What Music Genre is Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson?
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Crossroad blues is a subgenre of blues music that is characterized by its use of major seventh chords. The term “crossroad blues” comes from the legend of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads in order to gain musical knowledge. Crossroad blues is often played in a fast, shuffle rhythm and is commonly used in slide guitar playing.
Robert Johnson’s Life
Crossroad Blues is a song by AmericanDelta blues musician Robert Johnson, recorded in 1936. Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads in order to achieve success as a musician. The song is about this deal that he made.
Born in Mississippi in 1911
Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, on May 8, 1911. He grew up in a poor family and had very little formal education. His father, Charles Johnson, was a farmer and his mother, Julia Major Dodds, was a housewife. As a child, Robert loved to play the guitar and he often sang hymns in church.
In 1929, at the age of 18, Robert left Hazlehurst to live with his aunt in Memphis, Tennessee. It was there that he began playing blues music. He also started drinking heavily and getting into trouble with the law. In 1931, he was arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. He spent nine months in jail.
After he was released from jail, Robert moved back to Mississippi. He married his first wife, Virginia Travis, in 1932. The following year, their son Claud Johnson was born.
Moved to Memphis in 1929
Robert Johnson moved to Memphis, Tennessee in
1929, and it was there that he recorded the first of his twenty-nine songs. The recordings were made at the Memphis Recording Service, which later became Sun Studio. Some of Johnson’s most famous recordings, such as “Cross Road Blues” and “Sweet Home Chicago”, were made at Sun Studio.
Moved back to Mississippi in 1930
In 1930, Johnson returned to Mississippi, settling first in Clarksdale, then moving to Meridian. He began playing with the nationally touring blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson and others who stopped in the area on the famous “Blues Trail”. From 1930 to 1935 he traveled around the state playing at local juke joints and selling his self-pressed recordings on 78rpm records.
Crossroad Blues
Crossroad Blues is a Blues song written and recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. The song is about a man who makes a deal with the devil at a crossroad in exchange for his soul and his guitar playing abilities. The music genre of Crossroad Blues is old school blues.
Recorded in 1936
Crossroad Blues is a song recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Though unissued at the time, it was released on LP by Columbia Records in 1961 and on CD in 1990. The song has been covered by many artists, including Eric Clapton, who recorded it for the soundtrack of the film Rush (1991), and Cream, who included it on their album Disraeli Gears (1967).
First released on record in 1961
Crossroad Blues is a song recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Upon its release, the song became a commercial success, spending eight weeks in the Billboard R&B chart in early 1937 and peaking at number four. Since then, it has been widely covered by a number of artists and has become one of Johnson’s most popular and best-known songs. The song is a standard twelve-bar blues arrangement in the key of E, with Johnson’s vocal accompanied by his own slide guitar playing.
Music Genre
Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson is a classic example of the crossroads genre of music. This type of music is a mix of blues and country. The crossroads genre got its name from the place where the two genres intersect, which is the Mississippi Delta.
Delta blues
Delta blues is a type of blues music that originated in the Mississippi Delta region around the early 1920s. It is characterized by a distinctive, driving rhythm, as well as slide guitar and other unique elements.
The name “Delta blues” comes from the fact that the Mississippi Delta is the meeting point of the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers, which are two of the major waterways in the United States. The area was also home to a large number of African Americans who were sharecroppers or worked in the cotton plantations. These workers were exposed to a variety of musical influences, including work songs, hymns, and folk music.
Delta blues is often considered to be one of the most important genres in American music history. It has been a major influence on other genres, including rock and roll, country music, and even hip hop.
Chicago blues
Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois, in the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on earlier forms of blues combined with influences from other genres of music, such as gospel and jazz.
The style typically features electric guitars, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica, and sometimes saxophone. Songs are often based on traditional blues structures, such as twelve-bar blues or sixteen-bar blues, but may also be more complex.
Chicago blues is often associated with artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Frankie Lee Sims, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry, Koko Taylor, and Buddy Guy.
