What kind of music did Blind Willie Johnson sing?
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful " chest voice " singing, slide guitar skills, and originality...
Where can I find all of Blind Willie Johnson's released material?
All of Johnson's released material has become easily accessible thanks to its preservation on compilation albums such as Blind Willie Johnson 1927–1930 and The Complete Blind Willie Johnson, among others.
Was Blind Willie Johnson ever in Beaumont?
Throughout the Great Depression and the 1940s, he performed in several cities and towns in Texas, including Beaumont. A city directory shows that in 1945, a Reverend W. J. Johnson—undoubtedly Blind Willie—operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, in Beaumont.
A Wintry Mix Without The Mistletoe
December 22, 2008 • Winter, more than any other season, has its own soundtrack: There's a nonstop loop of holiday tunes in every store you visit, and carolers in the town square. By the time late December rolls around, many people have had it. Author Tom Moon offers an alternative list of winter music.
Jazz24
April 14, 2009 • Take Five takes a detour with jazz's older cousin, the blues, as well as one of its most recognizable techniques: slide guitar. Gliding a bottleneck up and down the strings, the guitarist creates a world-weary sound. Muddy Waters sits at the center of this decades-spanning list.
What album was Blind Willie Johnson on?
The film was accompanied by a compilation album, American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson, featuring radically improved restorations of sixteen of Johnson's recordings.
Where did Blind Willie perform?
A city directory shows that in 1945, a Reverend W. J. Johnson—undoubtedly Blind Willie—operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, in Beaumont.
Where was Willie Johnson born?
Early life and career. Johnson was born on January 25, 1897, in Pendleton, Texas, a small town near Temple, Texas, to sharecropper George Johnson (also identified as Willie Johnson Sr.) and his wife, Mary Fields, who died in 1901. His family, which according to the blues historian Steven Calt included at least one younger brother named Carl, ...
Why did Angeline Johnson die?
He contracted malarial fever, and no hospital would admit him, either because of his visual impairment, as Angeline Johnson stated in an interview with Charters, or because he was black. Over the course of the year, his condition steadily worsened until he died, on September 18, 1945.
When did Blind Texas Marlin record?
Another year passed before Johnson recorded again, on December 10 and 11, 1929, the longest sessions of his career.
Where was Billiken Johnson's studio?
On December 3, 1927, Johnson was assembled along with Billiken Johnson and Coley Jones at a temporary studio that talent scout Frank Buckley Walker had set up in the Deep Ellum neighborhood in Dallas to record for Columbia Records.
Who was the first blues historian to document Willie Johnson's life?
Samuel Charters was the first major blues historian to attempt to uncover more about Johnson's life, first documenting him in his 1959 book The Country Blues. In 1993, Charters corrected some factual inaccuracies in Johnson's biography in the liner notes to The Complete Blind Willie Johnson. Other books related to Johnson include Shine ...
