Blues Post: Me and the Devil Blues

Hello there faithful followers! I was quite surprised at how much attention the choral post got, and I'm hoping you like this one just as much. Today we'll be taking a look at some blues and the man behind the legend, with, predictably, "Me and the Devil Blues" by Robert Johnson.

Robert Johnson - courtesy of TrueBlueser.Wordpress.com

Blues is an immensely diverse genre of music. Many of the styles are associated with the regions they began in, and each style has its own distinctive sound. One of the most well-known early blues musicians was a man named Robert Johnson. Before we get into the legend that is Robert Johnson, take a listen to this:

Johnson was born in 1911 and only lived to be 27 years old. His life is shrouded in mystery and Faustian legend. He married twice and fathered a child with a mistress, but he never stuck around for long - he was a travelling musician who never saw fame, fortune, or notoriety in his short life. Robert Johnson was the kind of musician your parents warned you about.

After he graduated from school (Robert was unusually well educated for a man of his background), he sought out a life as a professional musician. Now, the popular legend would have you believe that Robert did not come by his techniques honestly. According to the myth, Johnson met the notable musician Son House, who remarked on his talent for harmonica...and his dismal guitar playing. Six months later, he showed up in Mississippi, a masterful guitarist. Story has is that Robert met the Devil at a crossroads and sold his soul in order to gain superior technique. Music historians have reported that this legend didn't come into existence until more than two DECADES after Johnson's death, and was perpetuated by the white folks who had just discovered his music. Obviously in their opinions, a black man could never write and perform 'good' music without some kind of satanic intervention. (Don't let anyone tell you racism was never a factor in music, folks.)

Enough about Johnson: let's get to the meat of this cool jam. I'd encourage you to listen to this on repeat a few times - once you get it, you'll be a lifetime blues fan.

In order to dissect this, we'll have to get into chord progressions. To make it simple, chords are usually three pitches played at once. Chords can have any range of emotions or feelings, depending on what pitches are stacked on top of each other. As the blues developed, they took a pentatonic scale (which is what most folk music uses) and added a couple more pitches. The chord progressions in blues are so familiar that it has its own musical form.

The 12 bar blues is just that - 12 bars (and three chords). This particular blues has a call and response, which is pretty standard across the blues genre. From 0:05 - 0:16 is the instrumental intro. Its pretty standard, bu sets the listener up for a nice solid blues. Next: from 0:17 through 0:23 is the call. It then repeats, and is finally answered at 0:39.

 In blues, the rhythm and meter are pretty simple and easy to grasp. We're listening to a 4/4 meter (that's 4 beats to a measure), and some nice repeating syncopated patterns in the guitar (remember: syncopation refers to how beats fall in a measure).

And for the record, the people who were convinced that this was Johnson's admission to selling his soul need to familiarize themselves with Faustian legends (German in origin) which date back far before Johnson's birth. He's simply a musician who spent two years of his life refining a skill until he was one of the best. No mystical bargains necessary, just long hours and sore fingers!

For further listening, and especially if you find the rough quality of the recording rather off-putting, check out Eric Clapton's album 'Sessions for Robert Johnson.'

Up next: 80's synth music. Oh, yes. You are excited.