The Truth about the Devil and the Crossroads
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- Опубліковано 28 жов 2020
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Sound Design by Graham Haerther
Music: Desert Wind - Jon Algar
Another Sunset - King Peaks
This is why there are so few virtuosos in Europe. Roundabouts replaced crossroads years ago.
Lmao good one
"Roundabout"? try "queue".
Lol nice. I lived in Europe for 3 years. Traffic circles are far superior to the 4 ways stops we have here.
Steve Gould hasn't listened to any gypsy music if he says there are no virtuosos in Europe
Funny, but "few virtuosos in Europe"?!? I guess we'll just gloss over that in the interests of comedic effect.
Yes yes yes love any sort of discussion about Robert Johnson
Agreed
But is there a Skill Share class on “How to sell your soul to the Devil”.
All you gotta do is let him tune yo guitar
@@dominicvavala7956 🤣
@@dukesilver702 No.
I once saw a movie where a character thought they were doomed because they "sold their soul". Another character chuckled to herself and replied. "You're a fool. You can't sell your soul. It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God. The devil can trick you into thinking you can and you'll start to act in the way that will put your soul in peril. But you can't sell it. You can only give it away by being foolish". Stuck with me.
No that's Skull Share.
So most of these dark blues songs we thought were about Satan and ghosts were actually even darker songs about racism and poverty that just used that imagery to make hauntingly beautiful metaphors?
That makes eerily good sense, especially given the fact that white audiences only really latched on to the aesthetics while letting all the social commentary fly over their heads.
As a white man myself, I believe that it would be confounded to say that white audiences latch onto music for their spectacle. I have listened to a lot of music by bands such as Rush, and often try to take the time to understand and listen to the lyrics. It's very fascinating to learn about what was going on in the minds of the writers around the time they made those songs. Hell, I even interpreted Funkadelic's Maggot Brain as an instrumental telling the story of the disappointment felt by the black community when the hippie dream fell through at one point
@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 That’s a fair assessment, but I was more referring to just a general statement where new audiences , mostly white suburbanites, who were introduced to this music seemed to mostly connect with the mythology and spectacle and never really looked at what this music was about.
It’s the same way of how a good chunk of folk/blues musicians from the 60’s onward interpreted Blues as like this Sad-Boy Genre where you sing about heartbreak and how great it is to be a hobo when that’s not an accurate portrayal.
I wasn’t trying to be reductivist, but I do think that once Blues left the south you had a lot of people who genuinely liked the music, but didn’t understand the context, kind of unintentionally water down its meaning a bit.
@@BoomDoop I agree with you on that. I absolutely detest groups like Cream and The Byrds who turned genres like folk and the blues into elitist versions of themselves that take themselves way too seriously. Their guitar playing is very polished, and doesn't really contain the imperfection which I feel is very important to those genres
They were based on Slave Codes since "devil" is referred as the white man while "hellhounds" are the dogs used to hunt for Blacks. Being black in the deep racist south was really sad in the 30s.
Best bloody UA-cam thread in forever. Knowledge, respect, courtesy, concession and perspective. They said it couldn’t be done!
I've watched a number of videos of this type over the years, especially during the seven years I was writing my book on the subject ("Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition"). Yours is one of the best. You float the mythology, but you don't get lost in it. You contextualize it nicely with the specific history of the slave trade as it impacted Louisiana and southern Mississippi, for example. Connecting "Hell Hound On My Trail" with slavery is also a nice touch, and you're in sync with recent scholarship (Karlos Hill) when you invoke lynching in connection with "Cross Road Blues." You might have mentioned James Lowen's terrific study, "Sundown Towns," though; it's really THE book on the subject. (It's also worth noting that Mississippi had very few sundown towns; Illinois and Indiana had several hundred each.) My own take on those songs is slightly different than yours--with "Hell Hound," for example, I see Johnson deliberately and irreverently undercutting your slavery-reading in the song's second stanza with all of his talk about wanting to spend two holy days (Christmas Eve and Christmas) rolling around in bed and "passing the time away" with his "easy rider." I would urge those who like this video and want to learn more to check out my book.
The truth is he went home and took guitar lessons and practiced for a year. Spooooooooooky.
1
Underrated comment
Love ur harmonica lessons and Ur appearance in the Netflix documentary
Hey man rock on!!! I love and support you, so if you ever need anyone to talk to let me know, friend. Follow those dreams and have faith in you being you!!! 💕 ♥️ 💜 💙
the “legend” of robert johnson is so amazing. there’s so little known and so many people have tried to find out more about him and his amazing playing but all the stuff i’ve watched about him is just rumours basically. people who live in his town and say stuff about their grandparents knowing about him. i wish there was some way of knowing everything about him
Honestly, he's pretty well documented for an one-hit wonder from the 1930s (the only Johnson side that sold at all in his lifetime was "Terrapin Blues"). We have a birth certificate and death certificate. If you get into early blues music, there are guys we don't even have a NAME for.
There's a book that came out this year called Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson. It's a memoir by his stepsister who was only 12 when he died, and is apparently pretty darn good!
Trey Kootray: I'm sure you could find out. Find a desolate crossroad and dial 666. I'm sure Beelzebub could help in procuring this for you, for a fee!
Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards all say that Robert Johnson is their favorite guitarist and that they feel that they're still chasing him as far as playing the Blues is concerned. That's an amazing thing to say considering their phenomenal skills. I personally think that Jimmy Page is the best guitarist in Rock, the Blues, and popular music as is a legendary producer and that he's the closest of them all to Robert Johnson. But tastes and opinions vary of course. If you're not familiar with Led Zeppelin ( Jimmy Page's band) then I'd recommend that you check out their cover of Travelling Riverside Blues.
It's always eiree to think about all the people forgotten to time before the internet or even world War two when records began to widely be kept, at least in America.
My own step dad doesn't know his birthday since he was born at home.
Robert Johnson never sold his soul to the devil: in his own music, it's always been a metaphor for how he lost his family (his soul) to playing the Blues (the "devil's music"). He wrote all that bc he had lost his first wife in childbirth and hadn't been there bc he was on the road playing the Blues, and then his second love's parents wouldn't let him marry her bc he played the Blues and it was devils music. He was speaking metaphorically, and people just took it far too literally
So explain how he went from a bad guitar player to being the best in a 6 week period?
@@trilolova Skill and hard practice
@@trilolova Skill, Talent, Interest, Effort. Someone with skill might've taught him. He might've had the talent there somehow, but without skill and practice...it would've never flourished. (Which is my POV because I read a lot as a child but I wasn't good at writing until I had the right teacher and the right environment to flourish and so I think it can be a mix of those things.) It also helps if you have an interest. I'm not saying that having a huge interest in anything will help you become good, but it does help a lot. Finally, effort. If you put effort into anything you truly want to do, you might begin to see the fruits of that labor. Also, I think we're looking at it from a modern eye but, in the modern age we have more things to distract and entertain us, whereas in the 1920s there might've been way less, especially if you lived in poverty.
@@trilolova what makes you think he was bad? You can get really really good at guitar if motivated and it won't take long. My fav musicians seemed to often have it down as late teenagers which means it doesn't take years and years you can go from not getting it to getting it.
@@trilolova idk but I got pretty good at the violin in a year after I started and I barely practiced if I remember. Plus he’s been involved in music for much longer, since he was a kid. If you understand music, getting good with instruments is much easier. And it was a year some say
The Devil & The Crossroads (All The Time) starring Robert Johnson
“Played by Robert Pattinso-“
NO, That’s way too 1930s
Great video! In England, crossroads were usually the site of a hanging tree or gallows. Corpses of the executed were hung in gibbets as a warning to others. The site was chosen because the 4 roads would confuse the ghost and prevent it from finding its way to the village to exact revenge on the hangman, judge and jury. Came to this video after playing Johnson's Crossroad and Eric Clapton's Crossroads, and talking to my son about how modern rock owes so much to black music of the deep south.
A man tries to sell his soul to the devil, but all his city has are roundabouts.
F
F
Then he just rents it
The man sells his soul to Yes
Hahaha damn ikr
Tommy Johnson never told a story about the Devil, one of his brothers did. The same brother who gave up performing blues music to preach the gospel. And stories of musicians selling their souls predate both; they were applied to violin players going back at least to Paganini.
It was Major or Ladele Johnson
you sure about that?
jealous brother that couldnt play like tom 🤡
Another jealous man lol
Paganini had a rare disease enabling him to expand his fingers. Saw a short recent vid of a young lad showing it. Very impressive. No doubt it was considered as a 😈 manifestation in former times.
Discovered Robert Johnson in college. Blew my mind how full his recordings were. Well composed and performed. Just bluesy as all heck and then you start reading about the guy. His legend is like distant call echoing in the hills.
you went to college with Robert Johnson? wow, what was he like.
@@meta4282 -_- ur not serious right? read again.
YOU don’t want to go to the same school Robert Johnson did.
have u heard about a potentially third photo of robert johnson that recently came out? it looks like it’s from the same photo booth and his sister (step or half i can’t remember) held onto it
I remember watching this interview thing that gibson did with Toni Iommi and he talked about how he met this friendly stranger who heard him playing his guitar and offered to fix his amp up and make it sound better, so Toni let him take it and he got it back the next day and he said thats the amp that he used to record the first like 3 albums or something, now obviously the dude was just a friendly amp tech but that story makes me think of the crossroads legend and how he went on to be one of most influential guitarists of all time
Fabian Sanchez ´thats literally how touring works my gullible friend
@@alex0589 guillable lol. Im just pointing out an interesting parallel in the stories
The crossroads that Johnson was at, was outside Bogalusa, Louisiana and Mississippi line- just across Pearl River. The Vampire grave @ Bogalusa Graveyard is also well known across the river
I have to admit; when I hear Robert Johnson, it always has an eerie uneasiness to it that I cannot get in any other musician
Good job my dude. I expected the same old same old but this was great.
I have spent many summer nights around dusty delta crossroad towns. Chasing ghosts, asking for guidance, playing pentatonic scales to the moon, drinking sorrows away, sitting still and listening... the blues hit hard there. It's like a magic oozing up from the bayous there that I can't explain.
For me, Tommy Johnson’s music is more chilling than Robert Johnson’s...his voice and that wailing cry haunt me
The Crossroads episode of "Supernatural" is the only episode that doesn't have a classic Rock soundtrack. It has the Blues.
Yes it does! I believe they put the truth right in our faces! I remember that Episode.
Once I got to that episode I automatically knew who it was going to be about weirdly enough. I’ve been right twice in this show in guessing the star guest. It was Robert Johnson and the episode where they found H.H.Holmes.
It was a awesome episode
0:44 I like the way the guitars transition into your theme song. Idk if you even intended it to be like that, but if you did, I appreciated it.
This is one of the best videos on Robert Johnson I have ever seen, he was my childhood hero as a kid and I did everything I could to learn about his life and style of playing. The thing about being one or two generations removed from slavery is true because I found out that Roberts own grandparents were slaves. And the legend of what he did at the cross roads had so many mixed opinions from his peers. Robert‘s son-in-law Robert Lockwood Junior just shrugged and said “that’s what they say”. Johnny shines, who traveled constantly with Robert, said “no he never told me that lie. If he ever told me that, I would call him a liar to his face. You don’t know what you’re going to be doing 10 minutes from now you think you do but you really don’t. How can you sell a soul? YOU ARE A SOUL.” And Ike Zimmerman apparently even took out Robert to graveyards a few times to teach him how to play which honestly kind of makes the truth more Erie than legend. Whether Robert learned everything he knew from a shadowy black man that night at the crossroads, or Ike Zimmerman in a cemetery, ultimately it doesn’t matter because Robert Johnson became the greatest of the Delta blues guitar players, and the dark side of his legend is what keeps bringing young musicians back and see the blues as more than just one four five and singing about waking up and feeling sad.
Keeping in mind that both the crossroads and the graveyard are sacred places wheer you deal with the spirits in african based religions ;-) . So, saying " nah he didnt sell his soul at the crossroads, instead he spent some nights playing at the graveyard 'cos you cant play the blues unles you played in a graveyard at night" sounds a bit like RJ was covering all his exits, making deals here and there just for sure ;-) .
Thinking back on the concept of sundown towns , it’s reminiscent of the black experience that many of us grew up with warnings “better be back in the house before street lights come on” . I’m not saying it’s the same thing but it’s an eerie parallel.
Quality video my man. The graphics and presentation for your videos have become spectacular. One of the very best styles of videos on UA-cam.
I love everything about this channel,
The aesthetics are breathtaking
Robert Johnson's story is so popular and influential that there is a japanese manga about it!
Me and the Devil Blues (manga)
There's also The Shiori Experience (Manga) - crossroad, 27 club
@@diether7 since people are still listening to robert the devil kept his promise
@@jamesagwe2981 devil is a man of his word we need more like him 😔
Whoa!
fantastic video i loved the design and background!
Ever new episode makes my day. UA-cam is the greatest thing for mini doc channels. Keep up the good work buddy.
Loved this video just holy damn that editing is amazing but i just wanted to ask if you ever could talk about really really early blues musicians like Charley Patton - Leadbelly or even earlier like Henry Sloan :) i would love it because it's believed Charley Patton when working at Dockery Farm inspired Blues player like Robert Johnson, Howlin Wolf, Honeyboy Edwards and more
I can very much image us one day getting an awesome video from Polyphonic about the multitude of rock songs directly influenced by Leadbelly
This was very informative thank you💙🙏🏽
Eshu was also the child/old man at the crossroads to the gods. The one you speak to first before them.
Very pertinent observation
Insightful piece. Thanks for the information
I adore Polyphonic. Keep up the great work. Thank you for pronouncing Hecate properly.
This is fantastic! Thank you.
Oooo I’m so excited, crossroads have such a long and staying history within Folk-Lore and are still often used in modern day folk magic.
Love me some crossroad workings.
Fantastic video!! There's not a lot of good representation of historical Vodou on youtube and your video represents it pretty fairly and accurately!
How XTC wrote “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead”
Still waiting for an XTC video
It’s interesting how the soul of “rock n roll” music has been transplanted back into the black community through hip hop overtaking rock as the music of young people, and as it has become normalized like Jazz and Blues before, white people start jumping in and doing it themselves (eminem) which pushes the cycle forward, and just like how alt rock and metal came from rock n roll becoming mainstream, there are more extreme alternative forms of hip hop coming out now. Idk lots of parallels.
You should look up the history of Vanilla Ice. I know the idea that he should be respected as a hip hop artist sounds funny, but the impact he had on hip hop is A LOT larger and more profound than history gives him credit for, specifically in the context of how his black peers received him.
There’s a really good video by Sideways that explores this concept that I think you’d like
@@domenicdicarlo1165 I'd like a link of that!
I have a honest question to ask. What exactly does it take for music to be music? What is needed for something to be considered to be music? Musical instruments? Harmony? Singing , vocals? When is it just a different art form like the beatnik poetry. When is it just poetry?
@@gerggbergr8976 Poetry has the same argument of ruducto ad absurdum where its like "how few words do you need for it to still be a poem" and the question comes down to intent and acceptance. If you intend to make music, and people agree that it is music, than it is. Noise-Rock is just that, noise. The Album "everywhere at the end of time" is a like 4 hour long audio-exploration of the experience of succumbing to dementia. Its music if people agree that it is.
You should do a vid about Big Star. They’re a seriously underrated band and I feel as though they deserve some recognition
You should read Brother Robert by Annye Anderson, Robert Johnson's stepsister. Very interesting read. I think it's most useful to hear her take on the Robert Johnson crossroads legend and ownership rights of his music. It's as good a primary source as we'll ever get
Love what you did with the Logo! :)
Right up my alley. Faustian bargains and the Jonah complex have been haunting me for years.
I don’t really believe this to be true. These men probably practiced for hours on hours to become perfect but I do like listening to this story, it’s eerie and almost cartoon like
you'd be surprised on how some individuals would trade their right leg for the fruits of fame , talent and money. you underestimate the wickedness of the children of the devil
Very well done! Dr Faustus is another legendary crossroads tale
Nice explanation and theories 👍
Happy Halloween everyone!
Bro i just want you to live a happy and uninterrupted life so you can make good videos like this. So glad you acknowledged the vodou traditions.
God damn no matter how many of your videos I watch, I'm always blown away. Thank you!
Very knowledgeable video. Well done 👍🏾
A very different video... More Please.
Edit: I'm also born and raised from Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Robert Johnson visited the crossroads. Till this day, we have the spot marked where its believed he made the deal.
Good work dude. Thumps up.
I cannot listen to Robert Johnson's blues. This ties into the 27 club, there's a connection to all these deaths.
Theres an episode of Metallocolypse where Dethklok are feeling depressed. A man suggests that they make a deal with the devil. They screw it up by negotiating the contract so hard that the devil has to think about it.
I thought that was hilarious.
FANTASTIC NEW ANGLE regarding this seminal story and mythos!^..^
"The devil was standing on the crossroad of my neighborhood, there where the winds turn, and the shortcuts cross"
- La Renga
Aguante Argentina wacho
Great video! 🎉
The next album you should do is Absolution by Muse, that album is such a amazing album and is probably one of the greatest albums ever made
I was heavy into Muse but Origin of Symmetry is a superior album
Hell yeah I was just wondering about Robert Johnson! From Supernatural's crossroads demons to the manga Me and The Devil Blues
33 DEGREE WORSHIP 👽Bob Dylan made that same deal and so did just about every big act in the business. Robert Johnson is a legend and a huge influence among so many, including Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix (Crosstown Traffic), Lynyrd Skynyrd, John Mayer, and even William Shatner (James T. Kirk). They all did their own versions of Crossroads. One of the greatest live performances ever caught on record, Cream's cover of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" shows the band at their absolute peak. Clapton is in fine form vocalwise, but it is his guitar play that shines the most. Two mindblowing solos, especially the second one. Speed and virtuosity at its finest. Jack Bruce's pounding bass is an intimidating, earth shaking presence, and Ginger Baker wails away at his kit. The result is something special, a live performance for a lifetime.
Yes YES and YES. This is what i was waiting for
Can’t wait!
This is such a well edited, researched, and informative video. Thank you for creating such quality content, Polyphonic!
Very interesting story!
0:44 Ah yes, those iconic notes
Watching from Greece.hi everybody.
Fascinating story.
I am luckily close friends with Robert Johnson's grandkids, and am an afifcianado on his legacy... even knowing the Real crossroads location -not 61 & 49. And so, just like the author below, I also really enjoyed this video that offered some different and interesting history on the crossroads mythology. Keep it up, man!
I just listened to “King of the Delta Blues Singers” album again today for the millionth time. I love the description from Apple Music (maybe it’s from somewhere else): “The title of this album should be taken literally”... for me; it is
Charley Patton.
I recently came across an album called Everywhere at the End of Time and it's 6 and a half hours long. You might have heard of it, I would love a video about it, it is the darkest album I've ever listened to, I hadn't listen to the full album yet, but even the last 3-4 minutes made me super depressed.
I'm scared to listen to it man.
Well done
Yet again, a fabulous offering. Your reading of the impact of slavery on the blues is excellent.
Very interesting video
Finally, a video about Crowly
I know right!!😂
Hahaa
😆
Thank you for demystifying the metaphors that were never discussed. Truly and unfortunately, it appears the majority of popular " American" music genres were birth out of the hardship of African-Americans. Psalms 137: 2-6 reminds us: On the [weeping] willows, "there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion[ negro spirituals]!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
Answer: We created the Blues, Spirituals (Call and respond), Boogie-woogie, Rock n Roll, Doo-Wop, Bebop, Funk, Jazz, Afro Cubano call and response (Mambo, Salsa), Disco, Hip-hop-Rap. Most important country: In 1927, a man by the name DeFord Bailey performed during a music radio show in Nashville and played his harmonica - another a popular instrument used in country. DeFord Bailey became the first person to be introduced in the Grand Ole Opry, a country music concert. He was also their first ever performer and the first person to have his music recorded in Nashville. He was the first ever African American star of country music.
i didn't sell my soul to play the guitar, the devils music caught my ear and I've been hunting to get my soul back ever since
Dear Devil,
I want to play play guitar like no one else.
You know where to find me.
Dood your Cray cray, play like no other? Like with your feet and tongue?
Dude do you know how to play know
In order to play an instrument at a high level you have to make certain sacrifices and decisions early in life that may come for their payment later in life.
Being a musician myself my whole life I am so grateful for your research on this subject. It has been in the back of my mind for years, I'm very good at what I do I will throw it all away and never pick up my guitar again if it means selling my soul to the devil there are spiritual forces that are very real that I have faced.
And when I have passed through the fire, I shall come forth as gold
Listen to these two songs especially their words. See them on UA-cam, 'I Write the Songs',performed by Berry Manilow', and 'Somebody's Knockin', Performed by Terri Gibbs'.
Very Good!!
So much tragedy in Robert Johnsons music. Heartbreaking
You are a good story teller.
I don't listen to the music I used to because most musicians it seems have made a deal with the Evil one Satan. I used to worship the eagles but Hotel California is plainly about Satan You can check out any time but you can never leave. It terrifies me that I ever listened to any music that Satan influenced. Praise God I saw the light Amen
Great i love it nice show
I have been living close to the cross roads i believe he was on the edge of becoming great! He had been playing practicing. The cross roads is when you put your entire soul into playing and when you did and cant cross over to greatness you wake up in the scales in your head and grab your guitar looking for that sound out side.
This is the only version of this mans life story tht mkes the most sense to me
"Hellhound on my trail" - Robert Johnson 🎸
Sometimes it sounds like there are two people playing when Robert Johnson plays
I’m really into this band called Big Black Delta, they aren’t super big however they have a sound that I’ve never heard before. Their music is so unique I feel like I’m having an outer body experience every time I hear it. Mainly their 2013 album ‘Big Black Delta’ and the songs ‘side of the road’ ‘huggin & kissin’ ‘capsize’ and ‘into the night’ are something so different I never get tired of them. If you’re possibly looking for ideas for a video I’d suggest checking them out because I’d love for you to break down what is happening in their songs and explain why it’s so eerie yet comforting
Only when the full moon and sunset are at the same place in the sky. Sunset & full moonrise. Song book and guitar in each hand fog is not quite knee height. Moonlight and sunset reflecting off each other. You in between the light. If the wolf doesn’t howl before darkness comes no deal. The wolf howl is deep and you feel it right through you. Wolf sounds close but he’s not in sight. You’ll know. The reward is persistent and drives you mad.
God these visuals are beautiful
Please do a video on Bossa Nova (big stars Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto)!
Has anyone ever gave it a shot? Practicing in graveyards or going to a secluded crossroad with the intent of making a deal?
Could be something cool to document for shits and giggles.
This is a very interesting discussion on the history of Blues music in America. It also relates some of the imagery of Blues music to the struggles faced by Black Americans. It is a very interesting item, it appears to be well researched.
This was probably one of the best Polyphonic videos yet. Incredible work.
The "crossroads" is a sacred symbol of an "x" and represents the paths of the soul and the body. Common in La. In cemeteries. Robert took tones and rhythms from voodoo ritual, a great sin, and he was silenced by other followers for it.
I gotta admit I respect the uninvasive ads in your videos
Nice video! In the recent Robert Johnson biography "Up Jumped The Devil", Son House's account of when Robert Johnson would annoy them with his playing is disputed: "House was wrong about several of his facts. Robert was not a little boy; he was a nineteen-year-d widower. Robert was also not a noisemaker on the guitar or even a novice. He had been playing with other musicians at jukes for at least two years." (page 92)
I've only heard Robert Plant mention Tommy Johnson on an old documentary from the 90s. The doc was incidentally made by Robert Palmer.
Be sick to see one of these on Rise Against
Damn that was a good video
A part of me feels that Robert Johnson was ahead of his time. I feel that "racket" he was making, was just early rock n roll.