(Play Like). Study the trademark songs, licks, tones and techniques of the King of the Delta Blues Singers, Robert Johnson. This comprehensive book and audio teaching method provides detailed analysis of his guitars, techniques, styles, songs, licks, riffs and much more. You'll learn everything you need to know about Johnson's legendary guitar playing, as captured on his 29 known recording from 1936-7. Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. Five full songs are included: Come on in My Kitchen * Cross Road Blues (Crossroads) * I Believe I'll Dust My Broom * Kind Hearted Woman Blues * and Sweet Home Chicago, plus excerpts from many more signature tunes.

A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020 “[Brother Robert} book does much to pull the blues master out of the fog of myth.”—Rolling Stone An intimate memoir by blues legend Robert Johnson's stepsister, including new details about his family, music, influences, tragic death, and musical afterlife Though Robert Johnson was only twenty-seven years young and relatively unknown at the time of his tragic death in 1938, his enduring recordings have solidified his status as a progenitor of the Delta blues style. And yet, while his music has retained the steadfast devotion of modern listeners, much remains unknown about the man who penned and played these timeless tunes. Few people alive today actually remember what Johnson was really like, and those who do have largely upheld their silence-until now. In Brother Robert, nonagenarian Annye C. Anderson sheds new light on a real-life figure largely obscured by his own legend: her kind and incredibly talented stepbrother, Robert Johnson. This book chronicles Johnson's unconventional path to stardom, from the harrowing story behind his illegitimate birth, to his first strum of the guitar on Anderson's father's knee, to the genre-defining recordings that would one day secure his legacy. Along the way, readers are gifted not only with Anderson's personal anecdotes, but with colorful recollections passed down to Anderson by members of their family-the people who knew Johnson best. Readers also learn about the contours of his working life in Memphis, never-before-disclosed details about his romantic history, and all of Johnson's favorite things, from foods and entertainers to brands of tobacco and pomade. Together, these stories don't just bring the mythologized Johnson back down to earth; they preserve both his memory and his integrity. For decades, Anderson and her family have ignored the tall tales of Johnson "selling his soul to the devil" and the speculative to fictionalized accounts of his life that passed for biography. Brother Robert is here to set the record straight. Featuring a foreword by Elijah Wald and a Q&A with Anderson, Wald, Preston Lauterbach, and Peter Guralnick, this book paints a vivid portrait of an elusive figure who forever changed the musical landscape as we know it.

The Penderyn 2020 Music Book Prize (UK edition) Living Blues Critics Choice Best Blues Book of 2019 Living Blues Readers Choice Best Blues Book of 2019 Certificate of Merit in the Best Historical Research in Recorded Blues, Soul, Gospel, or R&B category from ARSC (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) An essential story of blues lore, black culture, and American music history Robert Johnson's recordings, made in 1936 and 1937, have profoundly influenced generations of singers, guitarists, and songwriters. Yet until now, his short life—he was murdered at the age of 27—has been poorly documented. Gayle Dean Wardlow has been interviewing people who knew Johnson since the early 1960s, and he was the person who discovered Johnson's death certificate in 1967. Bruce Conforth began his study of Johnson's life and music in 1970 and made it his mission to fill in what was still unknown about him. In this definitive biography, the two authors relied on every interview, resource, and document, much of it material no one has seen before. This is the first book about Johnson that documents his lifelong relationship with family and friends in Memphis, details his trip to New York, uncovers where and when his wife Virginia died and the impact this had on him, fully portrays the other women Johnson was involved with and tells exactly how and why he died and who gave him the poison that killed him. Up Jumped the Devil will astonish blues fans worldwide by painting a living, breathing portrait of a man who was heretofore little more than a legend.

The life of blues legend Robert Johnson becomes the centerpiece for this innovative look at what many consider to be America's deepest and most influential music genre. Pivotal are the questions surrounding why Johnson was ignored by the core black audience of his time yet now celebrated as the greatest figure in blues history. Trying to separate myth from reality, biographer Elijah Wald studies the blues from the inside -- not only examining recordings but also the recollections of the musicians themselves, the African-American press, as well as examining original research. What emerges is a new appreciation for the blues and the movement of its artists from the shadows of the 1930s Mississippi Delta to the mainstream venues frequented by today's loyal blues fans.

(Ukulele). 18 blues guitar classics specially arranged for the ukulele, with riffs and backup rhythms, in standard notation and tab. Includes: Drunken Hearted Man * Honeymoon Blues * I Believe I'll Dust My Broom * I'm a Steady Rollin' Man (Steady Rollin' Man) * Kind Hearted Woman Blues * Me and the Devil Blues * Sweet Home Chicago * When You Got a Good Friend * and more.

(Play Like). Study the trademark songs, licks, tones, and techniques of the guitar wonder Eric Johnson. This comprehensive book and audio teaching method provides detailed analysis of Johnson's gear, tone, techniques, styles, songs, licks, riffs, and much more. Includes a unique code that will give you access to audio files of all the music in the book online. Full songs include: Cliffs of Dover * Desert Rose * Fatdaddy * Trademark * Zap * plus excerpts from ten more Johnson tunes.

"Robert Johnson was born in rural Mississippi and died young, leaving little behind except blues like no one sung the blues before him. A legend says that Robert sold his soul to the devil in return for becoming King of the Delta Blues."--From source other than the Library of Congress

Do you wish you could play your favorite blues music on guitar? Even if you don’t read music, it’s not difficult with Blues Guitar for Dummies. With this hands-on guide, you’ll pick up the fundamentals instantly and start jamming like your favorite blues artists! Blues Guitar for Dummies covers all aspects of blues guitar, showing you how to play scales, chords, progressions, riffs, solos, and more! It’s packed with musical examples, chords charts, and photos that let you explore the genre and play the songs of the great blues musicians. This accessible guide will give you the skills you need to: Choose the right guitar, equipment, and strings Hold, tune, and get situated with your guitar Play barre chords and strum to the rhythm Recognize the structure of a blues song Tackle musical riffs Master melodies and solos Make your guitar sing, cry, and wail Jam to any type of blues In addition to this must-have book, a bonus CD is included so that you can listen to famous songs, practice your riffs and chords, and develop your style as a blues musician. It also features a quick guide to musical notation and suggestions on albums, artists, and guitars for further enjoyment. With Blues Guitar for Dummies, you can re-create the masterpieces of the blues legend without the expensive lessons!

In this new DVD/book/CD set Brad Davis teaches you how to add the blues to your flatpicking repertoire and how to introduce the blues feel to the flatpicking tunes you already know. In this comprehensive course you will learn the scales, rhythm styles, and chord progressions which define the blues, standard blues licks and phrases, and blues styles of players like Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Brad even demonstrates how to play Bill Monroes bluesy mandolin licks on the guitar. Elements of the blues can be found in all forms of American musicfrom bluegrass, to folk, to rock. On the DVD Brad demonstrates how to play several different arrangements of 12-bar blues rhythm and then shows you how to utilize the blues scales to improvise over the chord progression. This is done in a step-by-step easy to follow method through a variety of written examples in the book and opportunities for you to practice with the practice tracks on the audio CD. The audio CD also contains ear training lessons in the context of the blues! The goal of this book/DVD/CD set is not only to show you the elements of the blues, but to teach you how to be an improvisational player in the context of the blues so that you can jump into any blues jam and hold your own. Additionally, Brad teaches bluesy arrangements of a number of standard flatpicking fiddle tunes (Nine Pound Hammer, Lonesome Road Blues, Salt Creek, John Hardy). If you are tired of playing the same old deedle-deedle-deedle arrangements of fiddle tunes on the guitar, this course will help get you out of that rut! Duration: 81 minutes

Introduces the basics of finger-style acoustic guitar blues.