Robert Johnson
(born 1911, Hazlehurst, Mississippi; died 1938, near Greenwood, Mississippi)

Charismatic American blues musician whose eerie singing voice and rhythmic slide guitar shocked his contemporaries and went on to influence the rock musicians of the 1960s. The myth about Johnson is that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for the power to play guitar. He recorded just 29 songs but they define the emotional intensity of the Delta blues. Johnson died in mysterious circumstances.