Robert Johnson

USA, 1929–1938

Delta blues singer and guitarist whose 29 surviving recordings, made in 1936-37, became a principal source of repertoire and technique for post-war blues and for British and American rock musicians.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced Robert Johnson and 13 artists Robert Johnson influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Robert Johnson?

• Son House — Son House personally watched the young Johnson develop and recalled it in interviews.
• Charley Patton — Patton's repertoire and devices became part of Johnson's language.

Which artists did Robert Johnson influence?

• Jimi Hendrix — Robert Johnson was the spiritual predecessor Hendrix acknowledged as foundational.
• Muddy Waters — Muddy took over Robert Johnson's repertoire and slide technique.
• Bob Dylan — Dylan described in detail how Johnson's records overturned his songwriting.
• The Rolling Stones — The Stones recorded Johnson's 'Love in Vain' and 'Stop Breaking Down'.
• Cream — Cream turned Robert Johnson's 'Crossroads' into a hit.
• Led Zeppelin — 'Travelling Riverside Blues' is a direct reference to Johnson.
• The Allman Brothers Band — Robert Johnson's Delta blues fed Duane Allman's slide vocabulary — the deepest root of the band's blues.
• Eric Clapton — Clapton has called Robert Johnson his single most important influence — 'the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice'.
• Captain Beefheart — The Delta blues of Robert Johnson was foundational to Beefheart's raw material — the purest blues element Ry Cooder said he built from.
• Elmore James — 'Dust My Broom' is Robert Johnson's song — James knew Johnson personally and electrified his signature slide figure.
• The White Stripes — Delta bluesman Robert Johnson was among the old Mississippi masters Jack White absorbed as a teenager, feeding the White Stripes' raw blues-rock.
• Creedence Clearwater Revival — Sits in Fogerty's guitar vocabulary beside Muddy Waters, the Delta end of it.
• The Black Keys — One of the blues roots Dan Auerbach's playing draws on, with Junior Kimbrough and Howlin' Wolf.