King of the Delta Blues Singers
Encyclopedia
King of the Delta Blues Singers is a compilation album
by American blues
musician Robert Johnson, released in 1961 on Columbia Records
. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential blues releases ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
.
recordings, thirteen of which were previously available as 78s on the Vocalion
label, originally recorded during two sessions in 1936 and 1937. The records sold well in their target market of the American south and southwest, with "Terraplane Blues
" something of a regional hit, but their sales figures were never beyond 5000 or so in total. By the time this album appeared, Johnson was mostly rumor, if known at all, except to a small group of collectors and those who had purchased the original 78s. An advance copy of the album was given by its instigator, John Hammond
, to his newest signing to Columbia, Bob Dylan
, who had never heard of Johnson and became mesmerized by the intensity of the recordings.
Hammond, who had initially searched for Johnson in 1938 to include him on the bill for the first of his From Spirituals to Swing
concerts, prodded Columbia to assemble this record during the height of the folk revival
. It was the first of the retrospective albums for folk
, country
, and blues artists of the 1920s and 1930s rediscovered in the wake of that revival, some of whom would be located and invited to appear at events such as the Newport Folk Festival
. Nevertheless, Johnson's LP failed to make the charts, but the quality of Johnson's music was recognized and Johnson's reputation grew. The album became a badge of hip
taste in the 1960s, evidenced by its appearance in the album cover
photo to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home
amid various emblems of bohemian
life. Songs from the album were repeatedly covered throughout the decade by many artists, notably Eric Clapton
who recorded "Ramblin' On My Mind
" on John Mayall's
1966 classic Bluesbreakers album, and "Cross Road Blues
" with his own power trio
Cream
on the 1968 album Wheels of Fire
. Clapton would later record an entire disc of Johnson's songs, Me and Mr. Johnson
.
in 1961 as a mono LP
. At the time of its release very little scholarship had been done on Johnson's life, and the album liner notes
contain some inaccuracies and false conclusions, and a speculative portrait of Johnson's personality. As the two surviving portraits of him were discovered a decade later, the cover painting depicts a faceless musician in field clothes. The album was followed in 1970 by King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2, including the remaining recordings at that time available by Johnson not on this record. King of the Delta Blues Singers was reissued on September 15, 1998 by the Legacy Records subsidiary label of the Sony
Corporation, with a newly discovered alternate version of "Traveling Riverside Blues" appended as a bonus track. The original recording engineer was Vincent Liebler.
The Los Angeles Times
wrote that Johnson's recordings for the albums "revolutionized the Mississippi Delta style that became the foundation of the Chicago blues sound". The Wall Street Journal
wrote that "when his album King of the Delta Blues Singers made its belated way to England in the mid-1960s, it energized a generation of musicians". English rock
musician Eric Clapton
cited King of the Delta Blues Singers, along with its second volume, as an early inspiration on his recording career. In 1980, King of the Delta Blues Singers became the first album to be inducted by the Blues Foundation
into the Blues Hall of Fame
. The Hartford Courant
selected King of the Delta Blues Singers for its list of the 25 Pivotal Recordings That Defined Our Times (1999). In 2003, the album was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
. Mojo
magazine ranked it number 6 on its list of 100 Records That Changed the World (2007).
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by American blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician Robert Johnson, released in 1961 on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential blues releases ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Music
The album compiles sixteen monoMonaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
recordings, thirteen of which were previously available as 78s on the Vocalion
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
label, originally recorded during two sessions in 1936 and 1937. The records sold well in their target market of the American south and southwest, with "Terraplane Blues
Terraplane Blues
"Terraplane Blues" is a blues song recorded in 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by bluesman Robert Johnson. "Terraplane Blues" was Johnson's first single and it became a moderate regional hit, selling 5,000 copies....
" something of a regional hit, but their sales figures were never beyond 5000 or so in total. By the time this album appeared, Johnson was mostly rumor, if known at all, except to a small group of collectors and those who had purchased the original 78s. An advance copy of the album was given by its instigator, John Hammond
John H. Hammond
John Henry Hammond II was an American record producer, musician and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s...
, to his newest signing to Columbia, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, who had never heard of Johnson and became mesmerized by the intensity of the recordings.
Hammond, who had initially searched for Johnson in 1938 to include him on the bill for the first of his From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, Helen Humes, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Mitchell's...
concerts, prodded Columbia to assemble this record during the height of the folk revival
American folk music revival
The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...
. It was the first of the retrospective albums for folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and blues artists of the 1920s and 1930s rediscovered in the wake of that revival, some of whom would be located and invited to appear at events such as the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
. Nevertheless, Johnson's LP failed to make the charts, but the quality of Johnson's music was recognized and Johnson's reputation grew. The album became a badge of hip
Hip (slang)
Hip is a slang term meaning fashionably current and in the know. Hip is the opposite of square or prude.Hip, like cool, does not refer to one specific quality. What is considered hip is continuously changing. The term hip is said to have originated in African American Vernacular English in the...
taste in the 1960s, evidenced by its appearance in the album cover
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
photo to Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home
Bringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
amid various emblems of bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
life. Songs from the album were repeatedly covered throughout the decade by many artists, notably Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
who recorded "Ramblin' On My Mind
Ramblin' On My Mind
"Ramblin' On My Mind" is a blues song recorded on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03519 and ARC 7-05-81. Johnson performed the song in the key of E, and recorded two takes...
" on John Mayall's
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
1966 classic Bluesbreakers album, and "Cross Road Blues
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...
" with his own power trio
Power trio
A power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
on the 1968 album Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire
Wheels of Fire is the name of a double album recorded by Cream. The release was largely successful, scoring the band a #3 peak in the United Kingdom and a #1 in the United States, and became the world's first platinum-selling double album....
. Clapton would later record an entire disc of Johnson's songs, Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson is an album by Eric Clapton released in 2004. The album is a tribute to legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. According to Clapton's autobiography, the recordings weren't intended to become an album. The band had rented the studio, but Clapton didn't have any songs written, so he...
.
Release and reception
The album was originally released by Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1961 as a mono LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
. At the time of its release very little scholarship had been done on Johnson's life, and the album liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
contain some inaccuracies and false conclusions, and a speculative portrait of Johnson's personality. As the two surviving portraits of him were discovered a decade later, the cover painting depicts a faceless musician in field clothes. The album was followed in 1970 by King of the Delta Blues Singers, Vol. 2, including the remaining recordings at that time available by Johnson not on this record. King of the Delta Blues Singers was reissued on September 15, 1998 by the Legacy Records subsidiary label of the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Corporation, with a newly discovered alternate version of "Traveling Riverside Blues" appended as a bonus track. The original recording engineer was Vincent Liebler.
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote that Johnson's recordings for the albums "revolutionized the Mississippi Delta style that became the foundation of the Chicago blues sound". The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
wrote that "when his album King of the Delta Blues Singers made its belated way to England in the mid-1960s, it energized a generation of musicians". English rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
cited King of the Delta Blues Singers, along with its second volume, as an early inspiration on his recording career. In 1980, King of the Delta Blues Singers became the first album to be inducted by the Blues Foundation
Blues Foundation
The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 Blues organizations from various parts of the world....
into the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
. The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
selected King of the Delta Blues Singers for its list of the 25 Pivotal Recordings That Defined Our Times (1999). In 2003, the album was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
. Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
magazine ranked it number 6 on its list of 100 Records That Changed the World (2007).
Side one
| Track | Recorded | Catalogue | Released | Song Title | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11/27/36 | unreleased alternate take | 1961 | Cross Road Blues 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... |
2:29 |
| 2. | 11/23/36 | Vocalion 3416 | 1937 | Terraplane Blues Terraplane Blues "Terraplane Blues" is a blues song recorded in 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by bluesman Robert Johnson. "Terraplane Blues" was Johnson's first single and it became a moderate regional hit, selling 5,000 copies.... |
3:01 |
| 3. | 11/23/36 | unreleased alternate take | 1961 | Come On In My Kitchen Come On in My Kitchen "Come On in My Kitchen" is a blues song by Robert Johnson. Johnson recorded the song on Monday, November 23rd, 1936 at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas - his first recording session... |
2:52 |
| 4. | 11/27/36 | Vocalion 3601 | 1937 | Walkin' Blues Walkin' Blues "Walkin' Blues" is a song that was written by blues musician Robert Johnson in 1936.It has been later recorded by many artists, including Cee Lo Green, Muddy Waters, Colin James, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Cash, Hot Tuna, The Grateful Dead, Rory Gallagher, R.L. Burnside, Eric Clapton, Hindu Love... |
2:30 |
| 5. | 11/27/36 | Vocalion 3445 | 1937 | Last Fair Deal Gone Down Last Fair Deal Gone Down (song) "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" is a song by blues musician, Robert Johnson.It has been covered by Keb Mo, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, C.W. Stoneking and the Blue Tits, and live by Beck... |
2:39 |
| 6. | 11/26/36 | Vocalion 3445 | 1937 | 32-20 Blues 32-20 Blues "32-20 Blues" is a blues song by Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, recorded during his second recording session in San Antonio, Texas on November 26, 1936. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03445, in April the following year. The title refers to the .32-20 Winchester... |
2:50 |
| 7. | 11/23/36 | Vocalion 3416 | 1937 | Kind Hearted Woman Blues Kind Hearted Woman Blues "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" is a blues song recorded on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03416 and ARC 7-03-56. Johnson performed the song in the key of A, and recorded two takes, the first... |
2:51 |
| 8. | 11/27/36 | previously unreleased | 1961 | If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day | 2:36 |
Side two
| Track | Recorded | Catalogue | Released | Song Title | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11/27/36 | Vocalion 4630 | 1939 | Preachin' Blues | 2:52 |
| 2. | 11/23/36 | previously unreleased | 1961 | When You Got A Good Friend | 2:56 |
| 3. | 11/23/36 | unreleased alternate take | 1961 | Ramblin' On My Mind Ramblin' On My Mind "Ramblin' On My Mind" is a blues song recorded on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas by legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03519 and ARC 7-05-81. Johnson performed the song in the key of E, and recorded two takes... |
2:52 |
| 4. | 6/19/37 | Vocalion 3723 | 1937 | Stones in My Passway | 2:28 |
| 5. | 6/20/37 | previously unreleased | 1961 | Traveling Riverside Blues Traveling Riverside Blues "Travelling Riverside Blues," sometimes called "Mudbone" or "Mud Bone," is a blues song written and recorded in Dallas, Texas by the bluesman Robert Johnson... |
2:47 |
| 6. | 6/20/37 | unreleased alternate take | 1961 | Milkcow's Calf Blues | 2:17 |
| 7. | 6/20/37 | unreleased alternate take | 1961 | Me and the Devil Blues Me and the Devil Blues is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Hiramoto about the blues legend Robert Johnson. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Afternoon. The manga is licensed in North America by Del Rey Manga and in France by Kana. School Library Journal named Me and the Devil Blues as one... |
2:34 |
| 8. | 6/20/37 | Vocalion 3623 | 1937 | Hellhound on My Trail Hellhound on My Trail "Hellhound on My Trail" is a blues song recorded by Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson in 1937. It was the first song recorded during Johnson's last recording session in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 20, 1937 and the first single released from that session... |
2:37 |
1998 reissue bonus track
| Track | Recorded | Catalogue | Released | Song Title | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | 6/20/37 | alternate take (previously unreleased) |
1998 | Traveling Riverside Blues Traveling Riverside Blues "Travelling Riverside Blues," sometimes called "Mudbone" or "Mud Bone," is a blues song written and recorded in Dallas, Texas by the bluesman Robert Johnson... |
2:39 |
External links
- King of the Delta Blues Singers at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...