The Crossroads and Robert Johnson's Complete Recordings

Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach discuss the most irritating myth associated with Robert Johnson and conclude that the deal with the devil at the crossroads is not it. They do, however, shed light on the importance of the crossroads to Robert Johnson, and it's not what you think. The featured guest is Larry Cohn, producer of Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings who tells a tale of big record company sloth and indifference to music of historical and artistic greatness that makes dealing with the devil seem preferable by comparison.  For a deeper dive into the crossroads, check out the research of Harry Middleton Hyatt, who interviewed hoodoo conjurors in the South during Robert Johnson's life and found a surprising number of the artist's lyrical inspirations. So, stuff some hot food powder into that nation sack and let's go: https://thechitlincircuit.substack.com/p/hoodoo-at-the-crossroads.