Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" is a song by Delta Blues singer Robert Johnson; released on a 78 rpm record in 1936 by Vocalion Records, catalogue 3519. The original version remained out of print after its initial release until the appearance of The Complete Recordings in 1990. In 1961, producer Frank Driggs substituted the previously unreleased alternative take on the first reissue of Johnson's work, the long-playing album King of the Delta Blues Singers.[2] Because of the historical significance of "Cross Road Blues", it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.[1]
Lyrics and interpretation
The lyrics tell of the narrator's failed attempts to hitch a ride from an intersection as night approaches. The song had frequently been linked to stories of Johnson selling his soul to the devil for the ability to play music, although nothing in the actual lyrics speaks of these events.[3] Historian Leon Litwack and others state that the song refers to the common fear felt by blacks who were discovered out alone after dark; that Johnson was likely singing about the desperation of finding his way home from an unfamiliar place as quickly as possible because of a fear of lynching.[3][4] In addition, the lyrics could be allusion to the curfews that were then imposed on blacks in the South. The imagery of the singer falling to his knees and the mention of his failure to find a "sweet woman" suggests that the song is also about a deeper and more personal loneliness. [5]
Covers
Cream
On March 10, 1968, Cream recorded a live version "Crossroads" from their performance at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The version was arranged by guitarist Eric Clapton, and included two lines borrowed from Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues." The song features an eight-note guitar riff and has both major and Minor scale centers.[7] Cream's cover of the song was placed at #409 on the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and #3 on the 2008 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. The song also ranks #10 on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.[8]
Other cover versions
Other artists who have covered the song range from:
Sample
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Grammy Hall of Fame
- ^ Sony Music Soundtrack for A Century: Folk, Gospel & Blues. Legacy Records J2K 65804, 1999. Liner notes, p. 35
- ^ a b Cross Robert Johnson, mythmaking, and contemporary American culture By Patricia R. Schroeder p. 37 [1]
- ^ Litwack, Leon F (1998). Trouble in Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of Jim Crow. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 410–411.
- ^ Charlton, Katherine (2008). Rock Music Styles: A History. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. pp. 13. ISBN 978-0-07-312162-8.
- ^ a b Strong, Martin Charles (2002). The great rock discography. The National Academies. p. 323. ISBN 9781841953120. http://books.google.com/books?id=eyvXOydfVt8C&pg=PT323#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Howard Mandel, ed (2005). "The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues". The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues. Billboard Books. p. 217. ISBN 0-8230-8266-0.
- ^ http://www.guitarworld.com/article/100_greatest_guitar_solos_10_quotcrossroadquot_eric_clapton
- ^ "The Hamsters - Hamster Jam". Bluesrockers website. 2002-06-11. http://www.bluesrockers.ws/hamstereview.html. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ^ Patrick Burbridge. "Music Review - The Hamsters". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/music/reviews/hamsters/hamsters.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
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