![]() In 1926 or early 1927, Johnson established an unregistered marriage with Willie B. Occasionally, Johnson would play on the same street as Blind Lemon Jefferson, but the extent of the two songsters' involvement with each other is unknown. Adam Booker, a blind minister interviewed by the blues historian Samuel Charters in the 1950s, recalled that while visiting his father in Hearne, Johnson would perform religious songs on street corners with a tin cup tied to the neck of his Stella guitar to collect money. At some point he met another blind musician, Madkin Butler, who had a powerful singing and preaching style that influenced Johnson's own vocal delivery and repertoire. įew other details are known about the singer's childhood. ![]() Other theories have also been developed to explain Johnson's visual impairment, including that he wore the wrong spectacles, that he viewed the solar eclipse of Augthat was partially observable over Texas or a combination of the two conjectures. In her recollection, Willie's father had violently confronted Willie's stepmother about her infidelity, and during the argument she splashed Willie with a caustic solution of lye water, permanently blinding him. It is uncertain how he lost his sight, but it is generally agreed by most biographers of Johnson that he was blinded by his stepmother when he was seven years old, a claim that was first made by Johnson's purported widow Angeline Johnson. Johnson was not born blind, though he was impaired with the disability at an early age. ![]() When Johnson was five years old, his father gave him his first instrument-a cigar box guitar. There, the Johnson family attended church-most likely the Marlin Missionary Baptist Church-every Sunday, a practice which had a lasting impact on Johnson and fueled his desire to be ordained as a Baptist minister. His family, which according to the blues historian Steven Calt included at least one younger brother named Carl, moved to the agriculturally rich community of Marlin, where Johnson spent most of his childhood. Johnson was born on January 25, 1897, in Pendleton, Texas, a small town near Temple, Texas, to sharecropper George Johnson (also identified as Willie Johnson Sr.) and his wife, Mary Fields, who died in 1901. Other recordings by Johnson include " Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed", " It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", and " John the Revelator".īiography Early life and career As a result, Johnson is credited as one of the most influential practitioners of the blues, and his slide guitar playing, particularly on his hymn " Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", is highly acclaimed. Johnson's work has become more accessible through compilation albums such as American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson and the Charters compilations. Along with Davis, he has since been considered the dominant player of " holy blues" music, which conveyed religious themes in a blues idiom and often with the genre's style of guitar accompaniment. His life was poorly documented, but over time, music historians such as Samuel Charters have uncovered more about Johnson and his five recording sessions.Ī revival of interest in Johnson's music began in the 1960s, following his inclusion on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, and by the efforts of the blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis. Even though Johnson's records sold well, as a street performer and preacher, he had little wealth in his lifetime. His landmark recordings completed between 19-thirty songs in total-display a combination of powerful " chest voice" singing, slide guitar skills, and originality that has influenced generations of musicians. Blind Willie Johnson (Janu– September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |