A third photo of Johnson appears to have surfaced -- read about it here:

[www.vanityfair.com]

P.S. I used to see Johnny Shines when I lived in Tuscaloosa.

Thanks Glam .... Very very interesting....



ROCKMAN

Great article - thanks, Glam D!

Wow a very interesting article,
Here's somthing interesting too for anyone who knows these american comedians.
They look like the oldblues artists mentioned....could they be related?????..LOL..


Mark Curry (Robert Johson)
[msnbcmedia3.msn.com]

Jamie Fox (Johnny Shines)
[www.exposay.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-10-03 01:53 by czr.

Glam, thanks for posting this article.

It's an interesting and fun read.

thank you thank you Glam Descendant - made me stay up waaay past bedtime, that did!
great article

Down at The Crossroads ..

Just look at those hands, no wonder he played like he had four of them.

Thanks for the post, good article.

I can't say anything about if that's Robert Johnson in that pic. Like all of us I only know his face from the two pics we all know. But I saw several good videos of Johnny Shines performing and in interviews. Watched one video last night again and from that I can't believe that the guy on the right in that pic is Johnny Shines.

No proof! Just my very own thoughts!

Very cool! I am reading "searching for Robert Johnson" right now. Johnny Shines is quoted a lot.

for people who aren't familiar with it, here's a classic article
about the trial that established Claud Johnson as Robert's heir: [articles.latimes.com]
don't miss the priceless testimony from Eula Mae Williams -
her "I am sorry for you" is one of my all-time favourite quotes :E

Thanks for the article.

I was led to youtube to listen to some RJ songs there: Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson" sessions as well as the Stones' "Love in Vain" from 1994.

Question: On "Love in Vain" from Stripped, there is a "knocking" sound around 3:35 and 3:50. Any ideas of what it is? I have always wondered about this. Sorry if this info is somewhere else.

i reckon you mean the percussive effect of the slide against the frets -
i don't know the Guitarist Jargon for it, but Ronnie makes nice use of it

I'm not sure if that's it. Otherwise that sound would be heard during almost the entire song, or at least when Ronnie is playing.

Thanks. very interesting.
This calls for a cut-and-paste...





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-10-31 19:08 by schillid.

Maybe someone here wants a closer look & can tell if it's him:

>> I'm not sure if that's it. Otherwise that sound would be heard during almost the entire song,
or at least when Ronnie is playing. <<

not necessarily - it doesn't *always* percuss. but maybe you have a different sound in mind than i do.

Can anyone suggest a decent book about RJ. Cheers. Great post.

>> Can anyone suggest a decent book about RJ <<

Escaping the Delta by Elijah Wald. it's mentioned in the Vanity Fair article as well.

I´ll check it out. Thanks.

>> I´ll check it out. Thanks. <<

it was recommended to me by someone who really knows his stuff, and it's only fitting to pass the recommendation on.
fair warning, though: it's the kind of book that compels you to stay up way late listening to the blues

here's Wald's website: [www.elijahwald.com]
he also put together this CD of artists that influenced Johnson: [www.amazon.com] - it's really fascinating as well

The Vanity Fair article is really important...and once again we have reason to respect the late John Hammond.

Rockman, if you don't have it, let me know.

However, I'm with Phil Good. I have a background in rare photo research and I wouldn't bet the house on this photo.

So sad to me that groundbreaking musicians seldom profit from their artistry. All those "others" soon come running to make music into money.

Quote
schillid
Maybe someone here wants a closer look & can tell if it's him:

Man!!!what a long fingers he got, With does fingers you can make the the strangest chords

__________________________

Quote
rbarnes00
Thanks for the article.

I was led to youtube to listen to some RJ songs there: Clapton's "Me and Mr. Johnson" sessions as well as the Stones' "Love in Vain" from 1994.

Question: On "Love in Vain" from Stripped, there is a "knocking" sound around 3:35 and 3:50. Any ideas of what it is? I have always wondered about this. Sorry if this info is somewhere else.

It's Wood's rings knocking the side of the guitar's body, treble side.

Mathijs

I've been on a Robert Johnson kick since this thread appeared...

In the latest issue of Harper's there is a review of the Wald book as well as an interesting story of blues detective work:
Harper's November 2008 "Unknown Bards"

Unfortunately I am unable to scan/post the article and the link only has the title and other info (article/pdf for subscribers only); I wanted to put it out there for anyone interested.

Fabulous picture...very revealing of those spider like hands, thought by some folks to be the result of a genetic medical condition, and obviously a factor in his playing ability.

When Keith heard RJ for the first time he said something like "who are those guys?"

Has there been any new recordings that have surfaced since the 1990 box set release?

Quote
harlito1969
Has there been any new recordings that have surfaced since the 1990 box set release?

No