Ranking: #22
Original Release Date: 28 August 1990
Genre: Delta Blues
"The Complete Recordings" is a compilation album featuring recordings that Robert Johnson did throughout 1936 and 1937 in Dallas and San Antonio, TX. Most of the recordings were released in 1937 on earlier albums, when the artist was still alive. Obviously, he was not still alive in 1990 - Columbia Records decided to compile all the recordings Robert Johnson ever made on this album. Considering that it wasn't a contemporary album, it did surprisingly well, selling over a million copies and even winning a Grammy (for Best Historical Album, a category most people probably don't realize exists). Although Robert Johnson's career didn't last very long, as he died in 1938 (we'll get to that in a minute), he has been cited as one of the most influential artists of all time. This is the point where I reiterate that ALL rock music is based on the blues music that was coming out of the 1930s South. Countless musicians point to Robert Johnson specifically as being an influence in their own music, including the two musicians who continued to popularize Blues music after Johnson's death - Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The size of his impact compared to his actual body of work - which is summed up in the 41 songs on this album - has given rise to legends. Or more specifically, an urban legend.
Early this morning
When you knocked upon my door
Early this morning, ooh
When you knocked upon my door
And I said "hello Satan
I believe it's time to go"
Early in his career, Robert Johnson was not particularly successful. He was an itinerant perform in his 20s, moving from street corner to street corner, pool hall to pool hall, with nothing but his guitar and the clothes on his back. When he did play in more established venues, more often he was playing popular tunes of the day, not the blues music he would come to be known for. In 1936, he sought out to record some of his original songs. He was introduced to Don Law, who would help him with the initial recordings. These were done on a pretty low budget - in fact, they weren't even recorded in a studio. The were recorded in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, TX. I was excited to learn this bit of local lore, especially considering that the Gunter purports to be haunted. I also find it interesting because San Antonio is not known as a particularly musical town, but this critical piece of musical history happened here. Moving on, Robert Johnson would later do a second recording session in Dallas, TX. Since the set up in Dallas was more professional, he would end up doing a lot more recordings. In this session, he was able to do at least two takes of each song, which allows musical historians to do more comparative analysis on his performances than any other blues musician of the time. I know that doesn't sound exciting but, if you geek out about music, it is. After these recordings, he somewhat disappeared from history. It wasn't until 30 years later, when a musical historian was doing research on his life came across his death certificate, that we found out what happened. He was found dead on the side of the road near Greenwood, MS. No cause of death was listed. Some say he was murdered by a jealous husband using poison, but since there was no formal autopsy, there is no way to be certain.
Let's move on to those urban legends now. The most common one is that Robert Johnson's reach has been so monumental because he sold his soul to the demon at the crossroads. As a young man, he had a desire to be a great blues musician. He took his guitar to a crossroads near Dockery Plantation at midnight, where he met a man (i.e., The Devil). The Devil took his guitar, tuned it, and played a few songs before handing it back to Johnson. With the exchange, he bestowed Johnson with mastery of the instrument, all for the low, low price of his soul. As such, he is also the first victim of the 27 Club. For those who are unfamiliar, a pattern has been identified with famous artists, athletes, and musicians dying at the age of 27, usually at the height of the career. You're probably familiar with several of the members - Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain. Recently, Anton Yelchin of the most recent Star Trek reboot died in a freak accident, somehow getting pinned between his car and his mailbox after a night out. When the curse comes to get you, it doesn't care how, I suppose - although it must be noted that, in the majority of these cases, the deaths are self-inflicted through long-standing addictions or intentional suicide. Astrologically, the theory for this is the Saturn return, which general occurs anywhere between age 27-31 (Saturn takes approximately 29.5 years to return to the same point in the sky). Since we count the Saturn return as being from when Saturn returns to the same sign in your chart, that usually starts for most people during the 27th year. During this time, Karma comes to collect - Saturn is considered the planet of responsibilities and restrictions. People may experience this as finally settling down and starting a family or it could also mean having past mistakes catching up with you. People often realize during this time that they married the wrong person or that they aren't in the career they want to be in. Regardless, it's usually a period of drastic change for most people. Finally, there is also the urban legend of the cursed record - this one often makes the rounds in popular culture and the artist generally used is Robert Johnson, because of his possible deal with the devil. Essentially, a cursed record brings misfortune to any one who either listens to it or owns it. As someone who plans to have my ashes pressed into a record, this is now a goal I have. According to the company I've researched, my ashes will make approximately 30 records, which I can give to whomever I please. Perhaps it's kind of morbid, but I think it might be a fun hobby to collect records like this. Maybe even start a Record Store of the Dead. Given the recent trajectory of popular culture, stranger things have happened.
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
I didn't want to do the astrology of the release day, because I don't think it quite matters for a compilation album. Instead, I decided to look up the chart of Robert Johnson, to understand better the man whose shoulders modern music stands. Looking at his chart, his Sun and North Node were conjunct in Taurus, opposite his Jupiter and South Node in Scorpio. Following his Destiny was an imperative for him but luck on his path might've been more elusive. South Node in Scorpio tends to indicate a certain comfortableness with a chaotic life but it was his Destiny to set down roots and grow something. He never became famous during his lifetime, in spite of his supposed dealings with the Devil. In fact, the impact of his work wouldn't be realized for some time. Johnson was born under Mercury Retrograde. Retrograde planets in a chart is usually indicative of someone who doesn't think the same as the rest of the population. With Mercury Retrograde, it often manifests as an ability to communicate and convey ideas in a way that resonates with people in a special way. A key aspect of Johnson's music is his use of microtonality while singing. Microtonality is using subtle inflections and changes in pitch while singing, which adds emotional depth to the vocals. That's one of the reasons why having multiple performances of the same songs have been essential to studying his style - his performance was different every time because of these changes in inflection. In this age of autotune and remastering, we tend to measure performance ability as the ability replicate studio versions perfectly in a live environment. This does a disservice to the artists, though, because if they are performing live, it should be different. It should be special. Otherwise, you might as well be just sitting alone at home, listening to the radio. Finally, Robert Johnson had Moon in Virgo, which is kind of odd for someone who was a traveling performer. In general, Virgo energy tends to be introverted and prefers controlled environments (cleanliness tends to be especially important). Robert Johnson, when he wasn't performing, was said to be extremely shy and much of the recordings he did in San Antonio were done while he was facing the wall, not the people assisting him with the recording. Of course, he may have also been doing this for corner-loading, to enhance the sound of his guitar. Virgo energy is meticulous and detail-oriented, so being hyper-aware of the angles at which his instrument - his consummate companion - sounds best at would be absolutely on brand.
For today's featured song, I thought it would be fitting to choose "Me and the Devil Blues." I'd also like to plug that Netflix has a documentary on Robert Johnson ("ReMastered"), if you're interested in learning more about this legend.
"Me and the Devil Blues" Video
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