Just found a brilliant website: http://www.robertjohnsontabslyricslessons.com
The site is a learning resource for the works of the legendary blues singer guitarist, Robert Johnson.
In case you're not nuts about or even familiar with who the great man was, Robert Johnson was an itinerant musician who wandered the deep south in 1930's America, playing guitar, seducing women,drinking a lot and generally living the sort of life Jack Karouac would have killed for. Legend has it that his playing style improved suddenly, almost overnight, leading to the myth that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for musical skills.
Anyway the reason Johnson remains popular today is his legacy of recordings. He recorded enough material for what is now two CDs, during two recording sessions that took place towards the end of his life that gave the world a taste of his blues style.
Where as other recordings at the time of other great players like Charley Patton and Blind Lemon Jefferson often sound old and dated, the Johnson recordings have a brightness and edge to them which makes them as accessible to listeners today as the day they were recorded. Johnson's wailing voice has a haunting painful quality and his lyrics are full of sexual innuendo and hints of his persecution by the devil which again are topics that separate him from his peers. His guitar work too was revolutionary for the day, later famously leading Rolling Stone Keith Richard to question who the second guitarist was, when infact Johnson plays both lead and rhythym himself in one take.
Thought there are several places on the internet where the lyrics and guitar tablature to Robert Johnson's songs can be found, http://www.robertjohnsontabslyricslessons.com is the only site I've come across that brings all the resources together in one place, even to the extent of providing full song tabs in 'Guitar Pro' format. Full marks for making the business of chasing up Robert Johnson's song lyrics and guitar licks a whole lot easier!
