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Robert Johnson's rhythms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Charles Ford
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Extract

Robert Johnson's 1936–37 recordings are widely held to have consummated the Delta blues style, and to have provided one of the very few pre-war influences on rock. Yet it is his pathetic life and the occasional metaphysical imagery of his lyrics that have commanded critical attention. Consequently we have as yet still to discover what precisely makes his music take on such historical significance. It seems to me that two features of Johnson's music demand our attention: first, his inflections of pitch and timbre; second, his irregular, and often syncopated, metres. This article scrutinises, and extrapolates from the latter.

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Popular Music , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 71 - 93
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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