@ctimmons510 No it's not true man. Some ancient Turkish, Chinese and Greek musicians tell they meet evil in their song. First person who do this is first human being.
tommy has always been up there on top, him and furry lewis clear the stage for me, its that intonation that no one else had, son house included, a tonic in the voice, seeing the light through the dark night
@pokerin3545 Tommy Johnson is a great. The only guys I'd put above him are Skip James and, of course, Robert Johnson. Mississippi John Hurt is great as well. I have trouble deciding who is the best, though. On some days I think its Skip, others I think Robert.
it would be easy for any artist at this time to have made seperate claims to the "selling his soul to the devil" becuase the learning of a trade at the crossroads is a common practice of hoodoo, which can still be found among the black crowd in rural areas.
I don't think he was the first bluesman to make that claim. Check out a barrelhouse pianist called Peetie Wheatstraw. I'm pretty sure he was the first recorded person to make the claim. He used to bill himself as The Devils Son in Law.
@killerkarl123 or we will never know who sold their soul without them actually specifically saying so. That would be an even better lesson. Who cares, lets just enjoy the music! :)
@ctimmons510 MAYBE that was the first famous and remembered man to make the claim, but i'm pretty sure that claim would have been made within a few years of the invention of the devil
To you, I'm sure he's not. You havn't had experiences, and anyone who has, you'd likely consider to be crazy, or schizophrenic, or whatever. To these people, he certaintly is real.
Man, Tommy has this way of putting my mind in a really odd place. There's a feeling he projects in his music or an atmosphere he creates which must reflect his troubled life.
Not many performers can really create that, he was a true artist, a beautiful soul!
No I dont think so, Johnson was quite a common surname in the south at the time. There was also Blind Willie Johnson, Louise Johnson and Lonnie Johnson. Probably a few more. Don't think they were related at all.
@killerkarl123 Just about every time had it's defiant music which was said to be the devils music by christian fanatics, when jazz was first invented during the slave period the whites didn't like it because in a way it was the blacks way of rebelling, same with blues and in these times everyone was christian so it was then dubed "the devil's music", then in the 50's when rock n' roll was formed from blues that was called the devils music, and then in the seventies heavy metal.
I would agree with you on that although the general view has always been that old mr satan played the old fashioned blues music and the link with heavy metal filtered through from that via- like you said- 50's rock and roll and possibly 70's music-punk??. It was all seen as taboo and genuinely evil at the time. However that there is something more sinister with the blues that a hundred metal bands could not match- the old country blues can genuinely be spine chillingly scary.
@killerkarl123 Thats true every time I hear the song crossroads it sends a chill down my spine even though I know that the story isn't true.......... great story though.
just heard dark road blues by floyd jones and now this and i think they both belong on a "Roots of Howlin Wolf" album (oops showin my age i mean cd i guess). i always liked wolfs line "i asked for water she gave me gasoline" and now i know where its from! thanks for posting this!
Tommy Johnson was a bit before robert johnson, i believe. He was on dockery plantation with charlie patton, willie brown and others in the area like henry sloan. then a few years later, howlin wolf was there, then son house rolled in, and we know house tutored RJ a bit. i think this is all within like 10 years though, so whatever. good to see others interested. keep it going.
Tommy I believe was from north missisippi and not from dockerys plantation but I believe he visited a fair few times times to play / trade tunes etc. The general order I would go in for the dockerys scene would be charlie patton and willie brown, then son house and all his contempories,and then the later howlin wolf. With many contempraries in between. I am rather drunk when I wrote this please excuse me :)
To enhance his fame, Johnson cultivated a sinister persona. According to his brother LeDell, he claimed to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his mastery of the guitar.[3][6] This story was later also associated with Robert Johnson, to whom he was unrelated. Tommy Johnson also played tricks with his guitar, playing it between his legs and behind his head, and throwing it in the air while playing.
after hearing from multiple sources that Robert Johnson's tale is just a take off of Tommy's, it can easily be said that Robert was a knock off version comin round a few years later after tommy's memory had faded. robert says the devil taught him how to play guitar, but some of tommy's haunting vocal style and bended picking technique comes throw in roberts music. i could be completely wrong tho
Robert Johnson took a lot from a lot of people, not to discredit him at all- because he put it all together and became an icon. The devil myth is quite an old thing in the blues, I think the earliest was a pianist called peetie wheatstraw who claimed to have sold his soul and billed himself as the "devils son in law", Robert Johnson even pinched Peeties trademark falsetto "ooooh"
Everybody really used yodelling, from "Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers onwards. Peetie Wheatstraw's trademark was his "Oh well, oh well" before the third and last line of a verse, and everybody copied that too. By the way, thanks for making & posting this, it's pretty good!
You gotta remember this guy was 10-15 years before robert johnson. Robert took a lot from him with that haunting sound he does like hellhound on my trail, com in my kitchen etc. Robert had the added bonus of that new shuffle sound that was emerging at the time and much better recording. I do agree that Tommy Johnson is more of a hidden gem in the blues.
@killerkarl123 Tommy and Robert Johnson were actually contemporaries. They were recording around the same time. Robert was just more well known at the time. In fact, one of the ideas floating around is that supposedly the original story that Robert sold his soul at the crossroads was actually the story of Tommy Johnson, but the writer decided he wasn't well known enough.
Tommy recorded 10 years before in 1928. Robert recorded in 38 and 39.
Tommy sold his soul in 1924 when robert was only 13.
Tommy was much much more popular than Robert was- a contempory of charlie patton and son house, but destroyed himself with drink, plus Robert had the trouble of coming out of the depression so record sales were not very good.
The legend of Robert Johnson comes out of him dying young, whereas Tommy just faded into alcoholism. Maybe your thinking of someone else??
RJ might be the most gifted performer ever. But to dismiss TJ because of it is stupid. TJ is an elite, classy bluesman. And extremely talented in his own right.
It's a about the point of perspective. These guys play different kind of delta blues. And their styles are different. To each his own man :) chill. I love them both Tommy and Robert
awesome video suits the song when you get a chance plz check out my new video to my original blues song behind a smile and let me know what ya think plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
@Dennisdread My brother made a more recent Blues rock version of this song that is very good, includes those lyrics but sounds much more rockish and different. He was greatly inspired by Tommy
These guys are amazing. Would love to have seen them. The compositions are so out there. The music creates an atmosphere, as well as being the engine driving the song. I've got the CD coming off ebay. Can't wait. Tommy Johnson's band makes even Skip's music seem plain. It's hard to describe but the hazy stumbling of the main guitar line. It's drunken and alien. Nearly gave me a haircut the first time. Each song seems unique. Love Canned Heat, Big Road and Big Fat Mamma. Incredible stuff.
This would have to be the strangest song I've heard. It's disturbing. I asked her for a drink of water, she gave me gasoline. Cruel. I'd never heard him before. WOW. I thought Skip James sounds sad and haunting - this guy makes Skip sound light-hearted. Tommy spread the story that he sold his soul for musical ability. He was the first, not Robert Johnson. They must've really believed him, when he sounded like this. The original devil's music. Gotta love it . . .
Tommy Johnson is my favourite voice of the blues- its haunting and gives me shivers up my spine. Skip James and Robert Johnsons more ghostly stuff are great but there is something special about Tommy Johnson- irs genuinely eerie.
And even if he was the Devil himself, so what? At least he knew how to play
febbra2 1 month ago
a howl from the demon depths
jekk23 2 months ago
Simply amazing. I believe this was recorded before my parents were born, just a few years earlier, and baby it Rocks!
54markl 3 months ago
Here's what Rock 'n Roll sounded like in the 1920s.
54markl 3 months ago
@ctimmons510 No it's not true man. Some ancient Turkish, Chinese and Greek musicians tell they meet evil in their song. First person who do this is first human being.
garagemonster13 4 months ago
je cherchais la version de Detroit Jr. (que je n'ai hélas pas trouvée), mais je dois admettre que celle-ci est très poignante aussi.
merci du partage !
fillette71200 6 months ago
tommy has always been up there on top, him and furry lewis clear the stage for me, its that intonation that no one else had, son house included, a tonic in the voice, seeing the light through the dark night
dengie75 7 months ago
jennique + boydy
r0yalgate 7 months ago
♥ .
MrMLD72MLD 8 months ago
just found out im a decendant of him WOW
tinkersyd 9 months ago 2
just found out im a decendant of him WOW
tinkersyd 9 months ago
no question, he's one of the best prewar bluesman.
and i like his falsetto voicing. I think that is his most "charming" point.
pokerin3545 9 months ago
@pokerin3545 Tommy Johnson is a great. The only guys I'd put above him are Skip James and, of course, Robert Johnson. Mississippi John Hurt is great as well. I have trouble deciding who is the best, though. On some days I think its Skip, others I think Robert.
mcmckenz 4 months ago
how can anyone dislike this?
Zanm1991 9 months ago
kind of spooky
frenchfrie81able 10 months ago
yea. it might be a different reference frame. (Not the Christian devil but an afro-american one-voodoo, witchcraft?)
shf0606 10 months ago
it would be easy for any artist at this time to have made seperate claims to the "selling his soul to the devil" becuase the learning of a trade at the crossroads is a common practice of hoodoo, which can still be found among the black crowd in rural areas.
robihandrix 10 months ago
Robert Johnson or any Folk or Blues Men can't toch Tommy when it comes to singing. The guy has too much soul.
ChiToNYc 11 months ago
...The First Man To Sell His Soul to The Devil
codygx123 11 months ago 12
@codygx123
I don't think he was the first bluesman to make that claim. Check out a barrelhouse pianist called Peetie Wheatstraw. I'm pretty sure he was the first recorded person to make the claim. He used to bill himself as The Devils Son in Law.
killerkarl123 11 months ago
@killerkarl123 Good Info Thx Man!
codygx123 11 months ago
@killerkarl123 Also a shitty movie with the same title... dolemite guy does it.
CodeOuch 8 months ago
@CodeOuch lol
killerkarl123 8 months ago
@killerkarl123 Actually Tommy was active before Peetie Wheatstraw.
diablo9333 1 month ago
@diablo9333
Yes you are right, my mistake. The point is that it was a fairly common claim in the 20's/30's. I guess we will never know who was first.
killerkarl123 1 month ago
@killerkarl123 or we will never know who sold their soul without them actually specifically saying so. That would be an even better lesson. Who cares, lets just enjoy the music! :)
diablo9333 1 month ago
@codygx123
Satan makes them promises, and creates in them false desires; but satan’s promises are nothing but deception.
[4:121]
They (his dupes) will have their dwelling in Hell, and from it they will find no way of escape.
- The Holly Coran-
TheSociologue 7 months ago
@codygx123 well... this is not a bluesman... but the first person to make the clame or start a rumor was a violinist... niccolo paganini
ctimmons510 7 months ago
@ctimmons510 True that!
killerkarl123 7 months ago
@ctimmons510 MAYBE that was the first famous and remembered man to make the claim, but i'm pretty sure that claim would have been made within a few years of the invention of the devil
waldoman7 5 months ago in playlist YouTube Mix for Tommy Johnson
there is something very dark in this song ... =| am i right?
DanFindling 1 year ago 12
@wannabebluesguy
To you, I'm sure he's not. You havn't had experiences, and anyone who has, you'd likely consider to be crazy, or schizophrenic, or whatever. To these people, he certaintly is real.
strangefamousjuggalo 1 year ago
@wannabebluesguy
The devil doesn't give a damn about common sense
strangefamousjuggalo 1 year ago
Man, Tommy has this way of putting my mind in a really odd place. There's a feeling he projects in his music or an atmosphere he creates which must reflect his troubled life.
Not many performers can really create that, he was a true artist, a beautiful soul!
MachinegunApe 1 year ago
grim as fuck
Durandal1717 1 year ago
"COOL DRINK OF WATER BLUES" great title for a song!!
ATOMICOELIA 1 year ago
will iever get back home lord lordy lord
familytunes1 1 year ago
One of a kind voice. Always thought it was so cool that only about 2 dozen songs by Johnson were ever recorded but he is forever remembered.
seymourbbest 1 year ago
"the devil has no music"..mavis staples
1939lb 1 year ago 2
Were Tommy and Robert Johnson related?
Metalhead001122 1 year ago
@Metalhead001122
No I dont think so, Johnson was quite a common surname in the south at the time. There was also Blind Willie Johnson, Louise Johnson and Lonnie Johnson. Probably a few more. Don't think they were related at all.
killerkarl123 1 year ago
@killerkarl123 Yeah but it sure as hell is a coincidence that they were both rumoured to have sold their souls to the devil.
Metalhead001122 1 year ago
@Metalhead001122
Yeah I suppose it is. A lot of the blues guys used to play up to those myths though. The blues is the devils music after all!
killerkarl123 1 year ago
@killerkarl123 Just about every time had it's defiant music which was said to be the devils music by christian fanatics, when jazz was first invented during the slave period the whites didn't like it because in a way it was the blacks way of rebelling, same with blues and in these times everyone was christian so it was then dubed "the devil's music", then in the 50's when rock n' roll was formed from blues that was called the devils music, and then in the seventies heavy metal.
Metalhead001122 1 year ago
@Metalhead001122
I would agree with you on that although the general view has always been that old mr satan played the old fashioned blues music and the link with heavy metal filtered through from that via- like you said- 50's rock and roll and possibly 70's music-punk??. It was all seen as taboo and genuinely evil at the time. However that there is something more sinister with the blues that a hundred metal bands could not match- the old country blues can genuinely be spine chillingly scary.
killerkarl123 1 year ago 2
@killerkarl123 Thats true every time I hear the song crossroads it sends a chill down my spine even though I know that the story isn't true.......... great story though.
Metalhead001122 1 year ago
@Metalhead001122
Who knows man ;-) maybe they are all having a good old rock and roll time down in the fiery place??? Who knows? ;-)
killerkarl123 1 year ago
@Metalhead001122 how could you possibly know if it's true or not
rcm118 1 year ago
just heard dark road blues by floyd jones and now this and i think they both belong on a "Roots of Howlin Wolf" album (oops showin my age i mean cd i guess). i always liked wolfs line "i asked for water she gave me gasoline" and now i know where its from! thanks for posting this!
majorhoop 1 year ago
Tommy Johnson was a bit before robert johnson, i believe. He was on dockery plantation with charlie patton, willie brown and others in the area like henry sloan. then a few years later, howlin wolf was there, then son house rolled in, and we know house tutored RJ a bit. i think this is all within like 10 years though, so whatever. good to see others interested. keep it going.
Christian7McLean 1 year ago
@Christian7McLean
Tommy I believe was from north missisippi and not from dockerys plantation but I believe he visited a fair few times times to play / trade tunes etc. The general order I would go in for the dockerys scene would be charlie patton and willie brown, then son house and all his contempories,and then the later howlin wolf. With many contempraries in between. I am rather drunk when I wrote this please excuse me :)
killerkarl123 1 year ago 2
haunting vocals, amazing guitar playing.
blindswampblues 1 year ago
De este muchacho se dice que hizo un pacto con el diablo como Robert Johnson.
saludos!!!
Arito
arito555 1 year ago
To enhance his fame, Johnson cultivated a sinister persona. According to his brother LeDell, he claimed to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his mastery of the guitar.[3][6] This story was later also associated with Robert Johnson, to whom he was unrelated. Tommy Johnson also played tricks with his guitar, playing it between his legs and behind his head, and throwing it in the air while playing.
wikipedia ftw
smcosci 1 year ago
this song is creepy as hell with that descending instrument in the background(fiddle?) and his vocal delivery, super soul full.
gopher793 1 year ago
This makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. His voice is so....oh God! I can't describe it. The video is pretty cool too!
LadyofWar1980 1 year ago
after hearing from multiple sources that Robert Johnson's tale is just a take off of Tommy's, it can easily be said that Robert was a knock off version comin round a few years later after tommy's memory had faded. robert says the devil taught him how to play guitar, but some of tommy's haunting vocal style and bended picking technique comes throw in roberts music. i could be completely wrong tho
BlastMasterDeph 1 year ago
@BlastMasterDeph
Robert Johnson took a lot from a lot of people, not to discredit him at all- because he put it all together and became an icon. The devil myth is quite an old thing in the blues, I think the earliest was a pianist called peetie wheatstraw who claimed to have sold his soul and billed himself as the "devils son in law", Robert Johnson even pinched Peeties trademark falsetto "ooooh"
killerkarl123 1 year ago
@killerkarl123
Everybody really used yodelling, from "Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers onwards. Peetie Wheatstraw's trademark was his "Oh well, oh well" before the third and last line of a verse, and everybody copied that too. By the way, thanks for making & posting this, it's pretty good!
kidcalabria 1 year ago
I don't think Robert & Tommy ever met. They were in two
different schools of the blues. Tommy Johnson came from
the Jackson area (south of the Delta) & home of artists
like Bo Carter, Ishman Bracy, & Joe & Charlie McCoy. Robert came from the Delta (quite a bit north) & was
influenced by Charlie Patton & Son House.
W24YI 2 years ago
@W24YI Tommy Johnson wasn't only influenced by Patton, he even played with Patton at one point.
BlackMonk66 1 year ago
it's the devil's music!
buffalobilly 2 years ago
RIP TJ your music will never be forgotten.Lord good Lordy Lord.
oaktizzy 2 years ago
You gotta remember this guy was 10-15 years before robert johnson. Robert took a lot from him with that haunting sound he does like hellhound on my trail, com in my kitchen etc. Robert had the added bonus of that new shuffle sound that was emerging at the time and much better recording. I do agree that Tommy Johnson is more of a hidden gem in the blues.
killerkarl123 2 years ago
@killerkarl123 Tommy and Robert Johnson were actually contemporaries. They were recording around the same time. Robert was just more well known at the time. In fact, one of the ideas floating around is that supposedly the original story that Robert sold his soul at the crossroads was actually the story of Tommy Johnson, but the writer decided he wasn't well known enough.
Mandolinpossum 2 years ago
Tommy recorded 10 years before in 1928. Robert recorded in 38 and 39.
Tommy sold his soul in 1924 when robert was only 13.
Tommy was much much more popular than Robert was- a contempory of charlie patton and son house, but destroyed himself with drink, plus Robert had the trouble of coming out of the depression so record sales were not very good.
The legend of Robert Johnson comes out of him dying young, whereas Tommy just faded into alcoholism. Maybe your thinking of someone else??
killerkarl123 2 years ago
@killerkarl123 Robert Johnson DIED in 1938. He couldn't have recorded after his death.
Mandolinpossum 2 years ago
@killerkarl123 Did a little looking around, Robert Recorded in 36 and 37, so you're right there, more or less. My mistake.
Mandolinpossum 2 years ago
no worries, you right about robert too- it was just off the top of my head and only one year out. not too bad :p
killerkarl123 2 years ago
i feel robert is very overrated but good but tommy is more of a hidden jem like a bluesmans bluesmen
geeyouknit345 2 years ago 2
Robert johnson is way better than this cat
559driftinandyaboy 2 years ago
Robert is more talented but this guys voice just does it for me everytime. Pus the whole selling your soul rumours started with this guy!!
killerkarl123 2 years ago
RJ might be the most gifted performer ever. But to dismiss TJ because of it is stupid. TJ is an elite, classy bluesman. And extremely talented in his own right.
JosephMalicke 2 years ago 4
It's a about the point of perspective. These guys play different kind of delta blues. And their styles are different. To each his own man :) chill. I love them both Tommy and Robert
chvaky 2 years ago
@559driftinandyaboy I agree but i love this man too!
awesomehatguy 2 years ago
@559driftinandyaboy NO HE I S NOT
chalino19 2 years ago
Gotta love the blues. Sometimes I just like to sit, ponder life and let the blues play softly in the background.
Bandaids4ever 2 years ago 3
This has been flagged as spam show
awesome video suits the song when you get a chance plz check out my new video to my original blues song behind a smile and let me know what ya think plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
overthemountain67 2 years ago
blues music at its best right here
ghettostars2020 2 years ago 3
check out honeyboy edwards he is my friend he knew tommy!
JSLLH 2 years ago 2
0:39 - 046 is very haunting. gives my spine chills
TutorWizard 2 years ago 3
Great Blues song thanks for the post.
What movie you meesing with?
bronze139 2 years ago 2
I just had a dream were this song was playing .
richie8379 2 years ago 5
I asked for water, and she gave me gasoline.
Lord, Lordy Lord.
Amen.
Dennisdread 2 years ago 22
@Dennisdread My brother made a more recent Blues rock version of this song that is very good, includes those lyrics but sounds much more rockish and different. He was greatly inspired by Tommy
awesomehatguy 2 years ago
great
boboa9 2 years ago 2
you've done well, it fits right in ..
oldguy537 2 years ago
haunting
xdarkdaysx 2 years ago 6
wow - that is a great great song and great singer.
mistermitchey 3 years ago
Roy Orbison must have stolen this guys voice box. WOW!!!!!
generalbluka 3 years ago
Man that is heavy.
DiamondSoul 3 years ago 4
These guys are amazing. Would love to have seen them. The compositions are so out there. The music creates an atmosphere, as well as being the engine driving the song. I've got the CD coming off ebay. Can't wait. Tommy Johnson's band makes even Skip's music seem plain. It's hard to describe but the hazy stumbling of the main guitar line. It's drunken and alien. Nearly gave me a haircut the first time. Each song seems unique. Love Canned Heat, Big Road and Big Fat Mamma. Incredible stuff.
slloyd1452 3 years ago 17
@slloyd1452 that's quite a bold statment to make about James....
ImTrickz1 4 months ago
This would have to be the strangest song I've heard. It's disturbing. I asked her for a drink of water, she gave me gasoline. Cruel. I'd never heard him before. WOW. I thought Skip James sounds sad and haunting - this guy makes Skip sound light-hearted. Tommy spread the story that he sold his soul for musical ability. He was the first, not Robert Johnson. They must've really believed him, when he sounded like this. The original devil's music. Gotta love it . . .
slloyd1452 3 years ago 6
Tommy Johnson is my favourite voice of the blues- its haunting and gives me shivers up my spine. Skip James and Robert Johnsons more ghostly stuff are great but there is something special about Tommy Johnson- irs genuinely eerie.
killerkarl123 3 years ago