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

Peter Guralnick (Author)

Book Description

Release date: 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.

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."

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Searching for Robert Johnson April 10, 2012

By Tammany Hall

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.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars worth reading January 9, 2007

By J. Parks

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent book. Interesting prospective not only of Robert Johnson, but of his contemporaries.