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Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie Johnson was arguably the greatest and most popular ‘sanctified’ singer to record in the pre-World War II era. His forceful singing and stunning guitar work ensured that he continued to sell records even into the Depression. His blindness has been attributed to many causes, the most likely being that his stepmother threw lye-water in his face during a jealous fit when he was about seven. That he should turn to music after this is a recurring motif in the stories of many blind black singers, but even earlier, Johnson had admitted to a desire to preach. Now he combined the two talents to produce outstandingly powerful religious music as he played for tips on the streets. Despite this commitment to the church there seems to have been a secular side to his music, and it remains probable that he recorded two un-issued blues under the pseudonym of Blind Texas Marlin at his second session for Columbia Records. Johnson began recording for the label in December 1927, by which time he had moved to Dallas; his first release became an instant success, selling in excess of 15, 000 copies. Between then and April 1930 he recorded a total of 30 issued tracks (all for the same company), maintaining a level of quality that is amazing even by today’s standards. Early research on Johnson’s life was done by Sam Charters when he interviewed Johnson’s wife Angeline in the late 50s. The picture was fleshed out, 20 years later, by the work of Dan Williams who reported on Johnson’s travelling habits, including a spell in the company of Blind Willie McTell. Charters also noted the influence exerted on his singing style by an obscure, older singer named Madkin Butler, and his early commitment to the Church Of God In Christ. Many of Johnson’s recordings feature a second, female vocalist, and it was long assumed that this was Angeline. Now it seems more likely that this is an early girlfriend (possibly wife) of Johnson’s, called Willie B. Harris, whose affiliations were with the ‘Sanctified’ church. Willie Johnson had returned to the Baptist fold by the time he married Angeline in June 1930. When using a second vocalist Johnson favoured a ragged, antiphonal approach to his singing, in which he usually employed a marked false bass, and when performing alone he used his guitar as the second voice, often leaving it to complete his own vocal lines.

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Book Review

Rollin' and Tumblin'

Read "Rollin' and Tumblin'" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


Rollin' and Tumblin' Roberto Menabò 194 Pagine ISBN: 978-8862318228 Arcana 2014 Per quanto il blues sia un genere musicale da tempo largamente diffuso e storicizzato, i dati biografici dei suoi più grandi interpreti sono ancora ampiamente sconosciuti, dispersi nel terreno paludoso tra realtà e leggenda dove spesso le storie sul blues li hanno relegati. Al di là dei nomi, quanti conoscono gli aspetti principali delle vite di Charley Patton, Skip James, Bukka ...

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Album Review

Blind Willie Johnson: God Don't Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson

Read "God Don't Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson" reviewed by James Nadal


As time moves on and the genuine bluesmen slip into historical archives, it is a cause for celebration when someone makes the effort to reconstruct the music of one of the true innovators in the blues genre. Produced by Jeffrey Gaskill, God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson, is a contemporary tribute to this seminal slide guitarist who was also unique in his imaginative vocal interpretations and compositions of gospel blues. Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945) recorded thirty ...

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