Customer Reviews

The Road to Robert Johnson: The Genesis and Evolution of Blues in the Delta From the Late 1800s Through 1938

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While I have Ed Komara to thank in part for helping introduce me to the Mississippi Delta when he ran the Blues Archives at Ole Miss in Oxford, this book has seen its publication delayed too long since it was written and is too limited in its scope. Since written Robert Johnson's real gravesite has been disclosed by the widow of the man who dug the grave, the Rock Hall of Fame conference has been held and yet another book (this one) is written without interviewing Robert Lockwood Jr., Robert Johnson's stepson and protoge. It was only Lockwood that learned to play guitar directly from Johnson. He was a cagey person to interview but he opened up to me in depth. I fault Komara's publisher for delaying publication too long and making the book out of date before it was published.

A very concise book, filled with data and tabbed examples, regarding Robert Johnson's work and predecessors. Where he grew up, what he learned and from whom, where he went and what he played. It depicts Johnson not as one of the founders of The Blues, as he is still, erroneously, regarded by many, but rather as the one of the last greats of Country Blues. A missing link, so to speak, between Country Blues and post-war Electric Blues.
A good place to start if you want to hitch a ride deep into Country Blues land. A good stop on the way if you've been to the crossroads...