They tell me that Blind Willie Johnson was one of the best slide guitar players to ever play a guitar. Now I don't know if that is true or not, I'll let you be the judge. It is claimed that he played the guitar not with a bottle neck as most slide players do but with a pocket knife. He was a Blues Gospel singer, song writer and slide guitar player of the first order. Not only did he play the blues but he lived the blues.
Like his contemporary Robert Johnson all bluesmen stand on his shoulders. That of course is my opinion, but if you listen to the mans music I think you will agree. There are those who think that Blind Willie Johnson was actually a better Bluesman than Robert Johnson. When you take Willie Johnson's playing and his song writing abilities into account, I tend to agree.
Blind Willie Johnson's vocal delivery was so raw and could range from rage to tenderness. When you add that to his talking guitar his delivery is hard to beat for its beauty and power.
His "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" got him arrested when Blind Willie unknowingly sang it in front of a U.S. government building in Dallas, became a '60s icon. Years later, the story goes, after his house burned to the ground he caught pneumonia, but when treatment was sought, he was told the hospital did not treat blind people, so he returned home and died.
Mothers Children Have A Hard Time mp3
If I Had My Way Id Tear the Building mp3
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson
file under;
music, blues, mp3
2 comments:
I remember him the best for writing statesboro blues.
I love Allman Bro's live version.
Yeah, Statesboro Blues is a great song. I have been listening to "If I had my way I'd Tear The Building Down" over and over.
And a coulple of other great tunes by Blind Willie Johnson are "Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" and "It's Nobodys Fault But Mine."
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