Back To The Crossroads – The Roots of Robert Johnson

This is an interesting approach to a blues compilation – it presents the blues that most likely influenced Robert Johnson.

I think it’s important to note something that Andrew Hickey and others have repeatedly made clear – most of these early blues musicians played a very wide range of music, not just the blues. There is a kind of purism out there that always presents artists like Robert Johnson through a blues prism – so there’s an extent to which this collection, originally released as an accompaniment to a biography in 2004, is propagating that myth. But as his own sister’s book on his life – the very worthwhile “Brother Robert” – makes clear, he was interested in every type of music out there, and delighted in playing in all genres. In fact, it’s pretty likely he wouldn’t have thought in terms of genres, just in terms of music.

So to call this “The Roots of Robert Johnson” is perpetuating that myth. It’s true that these are the songs that formed the basis for the blues he recorded, but to limit him to a blues musician is inaccurate, and there’s a certain racism involved in that particular diminishment of these early 20th century entertainers, too.

That said, these are particularly well restored sides by men like Petie Wheatstraw, Kokomo Arnold, Skip James and more, and for a blues fan, these go down real easy. But there’s not a Robert Johnson track on it, and to use his picture to sell records that he’s not on – even if it was originally tied to a Johnson bio – well, some people are not going to notice until they get it home, so I’m not a fan of that marketing. (I picked up this version in March 2024, when it was freshly released.)

I’m a big fan of this back cover photo, and wish I knew more, much more, about the community and the Black lives it depicts:

A listen to Andrew Hickey’s episode on “Crossroads” by Cream is worth your time.