American Epic: The Best of Blind Willie Johnson LP

Album Details

Texas slide guitarist and gospel bluesman Blind Willie Johnson recorded only 30 songs over the course of his life as a preacher and street performer. Even so, the savvy combination of his gritty and powerful “chest voice” singing style coupled with his mastery of slide guitar (some report he regularly used a knife as a slide) has given him a notably influential legacy, specifically with later bluesmen Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. His tune “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” was selected for Carl Sagan’s Voyager probe Golden Record, the Library of Congress as well as the National Recording Registry.