|
|
Blind WILLIE JOHNSON
Listen to or download the Blind Willie Johnson podcast: here
|
The early
years of singer and slide guitarist Willie Johnson’s life are largely
unrecorded. He was born near Temple, Texas, probably in 1902, and moved with
his father to Marlin at a very early age. He was blinded before he was seven
years old by his stepmother, either accidentally but probably deliberately,
when she threw lye, a strong alkaline washing solution, into the young boys
face following an argument with his father.
He
was self taught on a home made guitar and
used to play at church meetings and picnics in his locality. When he was old
enough, probably when he was in his early teens, he went on the streets
to earn his living, performing for tips. When he was in his mid twenties he
married, and moved with
his new wife to Dallas. Always close to the Baptist church, Johnson also
became a preacher and he made
his professional debut as a gospel artist, using the blues,
with his gruff, coarse-throated voice, to convey his religious message. When The War Was On (with wife Angeline) |