I am a Cali kid but I spent my summers in the 80’s, in Mississippi at my grandmothers house. There was an old man by the name of Quily Womack, who played just like this.He had an old Sear’s guitar from what I remember. He had to be around 80 then.He told me he had seen Robert Johnson at a juke house a few times. From what I understand, there were a lot of blue’s players in every city in the south at that time, just like there are many gifted musicians in every “hood” in America today. Not all of them are known like Robert or John Lee Hooker. I think I met one.
Sounds like a part of the “Chitlin’ Circuit” due to Jim Crow laws. Jimi Hendrix cut his teeth there (probably quite literally), learned from a number of musicians and eventually toured with Little Richard. Different era of musicianship and showmanship altogether. If I could catch a glimpse of those shows alone a large part of my life would’ve been fulfilled
@@Leel3ones89 Listen to one of Johnsons mates; Sonny Boy Williamson plays guitar.Kind hearted woman: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ag87Osjuad4.html Johnson was Robert Lockwood Jr's stephfather. I had the pleasure to meet Lockwood Jr in 2005. One handshake from Johnson, Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson.
I bet there were plenty of super talented musicians all over rural black south in those days that stayed completely under the radar. Robert Johnson was able to get in with some of the pro traveling musicians and get himself recorded, and now we all know who he is. But imagine all the folks who were just (or almost) as good! imagine all the amazing styles and songs that were lost to history before recording became accessible. the mystery bluesman makes ya think
Honeyboy Edwards wrote in his autobiography that he knew and played with several musicians who never got recorded, some because they died before recording became more accessible, others who quit the Blues scene altogether and others who just weren't able to land a recording gig no matter how hard they tried. He even names them one by one. It was amazing that he was able to still remember the names of those musicians even at the age of 82 when he wrote the book!
I've always thought Robert Johnsons playing was good, but not mind blowing. He really shined in his innovative songwriting and blues style. I'm sure there were many people who played a guitar better than him...I mean lets be honest, his career only lasted what, 6 months?
I personally talked to Honeyboy Edwards a few years before his passing. He identified the man in this video as "Clarence"...no last name given. HBE said that he knew him because, "He used to date my sister." I take him for his word, since he (HBE) was about the closest to RJ as you can get.
I met Henry Townsend here in St. Louis a bunch of times.. this was his home town for most of his life. Saw him play, for sure. I was at his 96th birthday party, and have pictures to prove it. He got onstage and played guitar, some piano, and sang some. He is the only confirmed person, on earth, ever, to play on records in 9 different decades! He recorded from 1929, until the early 2000's. Fact.
Only way some people will acept this as Robert Johnson is if it was filmed at a crossroads and the guy is down on his knees drawing an inverted pentagram and sacrificing a burning guitar.
Identifying random people from 80 year old photos or films without some from of notes from the scene or a connection of people who where there or knew of the event is almost impossible. Just like the more recent "Johnny Shines/Robert Johnson" photo. You can do all the high tech measurements you want. When there is no context or record associated with the individuals presented it's a guess at best. In this case, photos or videos show up from the mid-30s of blues artist with long fingers and a suit and it automatically RJ someone will claim. Sorry, unless there is some form of documentation substantiating RJ it's all splashy media and that's it. And Rex, even with some 24 year old bluesman scratching a pentagram in the crossroad in 1933, I still wouldn't buy it. It's a shame that RJ sightings seem to have this sideshow about them. A new Son House image was released from 1929 last year. Wonderful to see and everyone who know about House can tell it's him. No doubts and no shills or sideshows.
He not only looks like Johnson, but look at the man's hands. Johnson had enormous hands with extremely long fingers. Yes, the date doesn't match, but the similarity is strong.
I love that man at the 5:22 mark! There's just something about that Southern African American soul that I find both awesome and endearing. And not even as a racial classification but as a cultural one. A great people that gave the world a great thing; the Blues. God Bless all who sing the Blues!
Only if you attach any significance to that number. If not, it's just another number. And as there is not the beginning of a hint of a logical reason to attach any significance to that number it's just another number. 666.
There were several Robert Johnsons. All hired to disseminate the blues throughout the South. How do you think Robert could be in so many places at once like he was?.?[
So there's no way that this guy is Robert Johnson because of the date of the poster on the background, yet the guy looks, to many of us an awful lot like Robert Johnson. So then what have we learned class? Here's what we should've learned: there were MANY black musicians in the pre-war era of America. We are aware of hundreds of black artists from recordings & we even have some pictures & biographical details. Yet there were obviously thousands more that we'll never hear of or we might come across a photo of a musician with a guitar, a film clip of some guy picking outside of a theatre. We are not capable of actually comprehending the sheer amount of information regarding that era. So? Let's not jump to conclusions anymore because we've proven that we cannot trust our ears & eyes & assumptions so much when it comes to historical documents. Let's stop talking like children about stuff that we just do not mostly understand.
don't you get it? any old picture of a black guy with a guitar might be robert johnson and any old picture of a white guy with a gun might be billy the kid.
They say it’s Jan 30, 1942. Yet, folks are dressed as if it’s summer. Many in short sleeves. I’ve ducked hunted in MS in January, and it’s damn cold in January. Nobody in a coat. Ladies in dresses with short sleeves. Men in shirts with short sleeves. It’s not January.
Couldn’t have been Johnson since he died in August of 1938 and ‘blues in the night’ wasn’t released till ‘41. There wouldn’t have been advertisements for a movie 3 years before it was released and Johnson had been dead for three years when it was released.
Bob Dylan mentions this film in Vol. 1 of 'Chronicles' (which is what brought me here). He reckoned the footage was authentic, but it seems he was wrong. A pity: I would love to see such a film. Or even a new photo, since only 2 of RJ are known to exist.
I remember that nasty ass cold medicine. My dad never called it 666, he always made sure to call it "three sixes". It was available in MS long enough for him to still have a bottle (and force us to take it) in the late 80s-early 90s.
They have some new version which is a cough syrup. The original was a yellow liquid that you had to mix with water. It had a plain yellow label. It was terrible tasting, but surprisingly worked.
***** My late father was STILL taking that mess in the 90s and the 2000s, if I'm not mistaken. I hadn't bought that in yrs and it was VERY yellow and VERY nasty!!! My dad did the same thing - "Three Sixes".
Everyone commenting that he died in 1938- this is true. They are using this argument as well. They are comparing the 1942 poster to Robert's death date and saying that is "of course not Robert Johnson, but maybe someone else."
The thing that interests me about the "man" that could possibly confirm that it could be a young Robert Johnson is his extraordinarily long fingers. Not many people have fingers that are long and thin like that. Not even taller men. Confirmed pictures of Robert Johnson always show Johnson playing with long thin fingers. The two well-known blues men who say it is not Johnson -- "say it" and never explain WHY they think it isn't him. No substantiation, no reasons except for their opinion, but opinions are not proof positive. WHY do they believe it it is not Robert? Doesn't look like him? Body different? Eyes? Style of playing? It does look like the man knows how to play the guitar. They have only physical features to explain their belief as to why it isn't Robert. No sound. No voice. Does it matter whether it is or not Robert Johnson? No. It won't bring Robert back. What is more important is if someone finds another song or two that could presumably be a Robert Johnson song. A recorded song, or just some scribbled sheet music in Robert's own hand. Or a demo left over from one of those hotel recording sessions. An acetate. Now that would be something.
How is it geeky to keep culture alive? Anyone who thinks culture is geeky has no culture. Sad to say, but most people who say this is geeky are kids my age (late teens to early 20's, and even younger) and in actuality they need to grow up to understand this. This right here transcends age and countries. Its blues, its universal. Some people just get it, and others take time to understand, or sadly, just don't get it at all.
Yes, that's right! I was just going to post that. Peter Green was in town for this event, it was the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's "'American Music Masters Series, Tribute To Robert Johnson", 9/24-27/1998 in Cleveland, Ohio. Peter Green's Splinter Group was on the bill for the Tribute To Robert Johnson concert. I was sitting in the back! Nice to see that Peter got to enjoy some of the conference too. I also remember that during the concert, when Peter Green was playing, Joe Lewis Walker handed Peter a resonator guitar. Joe and I were both hoping to see some of Peter's former fire from the Fleetwood Mac days come through. I still remember seeing Joe mouth "play that motherfucker" after he handed the guitar to Peter. I was thinking the same thing. Alas, as this was relatively soon after Peter's re-appearance on the music scene, he wasn't in very good mental shape and he just didn't have it in him. Memories. Still, nice to spot him on here!
Petey Wheatstraw The Devils son-in-law, as he was professionally known was actually named William Bunch. He was born in 1902 in either Tennessee or Arkansas. He relocated to St. Louis in the 1920's. He died in St. Louis in 1941 at the age of 39. So, good guess...
This film has since been proven not to be Robert Johnson. It was proven by the show being advertised in the background. It played only one weekend and Johnson's whereabouts were apparently known on this date. Or so I read.
I would love for all this footage to be posted on youtube. It's really uncommon to see footage of the south at that time and especially footage of black people. The fact that they caught any delta blues musician is incredible. I would love to be able to see the full reel.
Six and a half minutes of white dudes speculating and lo and behold, there's Robert Lockwood in the audience shaking his head, "No... no... no... what you're tellin' me, he told you a lie." End of discussion.
The question is not if it is Robert Johnson;but rather, who is this, what was his sound and how many other great black musicians like hm that simply didn't get there recognition? Great archival footage none the less.
I always wished that Lomax got to Blind Willie Johnson before he died. When I heard the McTell recordings, I got a pit in my stomach when McTell said "Blind Willie Johnson is dead."
People are getting ticked about it not being Robert Johnson, and of course it’s 99% probably not but I still think this is still very interesting clip.
There's another anomaly to this film If that's Leroy Carr riding by with his piano on the cart at 3:11 he's a long way from Indianapolis There's no mention of Mississippi in Carr's Wikipedia page
As a followup to my post, most of the film I refer to, shot of locals as theatre promotion that as 35mm positives were nitrate before 1950, and as such when acetate "safety film" came into use, in established regional circuits like ours, who owned scores of theater buildings, the Fire Dept & Insurance Companies were all hyped to fear all nitrate film as deadly!! (it wasn't) as flammable,(yes, it was, think lawnmower gas can safety methods) , and so ALL nitrate was hunted down & near ritually exterminated. Missing forever after this purge was "The Making of The Senator Theatre" with footage of my grandfather in a hard hat touring the theatre under construction in increments.. Don't know what year this claims to be re Robert Johnson possible footage yet nitrate vs safety film's introduction 1949-50 nationwide,could play into validating authenticity of this tale.
I don't really get the controversy. It doesn't look like Johnson, who we can see from two quite clear photographs. The person in the video is just another "undiscovered" bluesman from the time.
Does the film show the Jan '42 movie poster behind "Robert Johnson"? If not, and there is not definitive date on the film with "Robert Johnson" then who is to say that the an earlier film of Robert Johnson was not in spliced into the Jan '42 film?
Rex Mundi, all good points, but it just could be possible that the man thought to have died of poisoning in 1938 was someone who looked a lot like RJ. It's possible that if he were alive in this year, he could've been jived by someone promising a movie part or something. He could have been convinced to dress "more apple pie" for white audiences. If so, he would have played very simple mainstream tunes. RJ was known to augment his material to suit different audience. For example, he recorded "They're Red Hot", a cover of a popular hit of the day. All of this may be slim, but alot of mistaken identity occured at late night house parties in the day.
the creepy thing about this is Robert Johnson was never a celebrity in the blues scene in those days. his career never really took off yet no more than 30 years after his death, he becomes probably the greatest musicians of our time. i can just see Robert asking the devil if he can have fame in return for his sole. the devil surely give him it alright lol. no (1) rule when dealing with the devil : be careful what you wish for because you just might get it !.
Doesn't look like RJ at all, but I love the footage. Heck, they even dated the footage as early 40's, he died in 38, so why are people speculating that it's him?
I think he's referring to a lot of songs of Johnson's, like Hellhound on My Trail, etc and the legend about him making a deal with the devil at the crossroads.
First, Robert Johnson never played the Harmonica. So why is this guy with one? Second, Like MrDaemonB said, Johnson died 4 years before this film is said to have been filmed. Sure the speculations surrounding his death are debated, but they all seem to agree when it happened. I'd chalk it up to 2 things. Either a relative of Robert Johnson (Hence the similar facial features) or some given Blues Musician who decided to pose for the camera, which is the one i believe.
When they said that they took and cut a clip from the film. Right? Then what year of that roll of film they cut that clip from. If he died in 38.. Was it filmed before or after 38.
@W6CSAhamradio The footage was RELEASED in 41. Could have been recorded earlier. I'm not saying it is Robert because it isn't just pointing out that they didn't lie about anything, it COULD have been him, it just wasn't. Heath Ledger died in Jan of 08 and he was stil "onscreen" in July of 08 when The Dark Knight came out. Do you see what I'm saying?
I respect your opinion, as well as RL's opinion. But keep in mind that RL was born in 1915. After about 80 years, your memory, eyesight, and judgement begin to fade. Its reality. Johnson died in 1938. A very long time ago. One will never know for certain.
at 2:33 or 2:34 the guy with the dark hat looks like Mississippi Fred Mcdowell. If that is Fred at that age, that would mean the date would be wrong for Robert Johnson to be in the footage. and if Robert played Rack-harp while picking, that would show through more in his recordings.
Doesn't look like the Gibson Johnson used. Anybody disagree? But since they say it was shot in '42 and Johnson died in '38 then why is there even speculation? It can't be Johnson.
