Blind Willie Johnson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Blind Willie Johnson
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The only known photograph of Johnson, 1927
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Blind Willie, Blind Texas Marlin, The Blind Pilgrim |
| Born | January 25, 1897 Pendleton, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 18, 1945 (aged 48) Beaumont, Texas |
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| Years active | 1920s–1945 |
| Labels | Columbia |
Blind Willie Johnson (born January 25, 1897 – died September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues musician and preacher. His recordings from 1927 to 1930, about 30 songs, show off his strong singing voice and amazing slide guitar playing. His music has inspired many musicians over the years. Even though his records sold well, he mostly earned money by performing on the streets and preaching. He didn't become rich during his lifetime. We don't know a lot about his life, but music historians like Samuel Charters have found out more about him and his recording sessions.
People became very interested in Johnson's music again in the 1960s. This happened after his songs were included in a famous collection called Anthology of American Folk Music by Harry Everett Smith, and thanks to the efforts of blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis. Johnson is now seen as one of the most important "holy blues" musicians. This style mixes religious messages with blues music and guitar playing.
You can easily find Johnson's music today on albums like American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson. Many people think Johnson is one of the most important blues musicians. His slide guitar playing, especially on his song "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", is highly praised. Other famous songs by Johnson include "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed", "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", and "John the Revelator".
Contents
About His Life
Early Years
Johnson was born on January 25, 1897, in Pendleton, Texas. This was a small town near Temple, Texas. His parents, Dock Johnson and Mary King, were sharecroppers (farmers who paid rent with a share of their crops). His family, including at least one younger brother named Carl, later moved to Marlin. Johnson spent most of his childhood there.
The Johnson family went to church every Sunday, probably the Marlin Missionary Baptist Church. This had a big impact on Johnson. He wanted to become a Baptist minister. When he was five years old, his father gave him his first instrument, a cigar box guitar.
Johnson was not born blind. He lost his sight at a young age. Most people who have studied his life believe his stepmother blinded him when he was seven years old. This story was first told by Angeline Johnson, who was said to be his wife later in life. Other ideas about how he lost his sight include wearing the wrong glasses or looking at a solar eclipse of August 30, 1905.
We don't know many other details about his childhood. He met another blind musician named Madkin Butler. Butler had a powerful way of singing and preaching. This influenced Johnson's own singing and the songs he played. A blind minister named Adam Booker said that Johnson would perform religious songs on street corners in Hearne. He would tie a tin cup to his Stella guitar to collect money. Sometimes, Johnson would play on the same street as Blind Lemon Jefferson. However, we don't know how much they interacted.
In 1926 or early 1927, Johnson started living with Willie B. Harris. They were not officially married. Harris sometimes sang with him on the street. She also sang at church events where Johnson played piano. In 1931, Johnson and Harris had a daughter named Sam Faye Johnson Kelly. Another blues guitarist, L. C. Robinson, said his sister Anne also claimed to have been married to Johnson in the late 1920s.
Recording His Music (1927–1930)
By the time Johnson started recording, he was a well-known preacher. He had "remarkable technique and a wide range of songs," according to blues historian Paul Oliver. On December 3, 1927, Johnson went to a temporary studio in Deep Ellum, Dallas. He was there to record for Columbia Records. He recorded six songs, taking 13 tries in total.
Some of the songs he recorded in Dallas were "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed", "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time", "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", and "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down". He was paid $50 for each "usable" song. This was a lot of money back then. He also got a bonus to give up his royalties (money from sales) from the records.
His first songs released were "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole" and "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed". They were part of Columbia's popular 14000 Race series. Johnson's first record was a big success. About 9,400 copies were made, which was more than the latest release by Bessie Smith, a famous Columbia star. An extra 6,000 copies were then made.
His fifth recorded song, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", became the B-side of his second release. This song really shows off his unique guitar playing. He used a knife or penknife as a slide. According to Willie B. Harris, he also played with a thumb pick. His sad humming in the song sounds like "unison moaning." This is a style of singing hymns common in African-American church choirs in the South. In 1928, a music critic named Edward Abbe Niles praised Johnson. He wrote about Johnson's "violent, tortured, and abysmal shouts and groans, and his inspired guitar playing."
Johnson, with Harris, returned to Dallas on December 5, 1928. They recorded "I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge", "Jesus Is Coming Soon", "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying", and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning". He also recorded two songs under the name Blind Texas Marlin. However, the original recordings of these songs have never been found.
Another year passed before Johnson recorded again. On December 10 and 11, 1929, he had his longest recording sessions. He recorded ten songs in 16 tries at Werlein's Music Store in New Orleans. He also recorded some duets with an unknown female singer. People think she was from Reverend J. M. Gates's church. A blind street performer named Dave Ross said he heard Johnson playing on the street in New Orleans in December 1929. There's a story that Johnson was arrested while performing on Canal Street. He was supposedly trying to start a riot with his powerful singing of "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down."
For his fifth and final recording session, Johnson traveled to Atlanta, Georgia. Harris joined him again to sing harmonies. Ten songs were finished on April 20, 1930. "Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right" and "Go with Me to That Land" were chosen as the first single from this session. However, the Great Depression had started. This meant many people couldn't afford records. Only 800 copies were made. Some of his songs were re-released by Vocalion Records in 1932, but Johnson never recorded again.
Later Life and Passing
Johnson is believed to have married Angeline Johnson in the early 1930s. But like with Harris, it's unlikely their marriage was officially recorded. During the Great Depression and the 1940s, he performed in many cities and towns in Texas, including Beaumont. A city directory from 1945 shows that a Reverend W. J. Johnson, who was likely Blind Willie, ran the House of Prayer in Beaumont.
In 1945, his home was destroyed by a fire. With nowhere else to go, Johnson continued to live in the burned-out house. He was exposed to the dampness and got malarial fever. No hospital would admit him. This was either because he was blind or, as Angeline Johnson said, because he was Black. His health got worse throughout the year, and he passed away on September 18, 1945.
His death certificate says he was buried in Blanchette Cemetery in Beaumont. The location of this cemetery was forgotten until it was found again in 2009. His exact grave site is still unknown. However, the researchers who found the cemetery put up a monument there in his honor in 2010.
His Musical Style
Johnson is known as one of the greatest blues musicians, especially in the gospel blues style. Like his friend Blind Lemon Jefferson, Johnson put the strong feelings of the blues into his religious songs. Samuel Charters wrote that Johnson wasn't a "bluesman" in the usual way. But his powerful guitar rhythms and strong voice were very similar to blues singers.
An important part of Johnson's music was his amazing bottleneck guitar technique. This style influenced musicians like Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf. He played with great control and timing. He often used the guitar as part of his singing, especially on "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground." Most people, including the famous blues guitarist Blind Willie McTell, say Johnson used a knife as a slide. But others claim he used a thumb pick or a brass ring. Music historian Steve Calt said Johnson could change the speed of his guitar's vibrato (a trembling effect) a lot. He could also play 3 or 4 clear notes by hitting a string only once. This shows how strong and skilled his left hand was.
Johnson sang in a rough, deep voice. It was meant to be loud enough for people to hear him on the streets. His singing was described as "fierce" and like the "Hell and Damnation" style of a Baptist preacher. Sometimes in his recordings, Johnson also sang in his natural tenor voice (a higher male voice). The only known influence on Johnson's singing was the blind musician Madkin Butler. Butler also sang religious messages on the streets of Texas cities.
His Legacy
Johnson's music became popular again in the 1960s. This was largely thanks to his songs being included in Harry Everett Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music in 1952. Also, blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis helped a lot. Davis was a respected figure in New York's growing folk music scene.
As Davis taught Johnson's music to young musicians, many groups and artists covered or re-interpreted his work. These included the Soul Stirrers, the Staples Singers, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Fairport Convention, and Peter, Paul and Mary. In November 1962, Bob Dylan recorded a version of "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed." He renamed it "In My Time of Dying" for his first album, Bob Dylan. Rock bands and artists of the 1970s also covered Johnson's songs, such as Led Zeppelin, John Sebastian, and Eric Clapton. In 2016, a tribute album called God Don't Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson was released. It featured covers by artists like Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Sinead O'Connor, Derek Trucks, and Susan Tedeschi. This album was nominated for two Grammy Awards.
All of Johnson's released music is now easy to find on compilation albums. These include Blind Willie Johnson 1927–1930 and The Complete Blind Willie Johnson. Samuel Charters was the first major blues historian to try and learn more about Johnson's life. He first wrote about him in his 1959 book The Country Blues. In 1993, Charters corrected some mistakes in Johnson's life story in the notes for The Complete Blind Willie Johnson. Other books about Johnson include Shine a Light: My Year with Blind Willie Johnson and Revelation The Blind Willie Johnson Biography.
In 1977, Carl Sagan and a team of scientists chose music to send into space on the Voyager Golden Record. This record was meant to represent Earth and human experience to other life forms. "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was one of the 27 songs chosen. NASA consultant Timothy Ferris chose it because, he said, "Johnson's song concerns a situation he faced many times: nightfall with no place to sleep." This means the song talks about being homeless at night.
Johnson's recording of "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was also chosen by the Library of Congress in 2010. It was added to the National Recording Registry. This registry selects recordings each year that are important for culture, history, or art. In 2017, the story of Blind Willie Johnson's song on the Voyager probe was told in the award-winning documentary series American Epic. The film also came with an album, American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson. This album had much better versions of sixteen of Johnson's recordings.
See also
- List of songs recorded by Blind Willie Johnson
