#Mississippi delta blues

[3rdeyeblaque]

On May 8th, we also venerate Ancestor Robert Johnson on his 112th birthday 🎉

A renowned ICON of Hoodoo History, Culture, & Folklore, and a Delta Blue's legend, Robert Johnson's storied yet brief success has cemented him at the crossroads of Hoodoo Folklore & American History. He is known for his exceptionally eerie singing & masterful guitar play amid living a hard and fast life; after having struck a deal with the Devil to become one of the greatest Blue's musicians of all time.

According to Hoodoo Folklore, it was a cool October night when Robert Johnson walked alone with his guitar down a dark road in the Mississippi River Delta on a full moon night to the crossroads at Highways 49 & 61 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. As he walks he thinks about his sorrow. He thinks about the jeers & shouts for him to get off stage. In his misery, he cries out into the night. For his weakness, jealousy, fear, & the anguish of failure. But he’s not alone. Here, he meets the Devil. The Devil heard his cry & appeared, offering to fashion him a talent so he could play unlike any other in exchange for his soul. Thus Robert Johnson rose to fame as the King of the Delta Blues.

Robert Johnson was the eleventh child of his mother's children & born out of wedlock. He was born and grew up with his mother in Hazlehurst, Mississippi until he left to stay with his father for a time in Memphis,TN. His childhood is largely a mystery. Those that knew of him, claimed that he took up the diddley bow (a wire attached to nails sticking out of houses), as music was his life long interest.

As a teen, Robert Johnson met fellow Blue's legend Son House and Willie Brown. They became his musical mentors as they played in small towns throughout the Mississippi Delta. Thus began his showmanship & his iconic fusion of singing, guitar-playing, & songwriting. From then on he lived the life he sang about, the life a mysterious traveling musician. Though as the old folks of the era would say,  “The Blues was never meant to be taken seriously or reflectively. It was simply a force, expressing the deepest roots of their lives”. That there are only 3 known photos of him in existence only adds to his mystery.

By 1931 he was a popular name in bars and nightclubs throughout the region. While passing through Jackson, Mississippi in 1936, Robert Johnson caught the eye of a talent scout who'd go on to arranged his first recording session, which went on to selling 5,000 copies throughout the region. This was the very 1st time that  Robert Johnson's singing voice & guitar play was recorded. Despite his short life & career, he became a major influence on Blue's & Rock N Roll in the '60s & '70s. He'd go on to influence the likes of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, and Eric Clapton. In 1961 Columbia Records released, King of Delta Blues, which was a compilation of his early recordings; spanning just 29 cut between 1936-1938.

In 1938, a music producer at Columbia Records learned about his recordings & sought him out to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC in front of an all-Black crowd. Unfortunately, Robert Johnson passed away the night before the show was set.

To this day, the cause of his death remains in dispute. Some say he was shot dead by the man of a paramour he'd messed around with. Others say it was a poison that killed him. His death certificate, however, officially states that his cause of death was Syphilis. Still, whether literally or figuratively, there are those who believe that the Devil did in fact collect his due.

At the time of his death, his grave remained unmarked thus no exumation effort could ever conclude with 100% certainty that the uncovered remains are his. Today, what has long-since been presumed to be his remains, is buried in Little Zion Baptist Church's cemetary, in Greenwood, Mississippi. 

"I pray that my redeemer will come and take me from my grave" - Robert Johnson’s final words

We pour libations & give him💐 today as we celebrate him for his legendary contributions to the art, history, and lore of Blue's & Black Culture. May we elevate him in light & healing.

Offering suggestions: listen to/share his music, play Mississippi Delta Blue's , & menthol cigarettes paired with dark liquor

*Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.

[sonicandvisualsurprises]

1947 - Original version of Elvis' "That's All Right (Mama) "(1954).

[ambermaitrejean]

Robert Johnson's goin' to the crossroads. Gif by Amber Maitrejean

[ifelllikeastar]

Robert Leroy Johnson born May 8, 1911

Although his recording career spanned only seven months, he is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style, and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

[youngestdaughtersyndrome]

I literally have nothing else going on so introducing the mycelium girl radio hour, where every single week i give u 15 of my current favorite songs <3 this is also so u guys know what im talking about when i mention specific artists but regardless!!! Long live new music 💖

[kingwaino]

i have done...an absolute deep dive into blues and folk music tonight. it was 100% one of those blink and three hours have passed type of deals. worth it though.

[alanblindowlwilson]

Some photos of the Mississippi John Hurt museum before it burned down this week. It was a historic landmark located along the Mississippi Blues Trail on County Road 109 in rural Avalon, MS.

The museum burned down in the early morning hours of Feb 20.

Hurt was one of Alan Wilson’s blues idols. Alan collaborated with Hurt on harmonica for a 1964 WTBS Cambridge radio broadcast.

[rastronomicals]

1:56 AM EDT April 6, 2024:

Son House - "Preachin' The Blues, Pt. I & II" From the Compilation album   Blues Masters Vol. 8 - Mississippi Delta Blues (1993)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

[carlsample8]

Me in the back, middle w/ Mary Ann Jackson and "The Up All Night Blues Band". R.I.P. the late Martin "Big Boy" Grant.

[kingeyeam]

[3rdeyeblaque]

On March 21st, we venerated Ancestor Eddie James "Son" House Jr. on his 121st birthday 🎉

A juggernaught at the dawn of the Blue's Era, Son House was and remains a blueprint for many as the Father of Folk Blue's music & culture.

A preacher man in the pulpit by day & a slide guitar playing bluesman by night, unlike those before him, Son House lived his life torn dead center at the crossroad of the Southern Baptist Church & the jukejoint stage. He became one of many engineers to elevate secular music at the intersection of Delta Blue's & Gospel & controversy. Yet none other captured the emotional depth of the 30s & 40s more than Son House. International fame rightfully found him in the midst of the Blue's Revival movement of the '60s, which drew him from the drawl of retirement & a guitar back in his lap. From humbled beginnings a hired guitarist performing under Jazz living legends of the time to spurring a 50-year-long recorded legacy, Son House became a profound influence on the likes of Robert Johnson & Muddy Waters, among others of the next generation bluesmen.

"White Folks hear the Blue's come out, but don't know how it got there.” - Son House

We pour libations & give Brother Son House his 💐 for his legendary influence, emotional intelligence, & creative ingenuity that forever shifted the trajectory of Black Music Culture.

Offering suggestions: play his music (Mississippi Delta Blue's), a Baptist Bible, & libations of water

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[hotniatheron]

[chroniclesofnadia111]

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[ifelllikeastar]

Mississippi John Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He worked as a sharecropper and began playing at dances and parties, singing to a melodious fingerpicked accompaniment. His first recordings, made for Okeh Records in 1928, were commercial failures, and he continued to work as a farmer.

The Library of Congress recorded John in 1964. This helped further the American folk music revival, which led to the rediscovery of many other bluesmen of Hurt's era. Hurt performed on the university and coffeehouse concert circuit with other Delta blues musicians who were brought out of retirement. He also recorded several albums for Vanguard Records.

John Smith Hurt  died on November 2, 1966 at the age of 73.

[once-was-muses]

[ I have brain rot and I'm thinking about singing voice claims for the eeby bois. I'm thinking Screamin' Jay Hawkins for Herman, and a "smoky" blues artist like Elmore James or Howlin' Wolf for Phil. I'm slightly more biased towards Howlin' Wolf, but he's also my Two-Face's claim orz ]

[ravenvix]

possum ridge, mississippi delta - gone to chicago