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Searching for Robert Johnson: The Life and Legend of the "King of the Delta Blues Singers" [Paperback]

Peter Guralnick
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 1, 1998
Robert Johnson, while probably the most influential of all blues guitarists, is also one of the most obscure. Recognized as an influence on musicians like Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones, Johnson was poisoned by a jealous husband in 1938--at the age of twenty-seven. This untimely death, his supposed bargain with the devil that enabled him to play guitar, and the ferocity and tormented originality of his work have given rise to a legend that has inspired a Hollywood movie and numerous stories. Peter Guralnick?s extended essay about the life of the man and the myth, and of the place and time that produced both, illuminates much of the obscurity around Johnson without forfeiting any of the mystery.

Frequently Bought Together

Searching for Robert Johnson: The Life and Legend of the "King of the Delta Blues Singers" + Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues + Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta
Price for all three: $32.38

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Blues fans have long held up Robert Johnson's small but potent body of work as a slender pillar on which much modern blues and rock rest, and the songs themselves remain astonishing paradigms of the blues' most primordial style, the country blues of the Mississippi Delta. Yet, for decades after his murder in 1938, details of Johnson's life and clues into the genesis of his music consisted of little more than the evocative themes and settings of the songs themselves.

This brief but absorbing meditation on Johnson's life and art, originally published in 1989 in anticipation of the first release of his complete recordings, benefits from the detective work of earlier blues scholars, most notably Mack McCormick, who began piercing the veil surrounding Johnson's life in the '60s. By the '80s, reminiscences from the bluesman's contemporaries, more solid evidence of his shadowy lineage, and even the belated discovery of photographs added more dimension to McCormick's "phantom" Johnson. Yet, possibly by his own design, Robert Johnson remained more outline than flesh, still explained more lucidly in the fevered nightmares and earthy imagery of his songs than by the scattered details of his life.

Guralnick succeeds in conveying the power of Johnson's music and delineating both its origins and, ultimately, singular genius. His debts to delta blues avatars Charley Patton and Tommy Johnson are solidified, yet, more crucially, Guralnick roots Johnson's artistic growth in the specific context of this rural corner of Mississippi, at this particular moment between the world wars. He also frankly addresses the potency of Johnson's myth and an early death that only glorifies the brief, bright arc of his work. No less crucial is Guralnick's ability to convey the dark beauty of the music itself, giving Searching for Robert Johnson a broader sweep as an essential blues primer. --Sam Sutherland

About the Author

Peter Guralnick is the author of the hugely successful book on Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis. He lives in West Newbury, Massachusetts.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 96 pages
  • Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (August 1, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0452279496
  • ISBN-13: 978-0452279490
  • Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Peter Guralnick is widely regarded as the nation's preeminent writer on twentieth-century American popular music. His books include Feel Like Going Home, Lost Highway, Sweet Soul Music, Searching for Robert Johnson, the novel Nighthawk Blues, and a highly acclaimed two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love."

Customer Reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
(11)
3.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid description of the blues great August 13, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The 96 pages of this book are pack full of information about legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. Virtually everything that is known about Mr. Johnson is vividly detailed in this work. Makes for excellent reading.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Searching for Robert Johnson April 10, 2012
Format:Paperback
Robert Johnson may be better known for the mysteries surrounding his short life than for the music he recorded. Even people who are not blues music enthusiasts have at least a passing familiarity with his legend. As good as his recordings are, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the reverence in which they are held by the faithful. In this slender volume, esteemed music historian Peter Guralnick sheds some light on the real Robert Johnson, both his life and his music. Like a volume in the Penguin Lives series, Guralnick blends a `just the facts' approach with enough commentary to make the book both quick and thorough. He spends just the right amount of time familiarizing the reader with Johnson predecessors and contemporaries like Charlie Patton and Son House, and provides some critical analysis of Johnson's recordings. This is a perfect book if the reader is seeking more information on Johnson, and an excellent introduction to the mythic creators of the Delta blues.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars worth reading January 9, 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent book. Interesting prospective not only of Robert Johnson, but of his contemporaries.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
No body is better then him! He is one of the greats and his music will live forever in this world!
Published 22 days ago by wildchild
2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of paper
The best 'book' on Robert Johnson is the still the booklet that comes with the 2-CD Complete Recordings set. 'Nuff said.
Published 1 month ago by Maori
2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing in this small book that I didn't already know!
Very small book, not very much information involved here. I can't give this my endorsement! If you know anything about Robert Johnson, you won't need this book!
Published 5 months ago by Robert L. Kluttz Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the blues!
This was a gift purchased for someone else. They thoroughly enjoyed and the book was in excellent condition. Thanks so much.
Published 5 months ago by Linda Lewis
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, not comprehensive.
At 96 pages you'll be able to read it in one sitting. Chock full of good information but falls short of being a comprehensive profile; It's a pity more isn't known about this... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. Stone
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read.
It has been a while since I have read this book. From what I remember, I was disappointed in the book in some ways but loved it in others. It wasn't the read I expected it to be. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Cochranmusic
3.0 out of 5 stars Too Short even for someone who died in their twenties.
At less than 100 pages I do not think I learned more about Robert Johnson than I did after eading the notes for his Boxed Set. Read more
Published on April 17, 2009 by Bob Chorba
2.0 out of 5 stars searching for robert
It is to bad that someone so capable of telling a good tale could take a dive with such vivid subject matter at his disposal. It is extremely over priced for such a dismal read. Read more
Published on January 29, 1997
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