Cross Road Blues (1937)

"Cross Road Blues" (commonly known as "Crossroads") is a song written by the American blues artist Robert Johnson. He performed it solo 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 sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical genius. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a crossroads as the site where Faustian bargains can be made, as the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan.

"Cross Road Blues" may have been in Johnson's repertoire since 1932 and, on November 27, 1936, he recorded two takes of the song. 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. The guitarist Eric Clapton and the British rock group Cream popularized the song as "Crossroads" on their 1968 Wheels of Fire album, and their fiery blues rock interpretation became one of their best-known songs and inspired many cover versions.

Both Johnson's 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 Crossroads Centre he founded on Antigua to help people recover from addictions, and the Crossroads Guitar Festivals he organised to raise money for it.

Recording

In October 1936, Johnson auditioned for the talent scout H. C. Speir in Jackson, Mississippi. Speir recommended Johnson to Ernie Oertle, then a representative for ARC Records. After a second audition, Oertle arranged for Johnson to travel to San Antonio for a recording session. Johnson recorded 22 songs for ARC over three days from November 23 to 27, 1936. During the first session, he recorded his most commercially appealing songs. They mostly represented his original pieces and reflected current, piano-influenced musical trends. The songs include "Terraplane Blues" (his first single and most popular record) along with "Sweet Home Chicago" and "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom", which became blues standards after others recorded them.

A second and third recording date took place in San Antonio after a two-day break. Johnson reached back into his long-standing repertoire for songs to record. The material reflects the styles of country blues performers Charley Patton and Son House, who influenced Johnson in his youth and are among Johnson's most heartfelt and forceful.

"Cross Road Blues" was recorded on Friday, November 27, 1936, during Johnson's third session in San Antonio. The recordings continued at an improvised studio in Room 414 at the Gunter Hotel. ARC producer Don Law supervised the recording, but it is unknown what input, if any, he had into Johnson's selection of material to record or how to present it. Two somewhat similar takes of the song were recorded.