Bluesman Robert Johnson's Home Might Become a Tourist Attraction

Posted on Nov 13th 2009 2:45PM by Mike Ayers
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Will Robert Johnson's home be the next Graceland or Dollywood? Possibly, if local officials in the town of Hazlehurst, Miss. have their way. The town is currently trying to raise $250,000 to restore the birthplace of the famed blues legend in the hope of drawing fans to the Mississippi Delta by highlighting the region's rich blues history. The house still stands erect and was built by Johnson's stepfather, Charles Dodd, presumably in the early 1900s. It even featured a pump that allowed water to flow into the kitchen, a modern convenience that wasn't privy to most African-American families at the time.

Over the years, Johnson has been frequently cited as a major influence on artists such as Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. This comes in spite of the fact that his recorded output was kept to a minimum due to the era he was performing in and the fact that his life ended at just 27 years old. Still, of the Johnson folklore, the legend had it that he traded his soul to the devil for a mastery of the guitar at the crossroads of US 61 and US 49 in the Delta. How they plan to work this into the mix isn't clear, but we'd only assume that it would be an integral part of the attraction.

The museum plans come at the same time as producers are trying to get a Johnson biopic made. Jimmy White, the screenwriter behind the Ray Charles movie 'Ray' has written a script for HBO but it is still mired in development. Aside from the legend, few artifacts from Johnson's life remain, so hopefully the curators will be able to dig more up.