Who you calling a Griot?

Senegambia, also known as the slave coast of Africa, played an important role in the delta blues. In many Senegambian societies, musicians and singers were held in a social class all their own, known as griots.

They are known to sing the praises of wealthy and/or powerful men, and they take the time to memorize long epic genealogies that constitute almost an oral history of their people. Some are employed in royal courts, while others sing in the streets, or are employed on farms to sing a rhythm that is correlated to the task at hand.

Other citizens have mixed feelings about the griots. While they were held in high esteem and often amassed wealth and sometimes power, they were also despised for they were believed to consort with evil spirits, and that their songs could turn into tunes of insults. When a griot died, it is reported, they were not buried like normal citizens, but left to rot in hollow trees.

The type of music popular in these Senegambian communities was hand clapping, drumming, singing in call and response form, and vocal ambiguity. Slaves from this slave coast settled quite a bit in the delta, especially in Mississippi, and it is believed their music inspired the early forms of the blues.

Further evidence can be found not only in the rhythms, but in the melodies and the way they are sung. However, I am not the type to start going into musical theory….

But rock on Griots, rock on!

The Importance of Delta Blues

The importance of the delta blues is two fold: It is important because of its influence, and it is important because of the music itself.

The influences are obvious, and make the delta blues very important. Some of the world’s most popular musicians – The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and others – learned to play and sing by imitating the delta blues. In fact, these artists still revere the recorded works of the delta masters. Everywhere you see rock players or metal players playing with a glass slide on their finger is a homage, acknowledged or not, to delta musicians like Muddy Waters and Elmore James. Delta guitarists were also the first to intentionally experiment with distortion and feedback (does Jimi Hendrix come to mind?). Almost everyone who picks up a harmonica – regardless of what country they live in – will at some stage in their development imitate one of the delta greats like Little Walter. The influence is tremendous – it courses through every version of modern music from swing, to rock, to jazz, to movie soundtracks.

The delta blues seems simple enough. It’s two identical lines followed by a response, there are usually three chords or less, melodies are easy to follow, the rhythms are straight forward. Yet countless white musicians have tried to master it and failed, and delta bluesman often laugh to themselves as they remember even black musicians from other areas such as Texas who just couldn’t learn to play acceptable in the delta style.

The fact is this: the delta blues are a refined, extremely subtle and systematic music language. Playing, and especially singing it right involves some exceptionally fine points that only a few white guitarists, and virtually no white singers, and hardly any black musicians who didn’t learn in the delta have been able to grasp. These fine points have to do with timing, phrasing, subtle variations in vocal timbre, and being able to hear and execute both vocally and instrumentally precise graduations in pitch. We are talking about techniques learned and methodically applied, and are essential to the music.

Think you can play the delta blues? It sounds easy. Heck, sometimes, it feels easy. But test your skills with a actually delta bluesman, and you will find yourself years behind, unable to keep up, and missing all musical cues. Don’t feel bad – you have to have learned in the delta itself to get it.

Whew. Harder than it sounds, huh?

The Delta History

So where did the blues come from? Well, as most people know, it came from the slaves, and later the plantation workers in the south, particularly along the delta. They would often play blues together (after all, the blues is nothing more than a good man feelin’ bad) and soon accompanied themselves on instruments. But to understand the delta blues, you have to understand the delta history.

Large areas along the delta remained undeveloped at the time of the civil war, and it was only after the really tough years of the reconstruction that the area started to attract investors and their money. The year-round black population wasn’t big enough to develop these undeveloped lots of land as well as harvest the cotton, so season migrants were welcomed in. Those who came, were also welcomed to stay – there was plenty of work after all. Through the late 19th century and into the 20th, blacks migrated up to the delta from the south and the east, from the hills, plains, and small farms, looking for not only promised work, but an expanding labor market.

There was, however, little room in the sharecropping system for small land owners or poor white renters. It was hard for these whites to find work, except maybe on a police force or in stores (stores were even unlikely, as they were run by Jewish, Italian, and Chinese settlers). On big plantations, whites were very unwelcome, unless there was an opening for an overseer. This is because the landowners found the blacks to be healthier, stronger, and more tractable, and the blacks learned to consider “white trash” their enemy. When blacks were hot tempered or angry, they took it out on the whites in town. When a lynching or a night riding took place, the white trash were usually to blame. Planters and land owners actually stepped in to protect their black workers.

Sharecropping was created out of mutual dependency, but it endured through distrust. The blacks thought the plantation owners were cheap and exploitive, but preferred them to the racist whites. The plantation owners thought the blacks were liars and a bit lazy. But the plantation owners disliked the poor whites even more (they were moving into the delta in increasing numbers at this point). Why were they disliked more? Well, the blacks were not a threat to the plantation owners because they could not read, write, or vote. But the poor whites could – and thus were able to threaten the political peace the plantation owners currently had. Luckily for all involved, the poor whites didn’t trust each other either, as they were all looking for a foothold in the hostile delta.

This lasted throughout the delta until around after WWI. Then, an increasing number of blacks were taking the train north to Chicago. Of course, they would take the blues with them. A train ticket to Chicago from New Orleans was only $16.95, and the ride took less than 24 hours. In the north, jobs were plentiful for southern born blacks (often preferred over northern born blacks because of their strength and health) and the work was half as hard, the pay twice as good.

In the north, a black man could make enough money to keep a tenement apartment, and didn’t have to worry about “seasonal work”, or how much debt accrued in town during the off season. But the north was also cold, and bitter, so many returned back to the south.

By 1930, Chicago had more Mississippi born people living there than any other municipality, and the only place that had more was Mississippi itself. Census reports show 38, 356 Mississippi born blacks lived in Chicago in 1930, and by 1950, 150,000 had arrived to Chicago from the Delta.

These figures are also estimated to be too low. But boy, those blues became electri-fied up in Chicago…

Johnson's Death (certificate)

Well, forst of all, lets put the certificate in here for viewing.

Now, lets look at it a bit.

For one, the official cause of death is “no doctor”. It has widely been reported, and somewhat confirmed, that Johnson died by poisoning. In the Movie “Searching for Robert Johnson”, a famous blues researcher even found the man responsible, who admitted to poisoning Johnson. He declared he never thought so much trouble would come from killing him – after all, he was a traveling man. The name has not been released. Interesting that it says “no doctor” though.

Also, the certificate is witnessed by a Jim Moore. No such person exists. This was actually signed by one of Johnson’s brothers (half brother, step brother) who did not want his real name on the certificate.

Also, it says the body was examined “outside” Greenwood. This is important, because of the many tombs of Robert Johnson. This information, coupled with the fact his body is listed as being buried in “zion” on the certificate, almost for certain pinpoints Robert’s real grave. There are three tombs to him: One at the Mt. Zion Church, one in Little Zion, and one outside Quito. Since black men had very little transportation back then, and Johnson was buried, as it states on the certificate, the following day after his death (they didn’t embalm people back then – so they were buried almost immediately) then it is likely he was buried in the close vicinity of where his death occurred. This means his true grave was resurrected in Little Zion. Here is an exerpt of more proof:

Noted historian and record producer Stephen C. LaVere, who has spent over 30 years researching Johnson’s life, indicates that Johnson’s actual burial site is at the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church two miles north of Greenwood, Mississippi. Little Zion was also suggested by Greenwood locals as the correct site for an indigent burial in 1938 and this was confirmed by 86-year-old Rosie Eskridge, whose husband, Tom Eskridge reportedly dug Johnson’s grave. Mrs. Eskridge recalls that a famous bluesman in very poor physical condition was brought to the place [The Star of the West plantation owned by Luther Wade] late one Saturday night and that he didn’t live a week. When the hands told Wade that a man was dead, Wade ordered him buried and asked Tom Eskridge to dig the grave. Tom told Rosie to bring him some water up to the graveyard around noon. When she got there a deep grave was dug and she saw the famous man buried. Mrs. Eskridge indicated about where she remembered the grave was.

A marker has now been placed there. It is an old graveyard riddled with hand made markers, but it is believed Johnson’s original marker was plowed over along with a bunch of others.

I think we can now discard the other two markers as being a fallacy. There is only one Mr. Robert Johnson, and only one true grave. Right?

The Real Crossroads?

New speculation has emerged.

Although the crossroads at hwy 61 and hwy 49 in Clarksdale is believed to be the legendary crossroads where Robert Johnson made his pact with the devil, and is definitely the spot where people go to pay their respects, new evidence suggests this is NOT the crossroads where the famous pact was made.

According to the bluesmen of the south, most well into their 80′s and 90′s, as well as some historians and blues researchers, the crossroads he is referring to is actually in Rosedale.

Even in the song he mentions the city: “Going up to Rosedale, got my rider by my side”. The truth is, of course, no one will ever know for sure. But there is someone who knew.

That someone is legendary blues musician Son House. Son said he knew for a fact where Johnson made his deal, and it wasn’t in Clarksdale, but in Rosedale. In fact, he claims in was right where Hwy 8 intersects with Hwy 1. That’s the real crossroads, he says.

More proof is in the folklore of the devil himself. According to legend, and some voodoo claims, the devil always hangs close to the river. The devil, marking his territory with an “X” (thus the crossroads) would not and could not make his mark so far from the river as Clarksdale. Rosedale, on the other hand, is right by the river.

Truth is, no one will ever truly know which crossroads are the “real” crossroads. Except the devil himself and Mr. Johnson. But I find it entirely plausible that this could be the true crossroads themselves…. According to this folklore, Johnson did not go to the crossroads seeking the devil. The devil was waiting for him as Johnson passed through from Beulah on his way to Helena. Johnson was greeted by tyhe devil and his dog, and the dog seized Robert and shook him violently; When he did, the strings in Johnson’s guitar shook and vibrated and the blues emerged from those sounds. The devil told Johnson, “the dog is not for sale, but you can buy that sound.” Robert wanted it so bad, the deal was made. From there, he was a master.

Who knows the truth though? “Science” says he got that good through diligent practice, and a natural ability. But the blues was never about Science, was it?

Sell YOUR soul to the devil?

So, the burning question is, if Robert Johnson can sell his soul to the devil for better skills – can you?

The answer is: kind of.

According to Tommy Johnson (who, in recent reports, is really the “Johnson” who sold his soul to the devil; Robert only adapted the story), you can. Here are the instructions.

“If you want to learn how to make songs yourself, you take your guitar and your go to where the road crosses that way, where a crossroads is. Get there be sure to get there just a little ‘ fore 12 that night so you know you’ll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece there by yourself…A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar and he’ll tune it. And then he’ll play a piece and hand it back to you. That’s the way I learned to play anything I want.”

So, will it work if you do it? Accroding to MudKat Cafe, no. They had a gentlemen try it twice, and to no avail. However, he tried it in a crossroads located in the north….

However, there may be another way.

A man named Julio Finn wrote a book about Johnson’s life. He attests that Johnson’s ability came not from him selling his soul at an imaginary crossroads, but in his newly learned voodoo. He cites Johnson’s music as proof – the subtlties and side notes referring to voodoo are ridled in Johnson’s music. Finn claims no one could know that much about the voodoo religion by picking things up – they would have to be accepted into that cult.

“Confronted with yet another crisis, this young man sought a means of transforming his life, by transforming life itself into a work of art. Disillusioned with the reality the white world imposed upon him, he turned to the world of magic to the supernatural powers promised by Hoodoo…Having realized that music was a kind of magic, he sought out magic to gain control over it(213).”

In essence, Robert Johnson sought the guidance of a root doctor, which is like a medicine man in hoodoo(voodoo). From there he learned to seek the energy which all humans possess, and learned to harness that energy in his guitar the way a medicine man harnesses a spirit in his body. He learned to master that harnessing. And was a genius.

That, as some say, is the secret to Johnson’s success….

Robert Johnson – For those who don't know

Since I was recently asked a question concerning Robert John, I thought I would go ahead and post the tale of his life. Chances are, if you are remotely interested in this site, then you already know all about him. But for those who don’t, here is the story as I know it.

Here are the important facts as I see them.

• Robert Johnson is perhaps the most influential artist ever to have lived. c Not only in blues, but also in helping to found rock and roll.
• Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil for good guitar skills. Some believe, this story was created by a different “Johnson” and Robert adopted it as his own. So did Jimmy Page. Either way, those crossroads lie in Clarksdale, MS.
• Johnson was poisoned in a bar called Three Forks in Greenwood, MS by a jealous husband who’s wife was seen sitting on Johnson’s knee during most of his first set. In between sets (He was playing with Sonny Boy aka Rice Miller) he was handed an open bottle of whiskey. Before he could drink from it, Sonny Boy slapped it out of his hand, exclaiming “Don’t ever drink no whiskey from an open bottle.” Robert in return told Sonny Boy:”Don’t ever slap no drink from my hand.” Robert was handed a second open bottle of whiskey, which he drank. Some other sources say he was stabbed, but this has since been ruled out.
• There is mystery surrounding his death – as he became increasingly ill from the poison, and acted crazy, foaming at the mouth (one report says Johnson fell to all fours and began to howl like a dog) many thought it was the devil collecting his due. His death certificate (pictured below) lists his cause of death as “no doctor”.

• Johnson had an amazing ability: He could be in deep conversation with several people, and hear a song playing on a juke box behind him. Though he would show no signs of noticing the music (and continuing on in conversation) Johnson could later play and sing the song he heard – once – note for note. Not just blues – any type of music.
• Johnson’s main teacher was Ike Zimmerman. Ike told Robert he himself learned the blues by “playing atop a tombstone in a graveyard every midnight”. Some say this also inspired Robert to talk about the devil, etc in his life and music. Very little is known of Ike Zimmerman. Ike is, though, as most believe, the “devil” Robert sold his soul to. Robert left the delta a struggling guitarist; he spent several months with Ike, and returned a blues genius….

And here is the official story, straight from his web site. The way they write it, they leave out the mystery….

Robert Johnson, “King of the Delta Blues Singers”, was born in Hazlehurst, MS in Copiah County, on May 8, 1911. Crystal Springs, MS is the sister city and host of the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation Spring Festival which commemorates the birth of the Mississippi blues legend. Robert and his mother did not stay long in Hazlehurst. After working as migrant labor, his mother moved the family to Memphis where he lived for several years.

Early in life Robert developed an interest in music. He played Jews Harp and harmonica for the next few years until he became interested in guitar in the 1920′s. Robert was a good looking boy and he became very popular with the girls. Eventually he became serious and married a young Virginia Travis in 1929. She and Robert’s first child died during childbirth in 1930.After this early tragic experience, Robert became absorbed in his music.

While living in Robinsonville, Robert met other blues singers who influenced his early style. Among these are Son House and Willie Brown. Bluesman and preacher Son House particularly influenced Robert with his ‘raw and intensely pure emotional music.’Robert went back to his birthplace Hazlehurst searching for his real father, and became more serious about his music. Though during the depression, there was ample work and cash being made from the railroad and WPA highways being built, enough for people to live and have a good time. Bluesman Ike Zinnerman, became Robert’s coach and mentor, and began to teach Robert.

Robert’s understanding of women deepened and he began to understand that they could provide everything he neded. He met a kind and loving woman more than 10 years his senior with three small children. Robert and Calletta Craft were married her in 1931. She totally loved and took care of Robert. Robert wasn’t particularly respected at the time because he was not a hard laborer like many people at the time, his work seemed too easy to many people. He had beautiful hands, wavy hair and looked younger than his age. No one knew he was married, and thought he was being kept by an older woman.

This trip to Mississippi in the 30′s was really important to Robert. During this stay, Johnson’s personality developed into the man he would be. Also of great importance was the musical talent and ability that blossomed while he was in Hazlehurst. He would spend time alone practicing songs until they were just as he liked them. When he felt ready for more learning, he packed up his family and moved to the Delta.

When Robert returned to Robinsonville, he had surpassed his friends Son House and Willie Brown. He played in bars and on street corners for a new months and then would move on. Robert began to spend time on the Arkansas side of the river, across the river from Memphis in a town called Helena. All the great musicians of that time passed through Helena and west Helena, and many were influenced by Robert.

There was a special young man to whom Robert took a liking named Robert Lockwood, Jr. Robert Johnson lived with young Robert’s mother, Estella Coleman. Robert J. tutored the young man who had an admirable musical talent. He shared much of what he knew with Robert Jr over the next four or five years. His style took on many of the characteristics of Robert Johnson’s. Estella was good to Robert, she took good care of him. Robert stayed in Helena with Estella and Robert Jr, and from this base traveled to play all over Mississippi and the Arkansas Delta. Robert had the opportunity to meet and play with all the great blues contemporaries.

Robert guarded his musical style well. If he felt someone wanted to be like him, play like him, he would leave in the middle of a performance. He loved traveling and seemed always on the move. Robert could play most anything requested of him. He had an ability to learn music and lyrics quickly, after only hearing a song once, he could play and sing it, not only the blues, but pop, ballads, and other styles as well.

By the mid-thirties, Johnson was well known through the Delta, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and began to think about recording his music. He contacted H. C. Spier in Jackson, MS, who connected him with someone who could help him. In 1936 he began to record his songs, among them his most popular Terraplane Blues. He made eleven records which increased his fame.

Johnson is one of the most admired and influential Delta blues artists despite his short life and the small number of recordings that he left. His songs, such as “Sweet Home Chicago”, “Come on in My Kitchen”, and “Crossroad Blues”, are blues classics — played by thousands of blues artists and adapted by rock ‘n’ roll artists such as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. His life and work would later influence the growth and talent of such famous musicians as Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and yes, Elvis.

Robert Johnson was a gifted singer, guitarist and songwriter whose life story is wrapped in mystery and legend. Only two photographs are known to exist of him and he recorded only 29 songs before his death in 1938 at the age of 27. Many of his contemporaries believed that he met the Devil at a lonely crossroads at midnight and made a deal to sell his soul in return for becoming the greatest blues musician of all time. More likely, he was blessed with enormous talent and spent a lot of time learning from other blues masters and honing his skills. He achieved some success and fame from recordings and performances during his life and was scheduled to perform at the first “Spirituals to Swing” concert at Carnegie Hall when he died.

Although his burial place remains uncertain, it is generally accepted that his death was not accidental. Johnson was poisoned by a jealous husband (or girlfriend) while performing at a juke joint near Greenwood, Mississippi and died on August 16, 1938. He defined the 30s blues era, but died in 1938 at the young age of 27. Though he only wrote 29 songs, his impact on the world of music has been incredible. Many consider him the father of modern rock and roll.

For more on Robert Johnson, read the official site (often updated) here.

The Phone Call….

Ladies and gentlemen (I use that term loosly):

The phone call is in.

Earlier today, at about 1:30pm, I got a call on my cell. I was unable to take the call at the time, and a message was left. The message stated:

“Jason, this be da Tail Dragger. You and yo friends be welcome at my house in Greenville, Mississippi. Thank you fo da letta.”

So, there you have it. We have been invited by a international blues recording artist to chill at his house upon our arrival….

Awesome.

Playing Blues Guitar

First of all, please understand I am not a guitar instructor. If you are serious about learning guitar, take lessons somewhere. Seriously.

So you want to play the blues? Well, as B.B. King once said, the blues is the easiest to learn but the hardest to master.

In my opinion, the best place to start is learning all the ins and outs of the blues scale. also, one should note that the blues scale is very similar to the pentonic minor scale, so by learning one you pretty much learn the other – a two for one deal!

Most sites you go to will teach or show you the first fingering for the blues scale. Thanks, but what if I want to look bad ass and move my solos all over the guitar neck, but stay in the same key? What if I want my notes to “match” but sound different? What if I want to impress women with my mad skills? Well, then you should learn all of the positionings for the blues scale, which is all over the freaking neck. Here is what I suggest:

CLICK HERE

and then practice those over and over. It’s in the key of E. Just remember, in blues, playing note after note is not important – it’s the phrasing thats important. Let the notes sing, and tell a story. It’s not about speed. Play it again.

This time, with feewing.

Don’t know how to phrase? Or even how to play the blues? Shame on you!!! But, if you need to learn a style and don’t know where to begin, try B.B. King’s style. It is fairly easy to do, though it doesn’t involve traveling all over the neck and looking cool. But it surely sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?

Now learn the scale and make your own style!

Welcome Message

This site was created in preparation for our upcoming trip – Rollin Back to the Delta, The Search For Soul. Me and a little group of friends are going to head out for the Delta and a four day adventure. This site is geared towards that.

On the right are the links under the “pages” section where you can view the agenda – along with photos – of each day of the trip. There is also a trip summary, and an introduction.

As I find more relevant information, or I stumble across interesting blues facts and tribulations, I will be sure to post them here in the blogging section. Once the infamous trip is complete, you can bet I will blog my ass off to bring you the stories and pictures from the delta, and our search for soul…