Blind Willie Johnson
Encyclopedia
"Blind" Willie Johnson (January 22, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American
singer and guitarist
, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals.
While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.
, United States
(before the discovery of his death certificate, Temple, Texas
had been suggested as his birthplace). When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher, and then made himself a cigar box guitar
. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried soon after her death.
Johnson was not born blind
, and, although it is not known how he lost his sight, Angeline Johnson told Samuel Charters
that when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man. The stepmother then picked up a handful of lye
and threw it, not at Willie's father, but into the face of young Willie.
It is thought that Johnson was married at least twice, once to a woman with the same first name and who is thought to sing on several recordings with him, Willie B Harris, and later to a woman named Angeline. Johnson was also said to be married to a sister of blues artist, L.C. Robinson. No marriage certificates have yet been discovered. As Angeline Johnson often sang and performed with him, the first person to attempt to research his biography, Samuel Charters, made the mistake of assuming it was Angeline who had sung on several of Johnson's records. However, later research showed that it was Willie B. Harris.
Johnson remained poor until the end of his life, preaching and singing in the streets of several Texas cities including Beaumont, Texas
. A city directory shows that in 1945, a Rev. W.J. Johnson, undoubtedly Blind Willie, operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, Beaumont, Texas. This is the same address listed on Johnson's death certificate. In 1945, his home burned to the ground. With nowhere else to go, Johnson lived in the burned ruins of his home, sleeping on a wet bed in the August/September Texas heat. He lived like this until he contracted malarial fever and died on September 18, 1945. (The death certificate reports the cause of death as malarial fever, with syphilis and blindness as contributing factors.) In a later interview, his wife, Angeline said she tried to take him to a hospital but they refused to admit him because he was blind, while other sources report that his refusal was due to being black. And although there is some question as to where his exact grave location is, Blanchette Cemetery (which is the cemetery listed on the death certificate but location previously unknown) was officially located by two researchers in 2009. In 2010, those same researchers erected a monument to Johnson in the cemetery, but his exact gravesite remains unknown.
, a song about Samson
and Delilah
. According to Samuel Charters, however, he was simply arrested while singing for tips in front of a Custom House, by a police officer who misconstrued the title lyric and mistook it for incitement. Timothy Beal
argued that the officer did not, in fact, misconstrue the meaning of the song, but that "the ancient story suddenly sounded dangerously contemporary" to him.
Johnson made 30 commercial recording studio
record
sides in five separate sessions for Columbia Records
from 1927–1930. On some of these recordings Johnson uses a fast rhythmic picking style, while on others he plays slide guitar. According to a reputed one-time acquaintance, Blind Willie McTell
(1898–1959), Johnson played with a brass ring, although other sources cite him using a knife. However, in enlargement, the only known photograph of Johnson seems to show that there is an actual bottleneck on the little finger of his left hand. While his other fingers are apparently fretting the strings, his little finger is extended straight—which also suggests there is a slide on it as well.
Some of Johnson's most famous recordings include "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" (later covered as "In My Time of Dying
" on later recordings), "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine
", his rendition of the gospel song "Let Your Light Shine On Me", as well as "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
", where he sang in wordless hum and moans about the crucifixion
of Jesus
. This song was a "moaning" piece related to the Bentonia school of blues practiced by such "eerie voiced" artists as Skip James
and Robert Johnson. On 14 of his recordings he is accompanied by Willie B Harris, or an as-yet-unidentified female singer. This group of recordings included "Church I'm Fully Saved Today", "John the Revelator
", "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond
", "Soul of a Man
", and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning".
. Other artists who have covered Johnson include Bob Dylan
, The 77s
, Beck
, The Blasters
, Phil Keaggy
and The White Stripes
(who have covered "John the Revelator", as well as covering "Motherless Children Have A Hard Time" and "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Cryin'" live). Billy Childish
has covered "John the Revelator" with his band The Buff Medways, and it was a staple of their live performances. "John the Revelator" was also recorded by delta blues musician
Son House
, and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" was recorded by another delta blues musician, Fred McDowell
. Eric Clapton
did "Motherless Children", Bob Dylan
turned Johnson's "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" into "In My Time of Dying" on his 1962 debut album and "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" has been appropriated by the Grateful Dead
and the Staple Singers.
"If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary; retitled as "Samson and Delilah
". The song was frequently performed by the Grateful Dead
and appears on their studio album Terrapin Station
; Gary Davis
also recorded a version; and Bruce Springsteen
has performed a version of the song live with the Seeger Sessions Band. In the opening scene of the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Shirley Manson
sang a version of this song. "Nobody's Fault But Mine
" has also been covered by Mason Jennings
, Nina Simone
, and was modified by Led Zeppelin. Nick Cave
has performed "John the Revelator" live, and based his song "City of Refuge," from his band the Bad Seeds
' 1988 album, Tender Prey
, on Johnson's song of the same title. Many of Johnson's songs were recorded in the late 1980s by gospel blues musicians Glenn Kaiser
and Darrell Mansfield
, on their album Trimmed & Burnin.
In 1991, Bruce Cockburn
covered "Soul of a Man
" on his album Nothing But A Burning Light, the title of which is a line from the same song. In 1994 Ben Harper
added a short cover excerpt of "By and By I'm Going To See The King" as a hidden track on his debut album Welcome to the Cruel World
. "Trouble Soon be Over" was covered by Colin Linden
on the album Easin' Back to Tennessee. In 2003 Deep Sea Records issued a Johnson tribute album called Dark Was the Night, featuring artists such as Martin Simpson
, Gary Lucas
, Mary Margaret O'Hara
and Jody Stecher
. Dark was the Night was also included on the Voyager Spacecraft Interstellar Mission which has left our Solar System, this event was mentioned, along with a clip of the song, on The West Wing episode The Warfare of Genghis Khan
. Segments of several performances by Blind Willie Johnson are used as interludes on the 2010 album We Walk This Road
by Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals.
While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.
Life
Blind Willie Johnson, according to his death certificate, was born in 1897 near Brenham, TexasBrenham, Texas
Brenham is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, Texas, United States, with a population of 16,147 according to the 2009 census. It is the county seat of Washington County...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(before the discovery of his death certificate, Temple, Texas
Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. In the 2010 Census, Temple's population was 66,102, an...
had been suggested as his birthplace). When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher, and then made himself a cigar box guitar
Cigar box guitar
The cigar box guitar is a primitive chordophone that uses an empty cigar box for a resonator. "Guitar" refers to the traditional instrument and to a string bass. The earliest predecessors had one or two strings compared with the three or more used in today's models...
. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried soon after her death.
Johnson was not born blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
, and, although it is not known how he lost his sight, Angeline Johnson told Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters
Samuel Charters, born Samuel Barclay Charters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1, 1929 , is an American music historian, writer, record producer, musician, and poet...
that when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man. The stepmother then picked up a handful of lye
Lye
Lye is a corrosive alkaline substance, commonly sodium hydroxide or historically potassium hydroxide . Previously, lye was among the many different alkalis leached from hardwood ashes...
and threw it, not at Willie's father, but into the face of young Willie.
It is thought that Johnson was married at least twice, once to a woman with the same first name and who is thought to sing on several recordings with him, Willie B Harris, and later to a woman named Angeline. Johnson was also said to be married to a sister of blues artist, L.C. Robinson. No marriage certificates have yet been discovered. As Angeline Johnson often sang and performed with him, the first person to attempt to research his biography, Samuel Charters, made the mistake of assuming it was Angeline who had sung on several of Johnson's records. However, later research showed that it was Willie B. Harris.
Johnson remained poor until the end of his life, preaching and singing in the streets of several Texas cities including Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. A city directory shows that in 1945, a Rev. W.J. Johnson, undoubtedly Blind Willie, operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, Beaumont, Texas. This is the same address listed on Johnson's death certificate. In 1945, his home burned to the ground. With nowhere else to go, Johnson lived in the burned ruins of his home, sleeping on a wet bed in the August/September Texas heat. He lived like this until he contracted malarial fever and died on September 18, 1945. (The death certificate reports the cause of death as malarial fever, with syphilis and blindness as contributing factors.) In a later interview, his wife, Angeline said she tried to take him to a hospital but they refused to admit him because he was blind, while other sources report that his refusal was due to being black. And although there is some question as to where his exact grave location is, Blanchette Cemetery (which is the cemetery listed on the death certificate but location previously unknown) was officially located by two researchers in 2009. In 2010, those same researchers erected a monument to Johnson in the cemetery, but his exact gravesite remains unknown.
Musical career
His father would often leave him on street corners to sing for money. Tradition has it that he was arrested for nearly starting a riot at a New Orleans courthouse with a powerful rendition of "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down"Samson and Delilah (song)
"Samson and Delilah" is a traditional song based on the Biblical tale of Samson and his betrayal by Delilah. Its best known performer is perhaps the Grateful Dead, who first performed the song live in 1976, with guitarist Bob Weir singing lead vocals. It was frequently played live by the Dead. The...
, a song about Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
and Delilah
Delilah
Delilah appears only in the Hebrew bible Book of Judges 16, where she is the "woman in the valley of Sorek" whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall...
. According to Samuel Charters, however, he was simply arrested while singing for tips in front of a Custom House, by a police officer who misconstrued the title lyric and mistook it for incitement. Timothy Beal
Timothy Beal
Timothy K. Beal is a writer and scholar in the field of religious studies whose work explores matters of religion and American culture, past and present. He is currently Florence Harkness Professor of Religion at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.- Biography :Beal was born in...
argued that the officer did not, in fact, misconstrue the meaning of the song, but that "the ancient story suddenly sounded dangerously contemporary" to him.
Johnson made 30 commercial recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
sides in five separate sessions for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
from 1927–1930. On some of these recordings Johnson uses a fast rhythmic picking style, while on others he plays slide guitar. According to a reputed one-time acquaintance, Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
(1898–1959), Johnson played with a brass ring, although other sources cite him using a knife. However, in enlargement, the only known photograph of Johnson seems to show that there is an actual bottleneck on the little finger of his left hand. While his other fingers are apparently fretting the strings, his little finger is extended straight—which also suggests there is a slide on it as well.
Some of Johnson's most famous recordings include "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" (later covered as "In My Time of Dying
In My Time of Dying
"In My Time of Dying" is a traditional gospel music song that has been recorded by numerous musicians. An early version, titled "Jesus Goin' A-Make Up My Dying Bed", is mentioned in historian Robert Emmet Kennedy's Black Cameos published in 1924, on Louisiana street performers, and also listed in...
" on later recordings), "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine
It's Nobody's Fault But Mine
"It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" or "Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a traditional song first recorded by gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. The song is a solo performance with Johnson singing and playing slide guitar...
", his rendition of the gospel song "Let Your Light Shine On Me", as well as "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
"Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground"Because documentation is scarce in early recordings, the title of the song appears differently in many sources. It is often called "Dark Was the Night" or punctuated as "Dark Was the Night ". is a gospel-blues song written and performed by American musician...
", where he sang in wordless hum and moans about the crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. This song was a "moaning" piece related to the Bentonia school of blues practiced by such "eerie voiced" artists as Skip James
Skip James
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter, born in Bentonia, Mississippi, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and Robert Johnson. On 14 of his recordings he is accompanied by Willie B Harris, or an as-yet-unidentified female singer. This group of recordings included "Church I'm Fully Saved Today", "John the Revelator
John the Revelator (song)
"John the Revelator" is a traditional Gospel/blues call and response song. In the chorus, John of Patmos, the traditional author of the Book of Revelation, is writing "the book of the seven seals." At the time of the song's composition , John of Patmos was generally considered the same person as...
", "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond
You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond
Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan recorded "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" in early 1965 for inclusion on his debut album What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid...
", "Soul of a Man
Soul of a Man (song)
"Soul of a Man" or "The Soul of a Man" is a blues-style gospel song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1930. As with most of Johnson's songs, it deals with a spiritual theme within a blues musical framework. Accompanying Johnson is Willie B...
", and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning".
Legacy
Johnson's records have become influential, and his songs have been covered by several popular artists, including Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. Other artists who have covered Johnson include Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, The 77s
The 77s
The 77s are an American rock band consisting of Michael Roe on vocals/guitar, Mark Harmon on bass, and Bruce Spencer on drums.-Scratch Band:...
, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, The Blasters
The Blasters
The Blasters are a rock and roll music group formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin , with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had...
, Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
and The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
(who have covered "John the Revelator", as well as covering "Motherless Children Have A Hard Time" and "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Cryin'" live). Billy Childish
Billy Childish
Billy Childish is an English artist, painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist...
has covered "John the Revelator" with his band The Buff Medways, and it was a staple of their live performances. "John the Revelator" was also recorded by delta blues musician
Delta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
Son House
Son House
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
, and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" was recorded by another delta blues musician, Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
. Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
did "Motherless Children", Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
turned Johnson's "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" into "In My Time of Dying" on his 1962 debut album and "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" has been appropriated by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
and the Staple Singers.
"If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary; retitled as "Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah (song)
"Samson and Delilah" is a traditional song based on the Biblical tale of Samson and his betrayal by Delilah. Its best known performer is perhaps the Grateful Dead, who first performed the song live in 1976, with guitarist Bob Weir singing lead vocals. It was frequently played live by the Dead. The...
". The song was frequently performed by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
and appears on their studio album Terrapin Station
Terrapin Station
Terrapin Station is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, and was originally released on July 27, 1977.This album was the first time since Anthem of the Sun that the Grateful Dead used an outside producer...
; Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was an American blues and gospel singer and guitarist, who was also proficient on the banjo and harmonica...
also recorded a version; and Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
has performed a version of the song live with the Seeger Sessions Band. In the opening scene of the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
sang a version of this song. "Nobody's Fault But Mine
Nobody's Fault But Mine
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a traditional blues song that has been covered by many musicians since the late 1960s. A gospel song under the title "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" is listed in the 1924 Cleveland Library's Index to Negro Spirituals...
" has also been covered by Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings
Mason Jennings is an American pop-folk singer-songwriter. He is well known for his simple yet catchy melodies, intimate lyrics, literary and historical themes, and distinctive voice...
, Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, and was modified by Led Zeppelin. Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
has performed "John the Revelator" live, and based his song "City of Refuge," from his band the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
' 1988 album, Tender Prey
Tender Prey
Tender Prey is the fifth album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in 1988 on Mute Records.Tender Prey contains Cave's 'signature' tune "The Mercy Seat", which he has subsequently played at almost all of his live performances since 1988, and was covered by Johnny Cash...
, on Johnson's song of the same title. Many of Johnson's songs were recorded in the late 1980s by gospel blues musicians Glenn Kaiser
Glenn Kaiser
Glenn Kaiser is a Chicago-based Christian blues musician, singer-songwriter and pastor. He was the leader of Resurrection Band and is currently the leader of The Glenn Kaiser Band.-Childhood:...
and Darrell Mansfield
Darrell Mansfield
Darrell Mansfield is an American gospel/blues musician.-Biography:Mansfield got his musical start in 1974, releasing his first album Gentle Faith in 1976. He later formed the Darrell Mansfield Band...
, on their album Trimmed & Burnin.
In 1991, Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
covered "Soul of a Man
Soul of a Man (song)
"Soul of a Man" or "The Soul of a Man" is a blues-style gospel song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1930. As with most of Johnson's songs, it deals with a spiritual theme within a blues musical framework. Accompanying Johnson is Willie B...
" on his album Nothing But A Burning Light, the title of which is a line from the same song. In 1994 Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
added a short cover excerpt of "By and By I'm Going To See The King" as a hidden track on his debut album Welcome to the Cruel World
Welcome to the Cruel World
Welcome to the Cruel World is Ben Harper's debut album from Virgin Records. Released in 1994, the album established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area...
. "Trouble Soon be Over" was covered by Colin Linden
Colin Linden
Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band.Linden is primarily a electric blues guitarist,...
on the album Easin' Back to Tennessee. In 2003 Deep Sea Records issued a Johnson tribute album called Dark Was the Night, featuring artists such as Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
, Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas
Gary Lucas is an American guitarist, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, a soundtrack composer for film and television, and an international recording artist with over a dozen solo albums to date. He has been described as "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" ; a "legendary leftfield...
, Mary Margaret O'Hara
Mary Margaret O'Hara
Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress, who has been hailed as one of the greatest cult heroines in rock music despite having released very few of her own recordings. She is best known for the critically acclaimed album Miss America, released in 1988.-Early stages:O'Hara...
and Jody Stecher
Jody Stecher
Jody Stecher is an American singer and musician, who plays bluegrass and old-time music on banjo, mandolin, fiddle and guitar, and Dagar-vani dhrupad on the sursringar, a rare Indian instrument that is a baritone relative of the sarod....
. Dark was the Night was also included on the Voyager Spacecraft Interstellar Mission which has left our Solar System, this event was mentioned, along with a clip of the song, on The West Wing episode The Warfare of Genghis Khan
The Warfare of Genghis Khan
"The Warfare of Genghis Khan" is the 101st The West Wing episode and 13th of the fifth season. It originally aired on NBC February 1, 2004. Events circle around the detection of a nuclear detonation over the Indian Ocean. Written by Peter Noah and directed by Bill D'Elia, the episode contains guest...
. Segments of several performances by Blind Willie Johnson are used as interludes on the 2010 album We Walk This Road
We Walk This Road
-iTunes bonus tracks:# "Take My Hand" - 3:51# "Don't Let the Devil Ride" - 4:23# "Memphis Beat" - 3:34-Personnel:* Danyel Morgan – Bass, vocals* Marcus Randolph – Drums, background vocals* Robert Randolph – Guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals...
by Robert Randolph and the Family Band.