"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.
Lyrics and interpretation
A crossroads or an intersection of rural roads is one of the few landmarks in the Mississippi Delta, a flat featureless plain between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. It is part of the local iconography and several businesses may use the crossroads' name, such as gas stations, banks, and retail shops. A crossroads is also where cars are more likely to slow down or stop, thus presenting the best opportunity for a hitchhiker. In the simplest reading, Johnson describes his grief at being unable to catch a ride at an intersection before the sun sets. Many see different levels of meaning, and some have attached a supernatural significance to the song.
Both versions of the song open with the protagonist kneeling at a crossroads to ask God's mercy; the second section tells of his failed attempts to hitch a ride. In the third and fourth sections, he expresses apprehension at being stranded as darkness approaches and asks that his friend Willie Brown be advised that "I'm sinkin' down". The first take of the song, which was used for the single, includes a fifth verse that is not included in the second take. In it he laments not having a "sweet woman" in his distress.
According to authors Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow, "many blues fans and even some scholars [have attempted] to link this song to some Satanic or Faustian bargain", as an explanation for how quickly Johnson progressed from being an average musician to an accomplished one. Folklore of the southern United States identifies a crossroads or graveyard as the site of a pact with the Devil, which music writer Elijah Wald identifies as a likely source of the myth. Another source may be Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson (no relation to Robert), who promoted himself as having made a deal with the Devil. Wald writes:
Although "Cross Road Blues" does not contain any references to Satan or a Faustian bargain, Robert Johnson later recorded two songs that include such themes: "Hellhound on My Trail" tells of trying to stay ahead of the demon hound that is pursuing him and in "Me and the Devil Blues" he sings, "Early this mornin' when you knocked upon my door, and I said 'Hello Satan I believe it's time to go. These songs contribute to the Faustian myth, but how much Johnson promoted the idea is debated. Music historian Ted Gioia believes that the use of satanic themes and imagery generated much needed publicity for blues musicians who were struggling through the Great Depression.
Blues historian Samuel Charters sees the song as having elements of protest and social commentary. The second verse includes "the sun goin' down now boy, dark gon' catch me here", a reference to the "sundown laws" or curfew during racial segregation in the United States. Johnson, as an African American, may be expressing a real fear of loitering charges or even lynching. Others suggest that the song is about a deeper and more personal loneliness. Writers Barry Lee Pearson and Bill McCulloch feel that the fifth verse in the single version captures the essence of the song: "left alone, abandoned, or mistreated, he stands at the crossroad, looking this way or that for his woman".
Composition "Cross Road Blues" reflects Johnson's Delta blues roots and may have been in his repertoire since 1932. It is the first recording to show his mastery of his mentor Son House's style, particularly in his slide guitar work. Music historian Edward Komara identifies parts of "Straight Alky Blues" by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell (1929) along with Roosevelt Sykes' subsequent adaptation as "Black River Blues" (1930) as melodic precedents. Johnson infuses their relaxed urban approach with a more forceful rural one. Komara terms Johnson's guitar playing a "blues harp style". It contrasts with Johnson's finger-picking "piano style", which uses a boogie-style accompaniment on the bass strings while incorporating melody and harmony on the higher strings. Harp-style playing employs percussive accents on the bass strings (an imitation of the sharp draw used by harmonica players) and allows Johnson to explore different chord voicings and fills. Johnson uses this technique for "Terraplane Blues", which shares many elements in common with "Cross Road Blues".
The song's structure differs from a well-defined twelve-bar blues. The verses are not consistent and range from fourteen to fifteen bars in length. The harmonic progression is often implied rather than stated (full IV and V chords are not used). Johnson uses a Spanish or open G tuning with the guitar tuned to the key of B. This facilitates his use of slide guitar, which is as prominent in the song as the vocal. The slide parts function more as an "answer" to the vocal than as accompaniment, the tension underscoring the dark turmoil of the lyrics. Charters characterizes the song's rhythm as ambiguous, imparting both a and feel. Music writer Dave Headlam elaborates on Johnson's rhythm:
The two takes of the song are performed at moderate, but somewhat different tempos. Both begin slowly and speed up; the first is about 106 beats per minute (bpm); the second is about 96 bpm. Johnson prepares to go into the fifth section for the slower second take, but the engineer apparently cut him off because of the time limits of ten-inch 78 rpm records. Along with the slower tempo, Johnson sings the verses at a lower pitch, although both takes are in the same key. This allows for greater variation and nuance in the vocal. Together with refinements to some guitar parts, the differences serve to help further distinguish the second take from "Terraplane Blues" and give it more of its own character.
Releases
ARC and Vocalion Records issued the first take of "Cross Road Blues" in May 1937 on the then standard 78 rpm record. With the flip side "Ramblin' on My Mind", it was the third of eleven singles released during Johnson's lifetime. Vocalion's budget labels Perfect Records and Romeo Records also released the single for sale by dime stores. Although sales figures are not available, the record was "widely heard in the Delta", and Johnson's tunes were found in jukeboxes in the region.
As with most of Johnson's recordings, the single version of "Cross Road Blues" remained out of print after its initial release until The Complete Recordings box set in 1990. The second take was released in 1961, in the later days of the American folk music revival. Producer Frank Driggs substituted it for the original on Johnson's first long-playing record album compilation King of the Delta Blues Singers. This take was also included on the 1990 Complete Recordings (at 2:29, it is 10 seconds shorter than the original 2:39 single version). King of the Delta Blues Singers sold around 12,000 copies; The Complete Recordings sold over one million and received a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album in 1991.
Elmore James versions American blues singer and guitarist Elmore James, who popularized Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom", recorded two variations on "Cross Road Blues". Author James Perone describes James' adaptation as "perhaps the most substantial post-Johnson recording [of a Johnson song] before the 1960s". Both titled "Standing at the Crossroads", they feature James' trademark "Dust My Broom" amplified slide-guitar figure and a backing ensemble; the lyrics focus on the lost-love aspect of the song:
James first recorded the song in August 1954 at Modern Records' new studio in Culver City, California. Maxwell Davis supervised the session and a group of professional studio musicians provided the backup. The song was produced in a newer style that Modern used successfully for B.B. King, and James' slide guitar was placed further back in the mix. Flair Records, another of the Bihari brothers' Modern labels, released the single, backed with "Sunny Land". The song became a regional hit, but did not reach the national charts. Releases associated with Modern included "Standing at the Crossroads" on several James compilation albums, such as Blues After Hours (Crown), The Blues in My Heart – The Rhythm in My Soul (Custom Records), and Original Folk Blues (Kent Records).