by Brian Parsons, American Thinker:

Robert Johnson is often considered the first rock musician and one of the godfathers of the Mississippi Delta blues.  Though his entire recording career spanned a mere seven months between 1936 and 1937, and though he achieved relatively little commercial success in his lifetime, Johnson is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.  Legend has it that this relative unknown met the devil at a crossroads and traded his soul for musical talent.  He sang about it in his 1936 song “Cross Road Blues.”