Searching for Robert Johnson

Peter Guralnick

He was probably the most influential of all bluesmen. And yet Robert Johnson remained virtually unknown to a wider audience until the publication of this book in 1989 and the release of his complete recordings in 1990 fifty-two years after his death. Unquestionably the main influence on Muddy Waters and an entire generation of rock 'n' roll and blues musicians Johnson is known for the ferocity and originality of his work and for the tormented sensibility that lay behind it.

Poisoned by a jealous husband at the age of twenty-seven widely believed to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical gifts Robert Johnson has long enjoyed a myth that has at times overshadowed his music. In this brilliant ode to the 'King of Delta Blues' Peter Guralnick illuminates the man as well as the myth and beautifully evokes the place and the time that gave birth to both. With interviews with Johnson contemporaries like Johnny Shines and Robert Jr Lockwood SEARCHING
FOR ROBERT JOHNSON gracefully mirrors the world and the artistry of Robert Johnson himself.