Skip to main content

Crossroads


Tomorrow is the 100th birthday of Robert Johnson. The only thing more intriguing than his legacy, his haunting voice, and the handful of recordings he left in his short 27 year life is all the mystery that surrounds him. There are at least 3 gravestone markers and countless stories of former friends, family members and, of course, girlfriends.
I'be been listening to his music for the last two days. This year, the anniversary of his birth coincided with the Kentucky Derby. Man, it just doesn't get much better than that. I was hoping that all the mythology might come together and produce a winner like Midnight Interlude. After all, Johnson was rumored to have sold his soul t the devil at midnight at the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49.
But this year it was Animal Kingdom, a 20-1 longshot that emerged from the pack and won going away by 4 lengths. I'm sure if we looked deep into his breeding we could find a connection. Let's see, there were 19 horses in this year's Derby so no number 49 or 61. But wait! Animal Kingdom was number 16...One and six, the same two numbers that make up 61. Just change the order, invert the possibilities. Oh yeah, I knew it all the time. That ol' devil works in strange ways.
If you listen to the original recordings of Robert Johnson, they are just as stunning now as they must have been then. Had he lived, of course, then all the mythology would be gone. But that begs the question, what other recordings would he have left?
But, we can only guess and that leads nowhere. In the end, there is just his small body of work and the enormous possibilities he left behind. Happy Birthday to the King of the Delta Blues, the Grandfather of Rock and Roll, and an American original.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To a Tee

 I'm a sucker for a good t-shirt.  They are the foundational garment of my life.  My day starts with selecting a t-shirt and it ends with sleeping in one.  Once thought of as under garments, t-shirts are now original art and no doubt, a billion dollar business.   You can get a t-shirt with anybody's picture displayed.  You can commemorate an event, a birthday, a death, even a specular play in any sport.  Family reunions usually have a commemorative t-shirt.  Also, any organization that solicits your support in the form of a donation is likely to offer you a t-shirt. Where once I only had the basic white t-shirt, my drawers are filled with all manner of colorful choices.  Some recognize major events in my life, some, spectacular performances or plays I have witnessed, and some unforgettable places I have been.   I say I'm a sucker for a good t-shirt because I have taken the bait on what I perceived as a must-have only to be disappointed. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Illusory

What does it take to enrage you?  That moment when your words fly on pure emotion because enough is enough.  Is it a driver that cuts you off at high speed?  What about being an eyewitness to blatant racism or on the receiving end of some obvious injustice? I know some people who never express rage.  I admire them but know full well I am not capable of such distance from that which would bring about such a strong response. Another senseless shooting and 7 people die at the hands of a mentally ill gun owner.  The father of the 20 year old college student lets it fly and somehow millions feel a new sense of relief.  He calls the politicians bastards who do nothing, he wears his pain in public.  The news media responds but we all know that nothing is going to change.  We are the gun country.  We are the place where anybody, anytime, can be cut down just for being there when somebody else snaps. Usually the perpetrators are delusional. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mr. Greene v. Mr. Brown

I want to tell you about something. Something I've carried inside myself for a number of years now. Perhaps if I were a different kind of person I wouldn't need to talk about it. I'm not. My need to tell it is stronger than your need to hear it. Because, however, there are a number of teachers and former students of mine who may read these meanderings from time to time, I need to tell this story all the more. About 7 or 8 years ago I was asked if I would allow a university PhD. candidate to observe an English class. At first I decided against it because I was scheduled to have a student teacher placed with me the second half of the semester in question. After some urging, however, at the request of a respected colleague, I agreed. Soon I was committing to extra meetings, signing documents and explaining to the class in question who the young woman who thoughtfully pounded away on a laptop in the rear of the classroom three times a week was. I knew that the topic of ...
3 comments
Read more