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Robert Johnson
 
 

King of the Delta Blues Singers  So much rock music owes a debt to Robert Johnson that it would be criminal to leave him off this list. The musical influences are obvious. What might not be as evident is the impact he had on the larger-than-life image-making that have become part and parcel of marketing music. Was he the greatest bluesman of his generation, an artist who changed the idiom? Maybe, but I'm not convinced there weren't others in his league who never found their way to an audio engineer. Yet, the cloudy sold-his-soul-to-the-devil myth surrounding his life and death make for a great story that enhances the impact of his music. Ultimately, it doesn't matter to me how much truth there is to it.