"Next to Son House and Charley Patton,
no one was more important to the development of pre-Robert Johnson
Delta blues thatn Tommy Johnson. Armed with a powerful voice that
could go from a growl to an eerie falsetto range and a guitar style
that had all of the early figures and licks of the Delta style clearly
delineated, Johnson... left behind a body of work that's hard to ignore."
- Cub koda, All Music
Guide
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"Johnson's
recordings showcased an eerie falsetto and masterfully manipulated
vocal dynamics that established him as the premier Delta blues vocalist
o fhis day.... Johnson was remebered for playing the guitar between
his legs like he was riding a mule, playing it behind his head, tossing
the guitar up in the air, and other acrobatic antics."
- from Trail of the Hellhound, presented
by The National Park Service |
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"...
[Johnson's] unique vocal qualities, not the dark heaviness typical
of bluesmen at the timek but a more flexible, lighter toned,
more relaxed instrument that, coupled with his guitar, made
his music as "busy" as it was beautiful."
- Bruce Eder, All Music Guide |
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“He’d
kick the guitar, flip it, turn it back of his head and be playin’
it. Then he’d get straddled over it like he was ridin’
a mule – pick it that way.”
- Houston Stackhouse, Delta Blues artist |
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"There
is no doubt that the music of the blues singer and guitarist
Tommy Johnson epitomised the Mississippi Blues at its most expressive
and poetic. ... Big Road lues, Maggie Campbell Blues and Cool
Drink of Water have been classics blues from the Missippi for
decades, covered by many artists. Canned Head was adopted as
the name for the American 60's group...."
- Document Records, liner notes |
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"About
that time,..., Johnson met the devil at the crossroads at midnight
and handed him his guitar. When the devil handed it back, Johnson
told them, he could play anything he wanted."
- Keith O'Brien, in the Times-Picayune,
Crystal Springs, Mi. |
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"He
just had rambling on his mind. When he stopped to work, he was as
good a hand as you'd want to see. he'd do as much work as anybody.
But when that notic struck him to hit the road, he didn't tell nobody
nothing. He justhit the road. Look for him when you see him."
- Majer Johnson, brother of Tommy
Johnson |
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"He
practically picked it up hisself. He made them songs up hisself
and tuned'em up hisself, just air music."
- Majer Johnson,
brother of Tommy Johnson |
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