Crossroads

Songfacts: Crossroads was originally recorded by Blues musician Robert Johnson in the 1930s. According to legend, Johnson went to the crossroads and made a deal with the devil, giving up his soul for the ability to play the blues. The story originates from an interview with Blues singer Son House, who explained how Johnson went from being a terrible guitar player to a very good one in a very short period of time.

Guitarworld : “It’s so funny, this,” Clapton says. “I’ve always had that held up as like, ‘This is one of the great landmarks of guitar playing.’ But most of that solo is on the wrong beat. Instead of playing on the two and the four, I’m playing on the one and the three and thinking, ‘That’s the off beat.’ No wonder people think it’s so good—because it’s fucking wrong.” [laughs]

f.y.e. : A rare trio outing with Bradley, McKinley, and Slack on the fun, loose “Down the Road a Piece” is a particular delight. Bradley was never much of a publicity hound, so he isn’t probably as well known as he should be, but the music speaks for itself.

Amazon : The covers on this 1965 gem (Now!) are a bit more obscure than on the Stones’ first two long-players, not a bad thing for a band still getting its writing chops together. If there were still doubts that these London kids had any business playing this music, a casually scorching “Down the Road Apiece” should have allayed them.

The Nashville Teens : Formed in 1962, The Nashville Teens were the product of the merger of two local bands in the Weybridge, Surrey, area. The band were unusual in that hey retained two lead singers – Ray Phillips and Arthur Sharp. The name was derived from the Everly Brothers song “Nashville Blues”.

Svein Martin : Robbie Robertson said : “I practiced twelve hours a day, every day, until my fingers were bleeding, trying to get the same sound as Elmore James. This went on for weeks and weeks, and finally someone told me, ‘He plays with a slide.'”

The Bluesmen and Women : While still a teenager, Earl left Chicago and became a road-rambler. He returned to the south to play in Ike Turner’s band which might account for Hooker making some of his early recordings for Sam Phillip’s Sun Records company, since Turner was a talent scout for several of the independent labels

American Studies at the University of Virginia : This is the objective of Victor Cabas’ ENTC 385 class, Mississippi in Story and Songs, at the University of Virginia. Mr. Cabas created the class “as an excuse to teach Robert Johnson,” and the class’ papers, which come out of a period of listening to and recording observations in a literary notebook on Johnson’s songs, are often the best that he gets for the entire session.