is no real depth added to Robert Johnsons story, nothing to add to his mystic. That's a shame really because this book is a well and lovingly written account of one of Americas great songsmiths but it probably is not the book that will guarantee his legend will last forever.
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June 16, 2021Pretty good overview of Robert Johnson’s life, music, and the world in which he emerged. Since little is actually known about Johnson’s life story, Guralnick relies heavily on testimonies of people who knew him, namely Johnny Shines and Robert Lockwood. And even their accounts are conflicting, so much of the book is speculation. It’s still interesting though, especially if you buy into the whole “sold his soul to the devil” thing and think of Johnson as this mysterious genius. In reality, he was probably just a talented guy with a love for music, influenced by other musicians around him and lucky enough to record his songs and perform around the country.
Guralnick also talks about Johnson’s contemporaries, like Son House and Howlin’ Wolf (who I learned was older than Johnson), as well as what life was like in the Mississippi Delta at the time. He provides some details about Johnson's probable family toward the beginning. All in all, if you like Robert Johnson and early Delta blues, this is worth a look. It’s a quick read after all.
Guralnick also talks about Johnson’s contemporaries, like Son House and Howlin’ Wolf (who I learned was older than Johnson), as well as what life was like in the Mississippi Delta at the time. He provides some details about Johnson's probable family toward the beginning. All in all, if you like Robert Johnson and early Delta blues, this is worth a look. It’s a quick read after all.
May 24, 2023
This was an interesting summing up of the life of the most mysterious bluesman ever. Many regard him as the personification of the existential blues singer. Included are many fine black and white photos. The author tries to tell the few facts in a matter of fact style and emphasizes his influence on Blues. I lacked a bit the uncanny parts of this shadowy presence, this phantom that can be compared a bit with Shakespeare. Concretely his pact with the devil at the crossroads. This legend would have interested me even more. Nevertheless a recommended book on the godfather of blues.
April 7, 2025
Peter Guralnick's short bio of Robert Johnson, some things right, some things wrong. Much of this is based on Mack McCormick's "research." Guralnick does pay attention to the derivations of some of his songs. Unfortunately, he falls into the "devil" background stuff, as many others had concocted early on.
However, along with Elijah Wald, Bruce Conforth & Gayle Dean Wardlow, McCormack & others, especially the recent book by Robert Johnson's stepsister, Annye Anderson, this adds to the real biography of Robert Johnson.
However, along with Elijah Wald, Bruce Conforth & Gayle Dean Wardlow, McCormack & others, especially the recent book by Robert Johnson's stepsister, Annye Anderson, this adds to the real biography of Robert Johnson.
August 16, 2017
Sample sentence from this book: "Through the research of David Evans and Gayle Dean Wardlow in particular, the origins of the unique style - generally considered to be the richest and most emotionally intense vein of a genre that began sweeping the South in the early days of the century and, then, much assisted by the new technology of the phonograph record became a central strain in the diffusion of Afro-American culture over the next fifty years - have become clear."
January 5, 2019
Well it is interesting but it is basically a fanboy feeling out and romanticizing and mythologizing the RJ persona into a larger than life legend. It presents itself as a factual biography but in reality it is more of an exercise in myth building. Guralnick also seems to contradict himself at times, going on at length about how unique and singular a figure RJ was, but then presenting many examples of how he was really a fairly typical and ordinary musician
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