Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson
Author: Tom Graves
Publisher: Demers Books
Review by Jeff Muendel
Review posted: November 2008
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Crossroads: The Life and Afterlife of Blues Legend Robert Johnson
This is a small book as music biographies go, but its 124 pages are researched well. Blues musician Robert Johnson has influenced not only many blues artists to follow him, but also many rock musicians. The book tries to separate fact from legend without being clinical. Robert Johnson, legend has it, gained his guitar talent by trading his soul away to Satan at a crossroads somewhere deep in rural Mississippi. When he died at age 27 of a mysterious poisoning, many thought it was the devil returning for payment. This study of Johnson’s life debunks these myths, while emphasizing the affect he has had on modern musicians. Led Zeppelin probably owes his estate some serious cash.
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