Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie Johnson often doesn’t get the credit he deserves in the history of American music. He was one of the greatest slide guitar players ever, and his mix of blues and gospel (groundbreaking in the 1920’s and 1930’s) had a profound influence on the evolution of blues, jazz, and rock. He also has a great Artistic Lemonade story.

Johnson was born on a Texas farm and remained poor throughout his life. His blindness was caused when he was a young boy: his stepmother threw lye into the child’s eyes after Johnson’s father caught her with another man and beat her. The lasting pain of that event (and others) comes through in his music — especially in Motherless Children Have a Hard Time (incorrectly labeled “Mother’s Children …” from a misunderstanding of the first recording), a song that reflects his personal experience as a motherless child.

In a difficult life, Blind Willie Johnson found solace and release in his music. The intense personal connection and strong emotion of his work speaks volumes: from his dark moments came music that helped change the direction of his art form. Artistic Lemonade at its best!

Links:

• Fabulous post by Karl Kotas about Dark Was the Night — Cold was the Ground on MetaFilter
  
• Michael Gray’s Bob Dylan Encyclopedia blog post on the occasion of Blind Willie Johnson’s 110th birthday.
  
• The Soul of Blind Willie Johnson by Michael Corcoran of the Austin American-Statesman
  
• Johnson’s Wikipedia entry
  
• Blind Willie Johnson's department at our Lemonade Stand