The Guitar Tuned By the Devil

the guitar tuned by the devil

the guitar tuned by the devil

richard monninger

yellow wrangler publications

copyright Š 2012 by richard monninger

Dedicated to the ug bugs

The guitar tuned by the devil

because life was rough in the Mississippi Delta a beautiful sound was born.

Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, over a hundred years ago and has had enormous impact on music and musicians Since the 1930s. Considered the grandfather of rock and roll he died at a young age and his recordings sold poorly. He made a living playing the delta blues performing on street corners and juke joints throughout the Mississippi Delta which stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to Chicago, Illinois.

MISSISSIP

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Classic juke joints found, at rural crossroads, catered to the rural work force that began to emerge after the emancipation.

Plantation workers and sharecroppers needed a place to relax and socialize following a hard week, particularly since they were barred from most white establishments by Jim Crow laws. Set up on the outskirts of town, often in ramshackle buildings or private houses, juke joints offered food, drink, dancing and gambling for weary workers. Owners made extra money selling groceries or moonshine to patrons, or providing cheap room and board.

The origins of juke joints may be the community rooms that were occasionally built on plantations to provide a place for blacks to socialize during slavery. This practice spread to the work camps such as sawmills, turpentine camps and lumber companies in the early twentieth century, which built barrel-houses and chock-houses to be used for drinking and gambling. Although uncommon in populated areas, such places were often seen as necessary to attract workers to sparsely populated areas lacking bars and other social-outlets.

As well, much like “on-base” Officer’s Clubs, such “Company”-owned joints allowed managers to keep an eye on their underlings; it also ensured that the employees pay was coming back to the Company. Constructed simply like a field hand’s “shotgun”-style dwelling, these may have been the first juke joints. During the prohibition in the United States it became common to see squalid independent juke joints at highway crossings and railroad stops. These were almost never called “juke joint”; but rather were named such as the “Lone Star” or “Colored Cafe”. They were often open only on weekends.

The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music.

It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The Mississippi Delta area is famous both for its fertile soil and its poverty. Guitar, harmonica and cigar box guitar are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar being a hallmark of the style. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.

May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938 According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Robert Johnson was branded with a burning desire to become a great blues musician. He was "instructed" to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The "Devil" played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument.

This was in effect, a deal with the Devil mirroring the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Robert Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.

Songwriter, vocalist, and famed blues guitarist. Ranked 6th as 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his “wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions” as a member of Howlin’ Wolf’s band. Sumlin ranked 43rd as 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

He performed with famed blues musician Robert Johnson with whom he developed a close friendship. Honeyboy was present on the night Johnson drank poisoned whiskey which killed him, and his story has become the definitive version of Johnson's demise.

American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s,along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage. Musselwhite was reportedly the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd's character in the Blues Brothers.

Featured as the only female invited to record on "100 Years of Robert Johnson," released this month, Foster joins the ranks of Charlie Musselwhite, B.B. King and other blues artists on Big Head Todd and the Monster’s tribute album to the blues legend born 100 years ago. The cast of guest artists for this recording is called The Big Head Blues Club.

Cedric Burnside is the grandson of the legendary R.L. Burnside and renowned as one of the best drummers in the world.

Lightnin Malcolm has come to exemplify the modern day Deep Blues Guitar groove. Its a sound which traces back to the origins of blues, when a single guitarist rocked the house all night long.

When these ancient droning patterns consisting of bass, rhythm,and lead syncopated together are plugged into modern sound systems and teamed up with driving drum beats, Malcolms guitar becomes larger than life, bringin state of the art primal Mississippi Juke Joint Blues to the big stage.

todd Park Mohr formed Big Head Todd & the Monsters with friends from high school, while touring the night scene in Denver, Fort Collins, and Boulder.

Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone and Harmonica

Bass and Vocals

Drums Percussion and Vocals

Keyboards Pedal Guitar and Vocals

a perfect bound book with photographic images complemented by rosewood fill and wood type, typefaces.