Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" (commonly known as "Crossroads") is a song written by the American blues artist Robert Johnson. He performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talent. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a crossroads as the site where such pacts are made, although the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan or a Faustian bargain.
"Cross Road Blues"
"Cross Road Blues" may have been in Johnson's repertoire since 1932 and, in 1936, he recorded two performances. One was released in 1937 as a single that was heard mainly in the Mississippi Delta area. The second, which reached a wider audience, was included on King of the Delta Blues Singers, a compilation album of some of Johnson's songs released in 1961 during the American folk music revival.
Over the years, several bluesmen have recorded versions of the song, usually as ensemble pieces with electrified guitars. Elmore James' recordings in 1954 and 1960–1961 have been identified as perhaps the most significant of the earlier renditions. In the late 1960s, guitarist Eric Clapton and the British rock group Cream popularized the song as "Crossroads". Their blues rock interpretation became one of their best-known songs and inspired many cover versions.
Both Johnson and Cream's recordings of the song have received accolades from various organizations and publications. Both have also led the song to be identified as a blues standard as well as an important piece in the repertoires of blues-inspired rock musicians. Clapton continues to be associated with the song and has used the name for the drug treatment center he founded and the series of music festivals to raise money for it.
"Crossroads"
Eric Clapton/Cream interpretation[edit]
Background[edit]
In early 1966, while still with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton adapted the song for a recording session with an ad hoc studio group, dubbed Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse.[69] Elektra Records producer Joe Boyd brought together Steve Winwood on vocals, Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass guitar, Paul Jones on harmonica, Ben Palmer on piano, and Pete York on drums for the project.[70] Boyd recalled that he and Clapton reviewed potential songs; Clapton wanted to record Albert King's "Crosscut Saw", but Boyd preferred to adapt an older country blues.[71] Their attention turned to Robert Johnson songs and Boyd proposed "Crossroads",[d] though Clapton favored "Traveling Riverside Blues".[73][e] For the recording, Clapton developed an arrangement that drew on both songs.[75]
Biographer Michael Schumacher describes the Powerhouse's performance as slower and more blues-based than Cream's.[76] Elektra released the 2:32 recording, titled "Crossroads", on the compilation album What's Shakin' in June 1966.[77] The song was later included on The Finer Things, a 1995 box set spanning Winwood's career.[77] After the Powerhouse session, Clapton continued playing with Mayall.[70] Author Marc Roberty lists "Crossroads" in a typical set for the Bluesbreakers in the earlier part of 1966.[70]
Recognition and influence[edit]
In 1986, Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classic of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track" category.[106] Writing for the foundation, Jim O'Neal said that "Regardless of mythology and rock 'n' roll renditions, Johnson's record was indeed a powerful one, a song that would stand the test of time on its own."[107] In 1998, it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award to acknowledge its quality and place in recording history.[108] Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Cross Road Blues" at number 481 on its 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[109] In 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed both Johnson and Cream's renditions on its unranked list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[110] Rolling Stone placed Cream's version at number three on its 2003 list of "Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".[111]