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Search For Robert Johnson, The (1992)
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Who was Robert Johnson?To three generations of true believers he was the king of the Mississippi Delta country blues, but down more than 50 years ago at the age of 27 by poisoned whiskey at the hands of a jealous husband in a plantation juke joint.His most well-known songs were turned into R&B and rock standards over the years: "Walkin' Blues" (Muddy Waters), "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" (Elmore James), "Love In Vain" (Rolling Stones), "From Four Till Late" (Cream), "Cross Road Blues" (Eric Clapton), and only two dozen more.Yet the details of Johnson's incandescent young life, from birth to his still-disputed burial place, remained shrouded in mystery, even secrecy, for more than a half-century.
For the first time in history, The Search For Robert Johnson traces the path of this private, troubled figure.In documentary style, drawing on the researchof blues scholars Mack McCormick and Gayle Dean Wardlow for its foundation, the soul of an elusive spirit is pieced together.Those who come to bear witness include fellow bluesmen Johnny Shines and Honeyboy Edwards, who learned their craft from Johnson, girlfriend Willie Mae Powell (who inspired "Love In Vain"); and others who knew the man who folklore says sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads.In another first, the man who may be Johnson's long-lost son is introduced.
Narrator John Hammond steers us through this travelogue as he reenacts the work of the original researchers, crisscrossing the Delta by automobile and freight car; unveiling marriage records from six decades ago; taking us to the sites of Johnson's only two recording sessions in 1936 and '37; and finally exploring the circumstances of Johnson's grisly murder on August 16, 1938."You may bury by body, " sang Johnson in "Me And The Devil Blues,""down by the highway side / So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride."-Arthur Levy
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