Searching for Mr. Johnson

Mr. Johnson and Friends at the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum

Today, I’m going to try and do some work on the track “Mr.Johnson” from my Blue Odyssey project. It would be unthinkable to do a musical trip through the Delta without a nod to the Father of the blues, Robert Johnson.  We made a pilgrimage to his grave – and the other two memorial sites, just in case!

The lyrics will deal with the folklore that has grown up surrounding the circumstances of his death, and the mystery over his final resting place. Of course, its invaluable to have actually been there, to have something tangible to draw on. I hope I can reflect it in the song. I’ve already got the bare bones of the track down, with my attempt at some blues slide guitar for the intro to set the mood, then a thoughtful laid back verse that breaks into a steady shuffle for the chorus.  I’ve used a simple trick to get a certain mood on the verse. It’s something I heard on a Johnny Cash record recently, a single, repeating piano note underlying an acoustic guitar. I thought “thanks Johnny, I’m having some of that!”

The next job is to kind of ‘sew’ the whole thing together, make it sound cohesive – and finish the lyrics. One of my biggest failings is completing the music and lyrics to a verse and a chorus of something and then leaving it for weeks on end – it’s something I need a huge amount of self-discipline to combat.  I suppose I love the cathartic process of having the idea, getting it out, and realizing it in its basic form – but the necessary completion means I need to get into another gear, and I sometimes find that difficult. Nevertheless, it will be done!

The ultimate blues harp collection

Kev Moore