Legendary Rock Songs: CROSSROADS: CREAM.

There are few songs with the history of this “Crossroads” and few artists whose biography reaches the same mythical heights of Robert Johnson, original signer of the song. Everything that surrounds this cursed blues legend has a certain fantastic, magical, dark and even supernatural touch. Johnson was a guitarist and blues singer of the 30s, who decided to devote himself to his musical pursuits after the end of his brief marriage caused by the death of his young wife.

It is said that in a short time he developed a truly incredible style with the guitar; in fact he is considered, along with Hendrix, the greatest innovator of the six-stringed instrument. It was practically impossible that he had learned to play in such a fast way, so his skill was justified with a curious legend; Johnson had sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads and the devil had granted him his powers with the guitar.

That crossroads gave the title to one of his most famous pieces, “Cross Roads Blues”, one of the only 29 songs that Johnson recorded in his short life, since he died at the age of 27, supposedly poisoned by the jealous husband of one of his love conquests. A brief but intense legacy, which influenced the whole generation of blues rock guitarists and especially the British invasion of the 60's, such as Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and, especially, Eric Clapton, a true obsessive student of Johnson's diabolical aura and of that prodigious playing that walked through the Mississippi Delta and that passed to posterity in two unique recordings, made in 1936 and 1937 in a hotel room and a warehouse in San Antonio (Texas) and Dallas respectively.

The musicians of the English bands of the 60's were the great responsible for the evolution of blues-rock towards hard rock with the inestimable contribution of the American rock n' roll of the 50's. And if the Stones made their own the intense “Love In Vain” of the black master, Clapton, aboard the masterful Cream, rescued the “Crossroads” without losing the original dirty atmosphere and the dynamic style of the “King of the Delta blues singers”. His version, which would be released as a single after the end of the group, would make Johnson's cursed name famous among a wide audience, although in some re-editions of the song it appears credited as a traditional song and arranged by Clapton, Bruce and Baker, or what is the same, the power trio known as Cream.

“Crossroads” would also mark the path to be followed by Clapton in the rest of his career, suffering his greatest professional setbacks precisely when he moved away from the purest blues, without going any further his most recent album, ‘Me and Mr. Johnson’ (2004) is, as its title indicates, a tribute to the figure of the old bluesman (of which only two photographs exist) with fourteen versions of some classic pieces of the master. The theme in question would also give name to a film in 1986 whose argument had much biographical load of Robert Johnson, an aspiring guitarist helps to escape from the clinic where he works to an old black man with the promise that this one would teach him in exchange with his harmonica the song “lost” of Robert Johnson.

The reality ends up being quite different, the man in question has a score to settle with the devil. In the soundtrack participated the always inspired Ry Cooder, and the film counted with the performance of Steven Vai who played the devil's advanced student, starring in the attractive and well-known final scene of the guitar duel. So now you know, if you want to become a guitarist of exception maybe you should go to a crossroads and try a pact with Belcebu, although taking the teachings of Johnson or Clapton is also a good method to follow.
“Crossroads” could be a good first lesson to get you started....

My people I hope you are all super well, this is one of the iconic bands of rock and blues, their biggest hit is a version of the theme made by one of the exponents of the blues and as is Mr. ROBERT JOHNSON, icon of rock culture and popular culture, was in his time one of the best guitarists in the world, and then the band CREAM made one of his song versioned to his musical style, and is one of the most successful of his career. Here are the links to the two versions. I hope you like it and see you in a new post with more of the legendary rock songs, almost coming to the end of these editorials.