apperently according to wikipidiea it was tommy johnson who sold his soul to the devil but robert johnson became more famous for the story the only people that wud know is them i guess but great music tho blues aint nothing but a good man feeling bad over the women he lost
apperently according to wikipidiea it was tommy johnson who sold his soul to the devil but robert johnson became more famous for the story the only people that wud know is them i guess but great music tho blues aint nothing but a good man feeling bad over the women he lost
I read that the legend of the crossroads was applied to Tommy Johnson even before it was applied to Robert Johnson and that it didn't become a part of the Robert Johnson iconography until much later. Not sure if this is true, but that is what the article stated.
To enhance his fame, Tommy Johnson cultivated a sinister persona similar to that of St. Louis bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw, the self-styled "Devil's son-in-law." His brother LeDell later said that Tommy claimed to have made a pact with Ol' Scratch at the crossroads,
@conorcunningham619 yeah tommy johnson told people that he sold his soul, wikipedia says that he would hitchhike all hours of the night to get to the next town, and he would play his guitar for whomever picked him up as payment...............
Tommy Johnson made the claim he sold his soul to the devil before Robert Johnson did. But the original claim is attributed to the Italian violinist, guitarist and composer Paganini, making it in the early 19th century. The evidence is still here - Paganini is extremely famous within the classical community even today, while his soul still belongs to the devil... :) he was even denied burial because of his alleged association with the devil
fucking great song, its so damn hard trying to figure it out on guitar exactly like this man is playing it, i have most of it down but i cant seem to find some other notes that are just difficult to interpret but fuck yeah Tommy Johnson all the way!
Do you have that song, I think it's called 'Shine On'?
There's a great version of it at the end of the movie 'The Ladykillers' where they added a gospel track, which actually sounds amazing; it fits in seamlessly, since it's a gospel song, and adds this great dimension to it I'm sure TJ would approve of
Are you talking about Blind Willie Johnson's "Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me" Thats the one they used at the end and the faded into a gosple version.
This just an absolutely gorgeous performance. David Harrison is sadly dismissive of this recording in the Tommy Johnson entry in The Encyclopedia of the Blues. He's missing a lot if all he can say is that it was "an attempt to sing maudlin ballad" [lack of indefinite article is 'sic']
I love Tommy Johnson but this is the most beautiful thing I've heard from him.
Does anyone know who the composer of this song is? I don't think it's Johnson.
Don't know the composer, but it's in the style of Jimmie Rodgers. As Elijah Wald says in his book Escaping The Delta ;"Listening to it, one cannot doubt that he is comfortable with the Rodgers approach, and could have come up with more of this material had it been in demand.....As a result, Johnson was typed by everyone as a brilliant but limited exponent of the Patton style of hard Delta blues."
In the hands of another performer the song could be trite and/or maudlin, but the way TJ sings it...truly haunting.
I can't believe there's not more of this kind of material. The recording business at the time was so ass-backwards. Can you shed any light on what exactly it means that this was a "test pressing"?
I think the "test-pressing" was done just to set recording levels and make sure everything was working - the performer would be told to just play anything he liked, so the engineer could then get on with the business of recording what the company wanted (i.e. just Delta Blues)
i'm not as good as you are with handling images (your video is lovely and does this extraordinary tommy johnson song justice), but here are two of mine: tommy johnson and blind willie mc tell, two great voices, never to be forgotten ....
it's fabulous, i had never heard the song, this sort of black/white blues gave me shivers all over, it's what i've always loved best in music, when the distinctions between early white country and primitive black blues is hard to make ... and i just ordered times ain'is what it used to be, volume 8, which issued this incredible gem. thanks a lot for posting it ....
Great song. Irish? African? Iranian? Arabic? Russian? American? All of them? Whoever - blues is the best music ever.
PatrickWall12 8 months ago
♥ .
MrMLD72MLD 8 months ago
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apperently according to wikipidiea it was tommy johnson who sold his soul to the devil but robert johnson became more famous for the story the only people that wud know is them i guess but great music tho blues aint nothing but a good man feeling bad over the women he lost
antshelly2 1 year ago
apperently according to wikipidiea it was tommy johnson who sold his soul to the devil but robert johnson became more famous for the story the only people that wud know is them i guess but great music tho blues aint nothing but a good man feeling bad over the women he lost
antshelly2 1 year ago
Outstanding!!!!!!
I knew that Tommy Johnson was one of the masters, but this piece look ahead in the history!
Where did you find all that epic images???
Great Post!!!
DAVO1984FI 1 year ago
this guy did not sell he's soul, he drowned it in a bottle of whiskey
Repulver 1 year ago
I read that the legend of the crossroads was applied to Tommy Johnson even before it was applied to Robert Johnson and that it didn't become a part of the Robert Johnson iconography until much later. Not sure if this is true, but that is what the article stated.
gomusic45693 1 year ago
Wow! Where'd this come from? Never heard of it, never seen it on anything. When was it found?
StarvingRtist 1 year ago
did tommy make the same deal that robert johnson made?????? reply back if u know, cheers!
conorcunningham619 2 years ago
I think he said he had........must have been common back then!
blinddrunkal 2 years ago
robert was never meant to be the one who sold his soul. It was tommy. but who knows.
acidcasual07 2 years ago 6
yes, about 10 years or more before.
killerkarl123 2 years ago 3
To enhance his fame, Tommy Johnson cultivated a sinister persona similar to that of St. Louis bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw, the self-styled "Devil's son-in-law." His brother LeDell later said that Tommy claimed to have made a pact with Ol' Scratch at the crossroads,
bluegsp 2 years ago 2
@conorcunningham619 tommy johnson said that shit before robert did
wilocaust 1 year ago
@conorcunningham619 yeah tommy johnson told people that he sold his soul, wikipedia says that he would hitchhike all hours of the night to get to the next town, and he would play his guitar for whomever picked him up as payment...............
fairyshy 1 year ago
@conorcunningham619
Tommy Johnson made the claim he sold his soul to the devil before Robert Johnson did. But the original claim is attributed to the Italian violinist, guitarist and composer Paganini, making it in the early 19th century. The evidence is still here - Paganini is extremely famous within the classical community even today, while his soul still belongs to the devil... :) he was even denied burial because of his alleged association with the devil
nadavlahat 1 week ago in playlist music
thank you blinddrunkal what a treasure to find
bluessoul1286 3 years ago
fucking great song, its so damn hard trying to figure it out on guitar exactly like this man is playing it, i have most of it down but i cant seem to find some other notes that are just difficult to interpret but fuck yeah Tommy Johnson all the way!
Psygnus 3 years ago 7
So haunting and beautiful, it gives me chills.
Do you have that song, I think it's called 'Shine On'?
There's a great version of it at the end of the movie 'The Ladykillers' where they added a gospel track, which actually sounds amazing; it fits in seamlessly, since it's a gospel song, and adds this great dimension to it I'm sure TJ would approve of
amymcools 3 years ago
Are you talking about Blind Willie Johnson's "Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me" Thats the one they used at the end and the faded into a gosple version.
almanacofsleep 3 years ago
Yes, that one... I think that arrangement of the song is gorgeous
amymcools 3 years ago
wow. i never really got into tommy johnson, but this clip was fantastic and extremely impressive.
aacotter 3 years ago
for fuck sake, i just bought the complete tommy johnson recordings an this aint on it GRRRRRR!!!!!
killerkarl123 3 years ago 4
This just an absolutely gorgeous performance. David Harrison is sadly dismissive of this recording in the Tommy Johnson entry in The Encyclopedia of the Blues. He's missing a lot if all he can say is that it was "an attempt to sing maudlin ballad" [lack of indefinite article is 'sic']
I love Tommy Johnson but this is the most beautiful thing I've heard from him.
Does anyone know who the composer of this song is? I don't think it's Johnson.
wforzo 3 years ago
Don't know the composer, but it's in the style of Jimmie Rodgers. As Elijah Wald says in his book Escaping The Delta ;"Listening to it, one cannot doubt that he is comfortable with the Rodgers approach, and could have come up with more of this material had it been in demand.....As a result, Johnson was typed by everyone as a brilliant but limited exponent of the Patton style of hard Delta blues."
blinddrunkal 3 years ago
Hey, thanks for the info.
In the hands of another performer the song could be trite and/or maudlin, but the way TJ sings it...truly haunting.
I can't believe there's not more of this kind of material. The recording business at the time was so ass-backwards. Can you shed any light on what exactly it means that this was a "test pressing"?
Thanks, again
wforzo 3 years ago
I think the "test-pressing" was done just to set recording levels and make sure everything was working - the performer would be told to just play anything he liked, so the engineer could then get on with the business of recording what the company wanted (i.e. just Delta Blues)
blinddrunkal 3 years ago
alot of great info here. thanks.
Leondale 3 years ago
i'm not as good as you are with handling images (your video is lovely and does this extraordinary tommy johnson song justice), but here are two of mine: tommy johnson and blind willie mc tell, two great voices, never to be forgotten ....
lskorecki 3 years ago
it's fabulous, i had never heard the song, this sort of black/white blues gave me shivers all over, it's what i've always loved best in music, when the distinctions between early white country and primitive black blues is hard to make ... and i just ordered times ain'is what it used to be, volume 8, which issued this incredible gem. thanks a lot for posting it ....
lskorecki 3 years ago
Awesome!
jukeboybob 3 years ago
1929! you had great taste even in your youth lol
gerdenshed...
gerdenshed 3 years ago
Beautiful.Thanks for this.
fendermac 3 years ago
This test pressing was only dicovered in 2001. Intersting that he chose not to sing a blues song.
All the best; Alan.
blinddrunkal 3 years ago