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Robert Johnson: A Legacy Under Duress – American Songwriter

There are myriad ways to remember Robert Johnson. You can identify him as the King of the Blues, the quintessence of the notion that the purest way to cathartically address the demons inside us and the pain accrued during our lives is to grab a guitar and sing about them in the most fearlessly expressive terms available. You can say he’s in many ways the first singer-songwriter, someone who wrote with searing confessional honesty about his life, taking words and phrases both familiar and unique and assembling them in such a fashion that it was like he had taken a picture of his soul and exposed it for the world to see.

Maybe you prefer to think of the influence he’s had on modern music, not just in terms of the hundreds of cover versions of his songs that have dotted the landscape for the past half-century or so, but also in the work of musicians like Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and dozens of other rock luminaries who owe a great debt to the example that Johnson set in a mere 29 songs, the sum total of his recorded legacy.

… The music is what the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation has always attempted to bring into focus. Like any organization that depends on donations from others for its ability to achieve its goals, which not only include the preservation of the Johnson legacy but also the betterment of the Copiah County, Mississippi, area from which the blues legend hailed, the Foundation has struggled in recent years along with the economy. The good news is that, according to Steven Johnson, Robert’s grandson and the vice president of the Foundation, better economic news means that this year should see the return of initiatives like the New Generation Award for aspiring young musicians and a music festival in honor of Johnson.

Read more at American Songwriter. The May/June 2015 “Blues Issue” of American Songwriter magazine is on newsstands now. The iPad version is available at iTunes, and the Android-compatible version is available through Google Play.

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Download Robert Johnson Cover Issue Of American Songwriter Magazine

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The May/June 2015 “Blues Issue” of American Songwriter magazine, featuring this photograph of Robert Johnson and Johnny Shines on the cover, is now available for download to subscribers with iPad and Android devices. The print edition of the magazine hits newsstands May 5. The Foundation has long supported the authenticity of this photograph. The magazine’s description:

In this special issue, we take an in-depth look at the legendary figures who made blues music history. We catch up with Steven Johnson of the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation as he seeks to maintain his grandfather’s legacy. We travel the country, from Piedmont to Chicago, pinpointing the blues men and women who paved the way for future generations of musicians. Elsewhere, we catch up with some of today’s best and brightest blues musicians, like Tedeschi Trucks Band and Adia Victoria. Plus, we give you a behind-the-scenes look at our first Live and In Person Event in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The iPad version is available at iTunes, and the Android-compatible version is available through Google Play.

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Robert Johnson Cover Story In American Songwriter Magazine

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The legacy of Robert Johnson is covered in American Songwriter‘s Blues Issue in May, featuring this photo of Robert Johnson and Johnny Shines on the cover. The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation, which is managed by his family to preserve the music and memory of Robert Johnson through the provision of art education, competitions and scholarships, has long supported the authenticity of this photograph. Here is an excerpt from the magazine, which interviewed Zeke Schein, a Robert Johnson enthusiast and guitar merchant who stumbled upon the photo back in 2005 while looking at vintage guitars on eBay.

What’s your general take on Robert Johnson in terms of his influence?

In my opinion, he was the Jimi Hendrix of his time period. That’s important because what he did was take styles that already existed and sort of combined them in ways that people had not done. I think just like Hendrix coming out of the Chitlin’ Circuit and coming out of the Ike Turner school of guitar playing, Robert Johnson definitely borrowed heavily from people who came before him, but he put it out in a way that was his own and unique voice. I do think it sounds more like Chuck Berry and people who were recording at Chess Studios like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. I think it was the origins of what we came to accept as rock music. I think it was very important, and in that time period as important as Hendrix was in the ‘60s for guitar.

Read more at American Songwriter. The May/June 2015 issue hits newsstands May 5.

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Step Into Dallas’ Historic 508 Park Building – Star-Telegram

In June 1937, Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson turned up at 508 Park Ave. in downtown Dallas, and that simple act helped put the region on the musical map. For that day and the next, this address — built for Warner Bros. Pictures in 1929 but later used by Brunswick and Decca Records — was where he recorded some of his most iconic tracks, including “Love in Vain” and the haunting “Hellhound on My Trail.” Flash forward 67 years and Eric Clapton recorded tracks for his 2004 Robert Johnson tribute project, Sessions for Robert J, here.

In between, 508 Park — an eye-catching, 23,000-square-foot example of early-20th-century art deco Zigzag Moderne architecture — was the place where more than 800 recordings took place of such performers as Gene Autry, Bob Wills, Western swing’s Light Crust Doughboys and conjunto pioneer Lolo Cavazos. Over the years, the 508 Park building and grounds gradually fell into disuse and disrepair.

… In 2011 the nearby First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, which also operates the homeless-resource center The Stewpot across the street from 508 Park, purchased the building and grounds. And beginning this year and culminating in either 2016 or 2017, 508 Park will be reopened as a blues and street culture museum, art gallery/studio, screening room, community garden, and performance amphitheater. The entire facility will be known as Encore Park.

…A recent visit to Encore Park reveals Christy Coltrin and Brad Oldham’s completed The Birth of a City sculpture wall of famous local performers, a nearly finished amphitheater and a gutted interior that has a long way to go. The pull of history is palpable here. It’s in what used to be the film vaults on the first floor, on the upper floors where Johnson and Clapton recorded, and in the scribbles on the walls that remain as mementos from the 1940-60 Decca era.

Read more at the Star-Telegram.

First Phase Of Renovation Completed At Building Where Robert Johnson Recorded His Music

A three-story art deco structure at 508 Park Avenue in Dallas that sat vacant and dilapidated for 20 years will be transformed into the hub of an event and gathering space called Encore Park.

Built in 1929, 508 Park was once occupied by Warner Bros., as a film exchange and studio where famous blues artists such as Robert Johnson recorded. It was previously considered unmarketable, partly because it’s next door to the Stewpot, a community center run by First Presbyterian Church that provides medical services and counseling to Dallas’ homeless population.

But the Stewpot bought the property in 2011, and it has been raising funds to create a multi-use social “campus” with a community garden, amphitheater and art space. The first phase of the complex will be unveiled to the public with a dedication from October 24-26.

Read more at CultureMap Dallas.

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