Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson (born January 22, 1897 in Brenham , Texas, † September 18, 1945 ) was an American singer and guitarist whose work was rooted in both the blues and the spiritual . While his texts were without exception religious in content, his musical forms of expression were derived from both traditional sources.
Life
Childhood and youth
According to a later discovered death certificate, Johnson was born near Brenham , Texas in 1897 . Previously, other places of birth ( Waco , Temple ) and a later date of birth (around 1902) had been mentioned. He spent most of his childhood in Marlin . Johnson's mother died when he was a young child; his father, George Johnson, then remarried. He was not blind from birth . When he was about seven years old, his stepmother put lye in his eyes as a result of a fit of anger . As Johnson got older, he started playing guitar on the street to make a living. Even then he used the slide technique, but not with a broken bottle neck, but with pliers and a steel ring called a "slide" . Johnson didn't actually intend to be a blues musician, the Bible-firm young man preferred to sing gospel.
Career
In 1927 he met his first wife, Willie B. Harris, and with her he began performing around Dallas and Waco. It inspired him to include old 19th century songs in his repertoire, including Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning and Praise God I'm Satisfied . Johnson was later married to a woman named Angeline. To date, no marriage certificate or the like has been found that proves whether or in what period of time Johnson was married. It is believed that he was married to Willie B. Harris from 1926 (or 1927) to 1932 (or 1933). His second wife Angeline Johnson survived and worked as a nurse, according to another source as a kindergarten teacher and midwife.
On December 3, 1927, he recorded his first six tracks in the Columbia Records studios , including his best-known Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground . A year later he held another recording session with his wife; In 1929 the two traveled from New Orleans to New Orleans with the blind street singer Elder Dave Ross , where Johnson recorded ten songs for Columbia, including the gospel piece Let Your Light Shine on Me . In addition, he only recorded songs once more, in April 1930. His wife Willie was there again. This was the last time Johnson made records. From then on he appeared on the street to earn a living. At that time he and his family had settled in Beaumont , Texas .
In 1945 his house burned down. Since Johnson was very poor, however, he had no choice but to continue to live in the ruin, whose mattresses were soaked from the fire-fighting water. Blind Willie Johnson died of pneumonia a week later .
Johnson's Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground is included on the gold record Voyager Golden Record , which is on board the two interstellar space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 . Also in the legendary Wire list The Wire's “100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)” . In 2016 the tribute album God Don't Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson was released on Alligator Records , on which eleven of Johnson's songs are interpreted by Tom Waits , Lucinda Williams , Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi , among others .
reception
Larkin Poe covered Johnson's song God moves on the water (1929) on their album Self Made Man (2020).
Discography
| year | title | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Records | |||
| 1927 | I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole / Jesus Make up My Dying Bed | ||
| 1927 | Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground / It's Nobody's Fault But Mine | ||
| 1927 | Mother's Children Have a Hard Time / If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down | ||
| 1928 | I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge / Jesus Is Coming Soon | ||
| 1928 | Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying / Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning | ||
| 1929 | Let Your Light Shine on Me / God Don't Never Change | ||
| 1929 | Bye and Bye I'm Goin 'to See the King / You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond | ||
| 1929 | Take Your Burden to the Lord and Leave It There / God Moves on the Water | ||
| 1930 | John the Relevator / You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond | ||
| 1930 | The Rain Don't Fall on Me / Trouble Will Soon Be Over | ||
| 1930 | When the War Was On / Praise God I'm Satisfied | ||
| 1930 | Can't Nobody Hide From God / If It Had Not Been for Jesus | ||
| 1930 | The Soul of a Man / Church, I'm Fully Saved To-Day | ||
| 1930 | Go With Me to That Land / Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right | ||
| 1930 | Sweeter as the Years Roll By / Take Your Stand | ||
See also
Web links
- Blind Willie Johnson in Allmusic
- Blind Willie Johnson discography ( September 13, 2010 memento in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harald Thon: Blind Willie Johnson. In: Guitar & Laute 2, 1980, 5, pp. 21-23; here: p. 21
- ↑ Harald Thon (1980), p. 22
- ↑ Harald Thon: Blind Willie Johnson. In: Guitar & Laute 2, 1980, 5, pp. 21-23; here: p. 22
- ↑ Harald Thon (1980), p. 23
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Johnson, Blind Willie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Johnson, Willie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 22, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brenham , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 18, 1945 |