7 Robert Johnson 716 -year-old Virginia Travis, whose death in childbirth
(along with that of their baby) in April 1930 devastated
Johnson.
In Robinsonville he came in contact with well-known
Mississippi Delta bluesmen Willie Brown, Charley Patton,
and Son House—all of whom influenced his playing and
none of whom was particularly impressed by his talent.
They were dazzled by his musical ability, however, when
he returned to town after spending as much as a year away.
That time away is central to Johnson’s mythic status.
According to legend, during that period Johnson made a
deal with Satan at a crossroads, acquiring his prodigious
talent as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in exchange for
the stipulation that he would have only eight more years
to live. (A similar story circulated in regard to another
Mississippi bluesman, Tommy Johnson.) Music historian
Robert Palmer, in his highly regarded book Deep Blues
(1981), instead ascribes Robert Johnson’s remarkable musical
attainments to the time he had to hone his skills as a guitar-
ist under the instruction of Ike Zinneman as a result of
the financial support he received from the older woman
he married near Hazlehurst, Miss. (Johnson’s birthplace),
and to the wide variety of music to which he was exposed
during his hiatus from Robinsonville, including the single-
string picking styles of Lonnie Johnson and Scrapper
Blackwell.
After returning briefly to Robinsonville, Johnson settled
in Helena, Ark., where he played with Elmore James,
Robert Nighthawk, and Howlin’ Wolf, among others. He
also became involved with Estella Coleman and informally
adopted her son, Robert Lockwood, Jr., who later became
a notable blues musician under the name Robert Jr.
Lockwood. Johnson traveled widely throughout Missis-
sippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee and as far north as
Chicago and New York, playing at house parties, juke