Delta Blues Odyssey . . . Robert Johnson, Part 1

Dudeboy and Robert Johnson share the same birthday . . . as does Gary Glitter!

According to the book Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of the Delta Blues, Johnson's birthplace was near the intersection of I-55 and Highway 28 near Hazelhurst, with I-55 enveloping the front yard. However, I have read other sources that said the location was further south near Martinsville. Notā bene, Screamin' Killer Davis had strong opinions about many of the directions given in the book, stating "he couldn't find his own ass with both hands!" The actual home, or what is left of it, has been moved to a secret location and funds are being raised to restore it.

And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
Well, it's hard to tell, it's hard to tell
when all your love's in vain
All my love's in vain

The Mississippi Blues Trail sign for Robert Johnson's early connections to Hazelhurst.

The Robert Johnson monument near the Copiah County Courthouse, where Johnson married Caletta Craft in May of 1931. Supposedly he played on the courthouse steps as well.

We arrived too late to tour the Robert Johnson Blues Museum in Crystal Springs. Actually, it probably didn't matter what time we arrived, for the hours posted at most of the blues museums are apparently not to be taken literally.

This is the original office building for the Abbay & Leatherman plantation, where Johnson spent his formative years. Returning to the area with a newly acquired prowess after a couple of years of absence led to some of the mythology surrounding Johnson.

According to the NPS website Trail of the Hellhound: Delta Blues in the Lower Mississippi Valley, "Muddy Waters said that the only time he actually saw Robert Johnson was on the front porch of Hirsberg's Drugstore (above) in Friars Point, Mississippi. A crowd of people had gathered around Johnson, who was playing ferociously. Waters became intimidated by the older man's musicianship and quickly left."

Somewhere near this site was the Three Forks juke joint. It was here that Johnson played his last engagement. Legend has it that he was poisoned by a jealous husband. Bluesman Johnny Shines related: "I heard that it was something to do with the Black Arts. Before he died, Robert was crawling along the ground on all fours; barking and snapping like a mad beast. That's what the poison done to him."

Greenwood's African American neighborhood of Baptist Town was a refuge for blues musicians. According to Honeyboy Edwards, after Johnson was poisoned at the Three Forks juke joint, he was moved to a home on Young Street in Baptist Town.

Johnson was removed from Baptist Town to this location just north of Greenville. It was here in a tenant house on the Star of the West Plantation where Johnson died on August 16, 1938.

I gotta keep movin
I gotta keep movin
Blues fallin down like hail
Blues fallin down like hail
Umm mmmm mmm mmmmmm
Blues fallin down like hail
Blues fallin down like hail
And the days keeps on worryin me
theres a hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail

Take your pick . . . one of the many "possible" crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to Old Scratch. This is the intersection of US 61 and US 49 in Clarksdale . . . it is the touristy photo op version of the crossroads.

Of course, Johnson never made a deal with the devil, but it still fun to explore the mythology. One version had Johnson leaving his guitar at a crossroads near the Dockery Plantation, which is the location shown in the photo above. It is as good as any, so if you happen to be about a half mile south of the main entrance to Dockery at just before midnight . . .

Early this mornin'
when you knocked upon my door
Early this mornin', ooh
when you knocked upon my door
And I said, "Hello, Satan,"
I believe it's time to go."