Robert Johnson

The Search for Robert Johnson

Eric Clapton - Sessions for Robert Johnson

Live, intimate, and raw, Sessions For Robert J is the essential audio/video companion to Eric Clapton's 2004 gold, Top 10 Me And Mr. Johnson, tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson. Filmed during tour rehearsals in London and Dallas plus a Los Angeles hotel room and the Dallas warehouse where Johnson made some of his final recordings, Sessions for Robert J finds Clapton performing all Robert Johnson songs with his touring band, acoustically with Doyle Bramhall II and solo-as well as discussing Johnson and his influence. A performance/documentary DVD with 14 tracks (from which the 11 CD selections are taken), Sessions for Robert J is blues heaven.

The Life and Music of Robert Johnson: Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?

This ambitious mixture of dramatic reconstruction with traditional documentary affords excellent insight into legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's life, the enduring power of his music, and the myth which surrounds him. Can't You Hear The Wind Howl transcends its genre of "docudrama," providing the well-researched information we'd expect from a conventional documentary with the dramatic impact we could hope for from a Hollywood film.

Contemporary bluesman Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore) plays Johnson, and Danny Glover narrates, but the real star is Robert Johnson's music. The film's strength is its power of suggestion; we never see the Johnson character up close, never hear him talk. As if in a dream, he flits in and out of scenes, whether courting his girlfriend or stirring a juke joint to mayhem. But you'd be hard put picking him out of a police lineup. We never see him such that we can know him, which is an accurate representation of the elusive musician, according to the interview footage with Johnson's proteges and peers--among them Johnny Shines, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Honeyboy Edwards. Keb' Mo', who has included Robert Johnson songs on each of his three CDs, says that portraying Johnson had a lasting effect. "It's an internal thing," says Mo'. "In playing him, you pull in some of the spirit. The spirit of a juke joint, the spirit of the south at that time." This film falls nicely between an homage and an explanation. --Sam Sutherland

DVD-Rory Block Teaches the Guitar of Robert Johnson

Learn to play the guitar style of the most influential Delta blues artist of all time! Robert Johnson's unearthly singing and intricate Mississippi Delta style slide guitar have inspired innumerable players in the decades since his untimely death in 1938. On this exciting, jam-packed DVD lesson, the award-winning contemporary blues singer and guitarist Rory Block completely demystifies the licks, runs, strums, bass lines, turnarounds and other important guitar elements that combine to make up the unique Robert Johnson sound.

Working in open G and D tunings, Rory provides a series of informational keys - specific guitar techniques that "open doors and unlock information" to allow you to play any song in Robert Johnson's repertoire. She works with you on getting a good slide sound, and details the percussive picking and strumming skills you'll need to achieve that special Robert Johnson feel. Rory discusses blues singing style, provides fascinating insights into the Mississippi blues, and shows how to establish the energy, drive and motivation that will make you a funkier, more interesting player.

Although these skills pertain to any Robert Johnson song, you'll learn detailed renditions of If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day, Terraplane Blues and Preaching Blues.

In Search of the Holy Grail with Dr. Robert A. Johnson: Understanding Masculine Psychology

Scott Ainslie: Robert Johnson - Guitar Signature Tricks

Rory Block Teaches the Guitar of Robert Johnson- DVD#2

Rory Block's life-long mission has been to fully understand Robert Johnson's incredible songs and guitar techniques. This is the second groundbreaking installment of her journey into the great blues artist's legacy, and she provides complete note-by-note, lick-by-lick instruction for three of his most powerful songs. Each one of these classic Robert Johnson songs represents a different stylistic aspect of his playing. Cross Road Blues exemplifies the myriad techniques that Johnson put into his songs in open G tuning; Ramblin' On My Mind utilizes an obscure altered tuning; Hellhound On My Trail is a haunting non-slide blues in open D. Rory takes each song apart, putting a microscope on the intros, chord positions, slide moves, picking, strumming and other blues guitar skills you'll need to play them yourself. Rory's passion for this music, along with her remarkable performing talent, makes her the perfect teacher for these blues guitar techniques. If you can master each of these songs you'll have the key to the rest of the amazing Robert Johnson repertoire. ... impeccable, almost unbelievable... She has completely nailed Johnson's technique. - All Music Guide

Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? The Life and Music of Robert Johnson

This ambitious mixture of dramatic reconstruction with traditional documentary affords excellent insight into legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's life, the enduring power of his music, and the myth which surrounds him. Can't You Hear The Wind Howl transcends its genre of "docudrama," providing the well-researched information we'd expect from a conventional documentary with the dramatic impact we could hope for from a Hollywood film.

Contemporary bluesman Keb' Mo' (Kevin Moore) plays Johnson, and Danny Glover narrates, but the real star is Robert Johnson's music. The film's strength is its power of suggestion; we never see the Johnson character up close, never hear him talk. As if in a dream, he flits in and out of scenes, whether courting his girlfriend or stirring a juke joint to mayhem. But you'd be hard put picking him out of a police lineup. We never see him such that we can know him, which is an accurate representation of the elusive musician, according to the interview footage with Johnson's proteges and peers--among them Johnny Shines, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Honeyboy Edwards. Keb' Mo', who has included Robert Johnson songs on each of his three CDs, says that portraying Johnson had a lasting effect. "It's an internal thing," says Mo'. "In playing him, you pull in some of the spirit. The spirit of a juke joint, the spirit of the south at that time." This film falls nicely between an homage and an explanation. --Sam Sutherland

Rory Block Teaches the Guitar of Robert Johnson, Vol. 1 and 2

Hellhounds on My Trail - The Afterlife of Robert Johnson

Delta bluesman Robert Johnson died in obscurity more than 60 years ago, leaving behind a grand total of 29 recorded songs. There are more videos about him (three and counting) than there are known pictures of him (two). Yet with each passing year, Johnson's legend and legacy continue to grow and flourish. Witness this package, directed by Robert Mugge and chronicling the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's annual American Music Makers series, a weeklong program that in 1998 was devoted to Johnson's work. Part concert, part documentary (including interviews and speeches, discussions of various Johnson-related myths, explanations of his guitar technique, and so on), Hellhounds on My Trail features very few "name" artists, with ex-Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, Keb' Mo', and G. Love and Special Sauce among the best known. Instead, you get authentic performances of Johnson songs by bluesmen like Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis, Joe Louis Walker, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, and Robert Lockwood Jr. (Johnson's stepson), along with rocking interpretations by Gov't Mule, the brilliant Sonny Landreth (a smokin' "Walking Blues"), and others. All in all, it's a feast for blues fans, and a nice accompaniment to Can't You Hear the Wind Howl, a 1998 docudrama featuring some of the same participants. --Sam Graham