I’d been all over Mississippi hunting out the old haunts, graves and places where the old Blues guys had played.
I visited all three of Robert Johnson’s graves.
Dave was an amazing guy. He was eighty four when I saw him and died two years later. He was full of life.
I had a chance to have a little chat with him after the show. Dave had been with Robert Johnson playing in that bar in Greenwood in 1938. He told me that Robert had been making eyes at the wife of the barman and had been poisoned with strychnine rat-poison. He became ill and had to go home but they hadn’t expected him to die.
He also told me that the real grave was at the back of the church.
It was incredible to meet a legend who had been there right at the beginning of modern day music. Without the Blues we wouldn’t have had Rock.
I just wonder what it would have been like if Robert Johnson had lived.
Seriously, the other man was murdered.
Oh yes. Robert Johnson was a young man and many think he was the greatest Blues Singer of all time. He was a bit of a ladies man and was poisoned by the landlord with rat poison in his whisky.
Quite common back then. Life was cheap if you were black.
I was talking to T-Model Ford and he was telling me about how he was locked up for murder. He was playing cards and this guy came up behind him and stuck a knife in his back. He got up, with the knife still stuck in his back, chased the guy and shot him dead.
Don’t mess with Mr. T. These juke joints were pretty boisterous dens of iniquity.
It’s alright – he assured me that he was a ‘Ladies Man’ and ‘It was Jack Daniels Time’. He was quite a character and not a big guy.
I think life is cheap for anyone provided Americal maintains firearms, we will probably end up with them too.
Frightening number of deaths in America from gun crime.
There are reportedly some 3 million illegal firearms floating around the UK.
That’s frightening!
Andrew and this area is known for it and knives – easy access here.
Yes, quite how these shops that openly sell these horrendous knives are continued to be allowed to do so is idiocy. Only a malcontent is going to be buying such a weapon.
Doesn’t make sense does it. They have these supposedly severe sentences for carrying one and yet have them freely on sale. Plain stupid.
Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
On the anniversary of Robert Johnson’s tragic death – the man who was with on that night when he was poisoned!