Pages tagged “robert johnson”

The 10 Best Robert Johnson Covers

The 10 Best Robert Johnson Covers

One hundred years after his birth, Robert Johnson remains one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He's inspired a range of musicians, so to mark his birthday this week, we present 10 of the best Robert Johnson covers.  read more

Found in: Blogs, List of the Day

This Week's New Album Releases (5/3/11)

This Week's New Album Releases (5/3/11)

Two of the nine albums we chose to highlight this week are actually box sets, but with a 9.0 rating, one of today’s new releases approaches instant classic....  read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Robert Johnson: The Centennial Collection

Robert Johnson: <em>The Centennial Collection</em>

Robert Johnson’s life was not very long or well documented. We know the facts of his biography—where he was born, who he married, where he roamed—but don’t know very much about the man himself, at least not the way we know artists like Elvis Presley or Ray Charles or Johnny Cash—men who left extensive records of themselves and their demons. By contrast, Johnson remains something of a ghost: a smiling face in an old promotional photo, unreadable and unfathomable....  read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Robert Johnson to be Honored with Tribute CD, Tour

Robert Johnson to be Honored with Tribute CD, Tour

Next year marks the 100th anniversary of Robert Johnson’s birth, and a tribute album and a concert series celebrating the legendary bluesman will honor the occasion....  read more

Found in: Music, News

Listen Up: Souls, Slots and Other Strange Transactions in Tunica

Listen Up: Souls, Slots and Other Strange Transactions in Tunica

Thirty-five miles or so north of where U.S. Highway 49 hits Highway 61—the crossroads where bluesman Robert Johnson allegedly bartered his soul off to the devil—sits a cluster of casinos, just three among many splashed out on the eastern banks of the Mississippi River, where on Friday night I watched an innumerable amount of perhaps even stranger transactions taking place...  read more

Found in: Columns

Watch Gil Scott-Heron Cover Robert Johnson

Watch Gil Scott-Heron Cover Robert Johnson

Don’t let the title of Gil Scott-Heron’s upcoming album, I’m New Here, fool you. The poet/jazz musician has been around since the late 1960s. His work, including the critically-acclaimed “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” has inspired generations of hip-hop artists, thinkers and fans of witty, thoughtful art....  read more

Found in: Music, News

Top 5 Not-So-Thinly-Veiled Sexual References to the Male Genitalia in Classic Blues and R&B

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American blues and R&B are infamous for countless reasons, subtlety generally not being one of them. Here are some classic examples, many of which have been ripped off by more than a few longhaired rock 'n' rollers. But I won't mention any names (Robert Plant!). ...  read more

Found in: Blogs, List of the Day

Date set for Robert Johnson festival

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The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation has announced its next festival date as May 10, 2008, giving those looking to win the event's New Generation Award (and the Gibson guitar that comes with it) plenty of time to make a deal with the Devil. (Who, by the way, gave up the crossroads gig about 10 years ago when his spot became eight lanes and an overpass, and now sells a series of instructional VHS tapes. Instead of your soul, he now accepts three easy credit, check or money order installments of $19.99.) Talented 12-18 year olds can apply through March 31,...  read more

Found in: Music, News