Ike Zimmerman
Isaiah "Ike" Zimmerman (also Ike Zinnerman ; born April 27, 1907 in Grady , † August 3, 1967 in Compton ) was an American blues guitarist and mentor of the legendary blues musician Robert Johnson .
Life
Zimmerman married Ruth Sellers Zimmerman in the 1920s, who was from Montgomery, not far from his hometown. He lived with her and his family, which consisted of a son and six daughters, in a small "shotgun house" near Hazlehurst (Mississippi) . There he practiced his harmonica and especially his guitar playing. He often played late into the night and often withdrew to the nearby cemeteries so as not to disturb his family and to be able to make music in peace. As a musician, Zimmerman often played in pubs in the area, but also often gave guitar lessons and was considered a good and motivating teacher.
Mentor of Robert Johnson
One evening Zimmerman met young Robert Johnson, who had gone to Hazlehurst to look for his father. Johnson asked him to teach him his guitar technique. Zimmerman, who liked the young man, agreed and Johnson moved in with his family. He settled in well and was soon nicknamed "RL" by Ike's children. Here Zimmermann taught Johnson his special picking and bottlenecking technique . Like Ike before, the two played the blues, often at night on the gravestones of the cemeteries, and laid the foundation for Johnson's later classic.
After Robert Johnson finished his apprenticeship with Zimmerman and returned home, he played the guitar so brilliantly after his relatively short training that the myth arose that he had sold his soul to the devil to get so good so quickly.
Next life
Although he was considered a great musical talent, he never rose to fame as a musician or ever made a record. With advancing age, he even moved away from the blues in the 1950s, like other blues musicians like Son House , became a pastor and played gospels and spirituals. Ike Zimmerman died of a heart attack on August 3, 1967 in Compton, California.
literature
- Richard Koechli: On the heels of the blues: What really happened back then, at Robert Johnson & Co.? , tredition, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7323-0172-0
Web links
- Ike Zimmerman: The X in Robert Johnson's Crossroads
- Ike Zimmerman and his graveyard
- The Truth about Robert Johnson
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zimmerman, Ike |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zimmerman, Isaiah; Zinnerman, Ike |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues guitarist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 27, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Grady |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd August 1967 |
| Place of death | Compton |