[MUSIC] Today, we talk about a legend in the genre known as the Mississippi Delta Blues. Which played as much a role as any other genre in the formation of Rock n Roll. This is where the legend was born, Highway 61. The Blues Highway, they call it. This is the highway that runs 1,400 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana, all the way up to Duluth, Minnesota, near the hometown of Bob Dylan. Many southern people, including musicians, traveled north along Highway 61, with their Blues, while moving to Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago. The highway runs through the Delta region, which was an important source of Blues music. You might even say it's the cradle of the Blues. The Blues music from this area is generally known as Delta Blues. This place, encompassing parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, has been referenced by numerous artists and historians as the birthplace of Rock n Roll. One of Bob Dylan's best known albums is this one, Highway 61 Revisited, which is his homage to American Blues music. One of the most fascinating stories in all of music, is this guy, Robert Leroy Johnson. His life story is a legend. But, his influence upon musicians, even today, is more than legend, it's fact. To help explain that, let me reference a classic movie from 1962. It's called The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It's a story about a senator who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw. He returns for the funeral of an old friend, and tells the story about his deed. The true story about his deed. There's a great line in this movie, and that is, when the legend becomes fact, print the legend. The story of Robert Johnson is a lot like that. He carries such mystery and aura along with him. He's one of the most enigmatic figures in popular music. His story has become such a legend, that it's difficult to separate the facts from the fiction. Pardon the gender bias, because I didn't make this up, but The Great Man Theory, was popular in the 19th century. It claims history can be largely explained, by the impact of great men or heroes. Highly influential individuals who, due either to their personal charisma, their intelligence, their wisdom, or perhaps political skill, utilized their power in a way that had decisive historical impact. It applies in many ways to the history of Rock n Roll, as we will see over the next few weeks. A few great artists, such as Robert Johnson, had incredible impact on those who came after them. But, was he really the most important of the early Delta Blues artists? Was he really the man? We'll explore that a little later. Johnson was, in many ways, a phantom. Not much is known about his movements, and there are several reasons for that. Firstly, Robert Johnson is a very common name. I read somewhere that something like 1 in 10,000 black Americans in the Delta was named Robert Johnson during this era. And secondly, he's known to have used aliases at least eight of them as he traveled around the Delta. There are only two pictures of Robert Johnson that are known to exist. If you've ever found a third one, you could become rich. The legend has all the makings of the TV movie. He supposedly sold his soul to the devil, to become the greatest blues musician alive. And the story goes, he was poisoned to death by a jealous husband. The owner of a juke joint, a country bar, where he gave his last performance. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, here's what we know about his childhood. Robert Leroy Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, probably on May 8th, 1911. I say probably, because even that's questionable. His birth could have been as early as 1907, or as late as 1912, according to the few surviving documents that have surfaced. He was the 11th child of Julia Major Dodds. The other ten were the offspring of Julia's 1889 marriage to Charles Dodds. But, Robert was born illegitimate. How and why did this happen? Well, it was a tumultuous time in Southern Mississippi. At least three black men had been lynched in Hazelhurst that year, and Charles Dodds, a successful craftsman and farmer, found himself at odds with some powerful whites. He fled to Memphis probably in 1909, and changed his name to Spencer. Her husband gone, Julia took up with a man named Noah Johnson, and he fathered Robert. Incidentally, the house where he was born, stood on what is now the northbound lane of Interstate 55, near the intersection of Highway 28. If you go north on 55, you'll drive right over his birthplace. Robert was destined to have a tough childhood. Even while he was still a babe in arms, Julia set off in search of work. She, Robert, and his half sister, Carrie, traveled among migrant labor camps in the Delta for the next few years. Eventually, they rejoined her husband in Memphis. He was now living with another woman, her two sons, and some of Julia's children. How that family co-existed is hard to imagine, but Julia eventually left to find a new life of her own. And Robert re-joined her in the Delta, somewhere around his 10th birthday. She was now married to a man named Dusty Willis, and Robert was known for a while as Little Robert Dusty. Perhaps this is what lead to his frequent use of aliases. Some time during his teens, Robert started using the sir name of Spencer. At least he was enrolled in school under that name. At some point, he adopted the last name of Johnson, perhaps after learning of his real father. He has been linked to least eight different last names, and there is some indication that he changed his first name occasionally as well. In his late teens, Johnson married, but his wife and child died in childbirth. Some say that happened while Robert was off somewhere playing the Blues. This led to an even more rootless, rambling existence. Whatever the cause, it helps paint a picture of a young man without roots. A young man without much regard for home and family, a young man destined to ramble. A young man who later would write this song, Hell Hound on My Trail. [MUSIC] >> In the next video, we will explore the legend of the crossroads and that alleged deal with the devil. [MUSIC]
