The life of Robert Johnson, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. A bluesman whose career ended before World War 2 and whose number of recorded songs is very limited, he influenced some of the greatest artists and bands of the century, including Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Cream and Eric Clapton.
A musician who is well known to me, largely due to covers of his songs by Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Cream, the White Stripes and the Blues Brothers, amongst others, but whom many people will never have heard of. He died in 1938 at age 27 and his body of recorded work amounts to 29 songs yet his influence is immense.
This documentary goes some way to detailing his life and career, showing his great musical talent and capturing how influential he is. It also examines the age-old myth that he sold his soul to the devil to gain his talent, a well-worn blues jealousy not reserved exclusively for Robert Johnson. The filmmakers humour this notion though by researching how he got to be so good in such a short space of time.
The film could have been a bit more comprehensive though. Most documentaries tend to be padded with unnecessary interviews and editorials instead of information but this feels like it could have done with more information. That's one of the problems with Johnson though: not much is known about him.
