BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Willie Johnson
Description: Guitarist, USA
Known For: Johnsons most famous recordings include “In My Time of Dying” and “Let Your Light Shine On Me”,
Instruments: Guitar
Music Styles: Blues
Location: United States of America
Date Born: 22nd January 1896
Location Born: Brenham, Texas, United States of America
Date Died: 18th September 1945
Location Died: Temple, Texas, United States of America
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BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
“Blind” Willie Johnson
An American singer and guitarist whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals.
Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was a gospel blues singer and guitarist. The lyrics of his songs were usually religious, and his music drew from both the sacred and the blues traditions, characterized by his slide guitar accompaniment and tenor voice, often with a lower-register “growl”, or false bass voice.
While the lyrics of all of his songs were religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. Among musicians, he is considered one of the greatest slide or bottleneck guitarists, as well as one of the most revered figures of depression-era gospel music.
His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.
Johnson remained poor until the end of his life, preaching and singing in the streets of Beaumont, Texas to anyone who would listen. A city directory shows that in 1944, a Rev W J Johnson, undoubtedly Blind Willie, operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, Beaumont, Texas.
He lived like this until he contracted pneumonia two weeks later, and died.