Play Blind Willie Johnson Radio
Blind Willie Johnson
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Blind Willie Johnson (Willie Johnson, Brenham, Texas, January 22, 1897 – Beaumont, Texas, September 18, 1945) was an American singer and guitarist whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals.
While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. Among musicians, he is considered one of the greatest slide or bottleneck guitarists, as well as one of the most revered figures of depression-era gospel music. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.
Blind Willie Johnson was born in 1897 near Brenham, Texas (before the discovery of his death certificate, Temple, Texas had been suggested as his birthplace). When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher, and then made himself a cigar box guitar. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried soon after her death.
Johnson was not born blind, and, although it is not known how he lost his sight, Angeline Johnson provided the following account to Samuel Charters. She said when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man. The stepmother then picked up a handful of lye and threw it, not at Willie’s father, but into the face of young Willie.
It is thought that Johnson was married twice, first to a woman with the same first name, Willie B Harris, and later to a young singer named Angeline, who was the sister of blues guitarist L.C. Robinson. No marriage certificates have yet been discovered.
While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. Among musicians, he is considered one of the greatest slide or bottleneck guitarists, as well as one of the most revered figures of depression-era gospel music. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.
Blind Willie Johnson was born in 1897 near Brenham, Texas (before the discovery of his death certificate, Temple, Texas had been suggested as his birthplace). When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher, and then made himself a cigar box guitar. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried soon after her death.
Johnson was not born blind, and, although it is not known how he lost his sight, Angeline Johnson provided the following account to Samuel Charters. She said when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man. The stepmother then picked up a handful of lye and threw it, not at Willie’s father, but into the face of young Willie.
It is thought that Johnson was married twice, first to a woman with the same first name, Willie B Harris, and later to a young singer named Angeline, who was the sister of blues guitarist L.C. Robinson. No marriage certificates have yet been discovered.
Top Albums
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The Soul of a Man
Blind Willie Johnson
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Dark was the Night
Blind Willie Johnson Buy- Download Album
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Sweeter as the Years Go By
Blind Willie Johnson Buy- Download Album
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Top Tracks
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Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
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John the Revelator
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It's Nobody's Fault But Mine
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Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed
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I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
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Let Your Light Shine On Me
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God Moves On the Water
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Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning
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Praise God I'm Satisfied
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If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down
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| 11 |
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The Soul of a Man
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Mother's Children Have A Hard Time
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Trouble Will Soon Be Over
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I'm Gonna Run to the City of Refuge
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| 15 |
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Dark Was The Night - Cold Was The Ground
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Shoutbox
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HottyWife wrote:
I just downloaded all Blind Willie Johnson ringtones at http://tiny.cc/JeCoq Dark Was the Night is my favorite, love it!
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NaughtyNicegrl wrote:
I just downloaded all Blind Willie Johnson ringtones at http://tiny.cc/JeCoq Dark Was the Night is my favorite, love it!
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CosaBellaGirl wrote:
I just downloaded all Blind Willie Johnson ringtones at http://tiny.cc/oo1aB Dark Was the Night is my favorite, love it!
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ZITZ59 wrote:
good men!!!!
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guitarsisdrunk wrote:
The single greatest delta blues musician ever, past, present, and future. Blind Willie's Johnson's un-mistakeable voice resonates throughout every crook of the known and unknown universe.
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scrapmusic wrote:
unfuckwithable
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Cthulhu420 wrote:
Thank you Ivo Watts Russell, for ruining Blind Willie by exposing him to the pitchfork crowd.
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Semmerarro wrote:
REAL "folk music" is scary. Not cute, not pretty. Case in point, this dude. Peter Paul and Mary, he ain't.
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-stain- wrote:
Such an amazing guitarist
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insomniacme wrote:
Good call bro.
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releasemeand wrote:
I'm sick of that retarded shout being the first one displayed on this page.
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the_betterman wrote:
if motorhead was a blues band this is what they sould sond like lol motorhead should cover some of his songs btw bwj is my fave pre war blues musician
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Jojobi wrote:
What a voice...
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Younghappy wrote:
"Why are all blues mucicans blind?" Wouldn't you sing the blues if you were blind?
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Oppressotron wrote:
Interesting note (both as a blues lover and as an epidemiologist); Blind Willie Johnson has 2 songs (God Don’t Ever Change & Jesus is Coming Soon) that out right reference influenza; did I miss any others? I wonder what he thought of the 1918-19 pandemic. Obviously to have multiple songs touch on the subject it must have been something that inspired him. I tried to do some research on him and the flu and didn’t come up with anything. An odd historical footnote I guess.
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Cornmancer wrote:
Dark was the night is just a man playing slide and humming, but it's the only song that can touch Crossroads.
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Aboshin wrote:
Dark Was the Night , Cold Was the Ground is my favourite too.
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Envisaomdoden wrote:
Why are all blues mucicans blind? xP
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LondonLouis wrote:
One of the most distinctive voices amongst the old-time Blues singers. Dark was the Night and John the Revelator still resonate down the decades.
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itsTRUDY wrote:
<3. "Dark Was the Night - Cold Was the Ground" is a personal favorite of mine, it's almost a little haunting. Great stuff
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Recent Activity
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GhisTrig added Blind Willie Johnson to GhisTrig’s library. yesterday afternoon
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ilhna tagged Blind Willie Johnson with blues and gospel. Sunday afternoon
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rise_again tagged Blind Willie Johnson with delta blues and blues. Thursday morning
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TheRedsMusic tagged Blind Willie Johnson with folk, classic blues, gospel and 2 other tags. 8 days ago
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TheRedsMusic, DriftingBlues and ileanus added Blind Willie Johnson to their libraries. 8 days ago
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xennaz tagged Blind Willie Johnson with acoustic blues, gospel and blues. 9 days ago
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