It's easiest to compile all the posts into one to help others when seeking out the information (especially me!). Click on the titles to visit the stories! If I get more posts about Robert Johnson, I'll share those links below as well.
LEG 3 and 2a - Emmett Till and Leaving Leland - I wanted to share Leg 3 first, about Emmitt Till because he deserved more story. Then, I went back to share Leg 2a and the trip after leaving Leland.
This is the story about his life in Memphis and locating the houses where he lived at the time, based on the book Brother Robert by Ms. Annie Anderson, his sister.
All my life, I've been a HUGE blues fan, and my dream vacation is to start in the Mississippi Delta and travel the Blues Highway all the way to Chicago, hitting every single blues joint along the way and try the different "best" foods in those areas.
In June 2020, I decided just to look up the location where Robert Johnson is buried. I was really surprised to see that the graveyard is only 2.5 hours outside of Memphis, TN! And then, it happened: I began researching his paths in life, and looked up the crossroads-es (there's more than one possibility) and planned to make my trip on Saturday 7/18/2020!
Overnight from July 14 - 15, something happened. As I laid there trying to sleep, I woke to a visitation of a dark shadowy figure - VERY oppressive energy. This isn't the first time such an event has happened to me (honestly, it's becoming a non-event nowadays); but, there was another figure there with me. I called on the name of Jesus, I called for Archangel Michael, and the oppressive figure dissipated, the second one calmly just faded away. I think it should be noted that the last song in my mind as I went to bed was "Hellhound on my Trail."
I finally fell asleep again, and there was calm. And some thoughts began to enter my mind and I'll share more on a different day; but, one ties into this trip so I'll share it here:
I think the crossroads weren't an actual location to visit and meet the devil. After all, he says in the first lines, "I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees, asked the Lord above, "Have mercy now, save poor Bob if you please." The rest of the song is that he's stranded, stuck in an area of life that he can't get out of - nobody there, not even a woman. "Crossroads"* represents a needed change in his life, not a physical location.
However, even knowing that, I do plan to visit the THREE sites for the expected Crossroads:
Highways 61 & 49 in Clarksdale, MS, Highways 1 & 8 in Rosedale, MS (which Robert Johnson sings about) (Hwy 8 runs past Dockery Farms),
and just south of Dockery Farms, down a dirt road, past a cemetery, at Lusk and Walker Roads. (Dockery Farms is important because Robert Johnson spent a lot of time there.)
Just to point out: Robert Johnson sings about Vicksburg, MS, which is the lowest point on the map that he sings about, and Memphis, TN, where he lived a while and is the highest point on the map that he sings about. Rosedale, MS, falls right in the middle of the two cities. So, if the legend (which is all it is, I think) were true, it could be that Rosedale IS the crossroads - he did travel the river roads often.
Back to the trip, We're leaving out of Memphis, TN, at 8 am, and headed first to the Clarksdale, MS, Crossroads. Then, down to Highways 1 & 8 in Rosedale, MS, and then next door to Leland, MS, to visit the Jim Henson Boyhood Museum!
After that, we're making a trip to visit the grave of Charley Patton (Grandfather of the Blues), B.B. King, and Robert Johnson. That will be followed by a trip to the historical marker of Emmett Till - for whom my heart still cries - and a return trip to Memphis, TN.
Trip photos to come, and Robert Johnson musings, and more.
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*The reason I used this version of Crossroad Blues is because I agree with the guy who slowed the music down and it sounds less high-pitched vocally or 'quick' on the music. This sounds like a real bluesman's voice to me! The recorded version was made in the 1930s, and the machine back then may not have played at a proper RPM and so it sounds sped up. Here's the original recording CLICK HERE.
We all know that Memphis weather can be weird. So,when I had the opportunity to run to the river oh, I rather drive there, to take these photos, I had to do the trip.
What's so amazing about these photos is not just the height of the river, reaching the lower Bluff of the park in Harbor Town, but the fact that while the river flowed South, the fog move north. It also crawled over the land in some parts, as of reaching out to drag someone into its swirling depths to feed the giant catfish!
