ase). "Everywhere he went he was hailed and remembered- in Arkansas and Mississippi, hill country and Delta, city and town" (Guralnick, 20). Johnny Shines, influential blues artist and Robert’s occasional musical companion during these trips, recalls how they would travel on buses, trains, hitch rides from pickup trucks, even walk down the highways in order to reach the next town. They would set up on a street corner in front of a barber shop, or in front of a local restaurant and play for any willing listeners. Robert made an instant connection with his audience, both on personal, and musical levels. "Well Robert was one of those fellows who was warm in every aspect, every aspect," Johnny Shines recollects. Robert was well liked by both men and women. It is true, that men very much resented him for his remarkable talent and influence over women, yet they still couldn’t help but like him. "For Robert just had that power to draw," reminisces Shines (Finn 214).Stories of about his phenomenal technique became legendary. Robert grabbed the inner feelings of despair, grief, and anxiety, feelings borne from a life of oppression and hardship, to fuel some of the most moving, emotion filled music ever heard. "His guitar seemed to talk- repeat and say words like no one else in the world could," recalls one of Robert’s former friends. "This sound affected most women in a way I could never understand. One time in St. Louis me and Johnson were playing a party. When we had quit, I noticed no one was saying anything. Then I realized they were crying… both women and men" (Finn 208) Robert Johnson could touch a crowd like none other, disciple like men began to follow him around, amazed at his guitar skills. Robert secured several places along his travels (homes of various girlfriends) in which he would live with briefly at different times. He would stay at these women’s homes until it was time to move on t...
