http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2002-2006 by the authors Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:55:01 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/22/115823.php#comment-24819 I wasn't aware of it, so went and checked your column on the PBS Blues series. Nice work, with a minor quibble: you pass on the myth that it was Robert Johnson that sold his soul to the devil. What happened was that Robert Johnson was sharp and took advantage of the similarity of his name to the real blues singer that started the myth of selling his soul to the devil" _TOMMY_ Johnson. Tommy ended up dying (too soon) and the myth stuck to Robert. There's more in "Deep Blues" by Robert Palmer, and they got it right in "Oh, Brother, where art thou" - the guitarist picked up at the crossroads was named Tommy, played by Chris Thomas King, a contemporary Blues genius (he also played Blind Willie in the PBS series). This isn't to take anything away from Robert Johnson, who was definitely a great. Rumor has it that just before he died he was starting to mess around with amplified guitars. I sometimes wonder how blues history would have worked out had he lived and continued on that track. ]]> 24819@blogcritics.org Thu, 23 Oct 2003 14:55:01 EDT