Robert Johnson for Ukulele

Barbablanca · Dec 11, 2012

Anyone had their hands on this book?

It's got the same photo on the cover and the same sepia tint as the "RJ for Guitar" published recently and considered difficult, but definitive. But that says nothing, because there aren't that many photos considered authentic of the author of Come on in my Kitchen....

So, anyone actually held it in their hands and thought of heading down to the Crossroads with it?

Newportlocal · Dec 11, 2012

Wow,that is cool!

coolkayaker1 · Dec 12, 2012

Now THAT would be a Book I'd buy.

webby · Dec 12, 2012

I just don't get the RJ thing, and white middle class folks in 2012 shouldn't be singing about how hard it is working in the cotton field BECAUSE THEY DON"T WORK IN THE COTTON FIELDS - It's a complete travesty - like the house of blues.

coolkayaker1 · Dec 12, 2012

In fact, it's on US AMazon for $12.23, so I just did. I love those songs, and have CDs from Allman Bros to Clapton to other bluesman covering RJ. Plus, somewhere here (digs around in CD box) I have the complete Johnson box set. Thanks you, B, for mentioning this. Very much.

Webby, I sing about the working poor in homage to those that built this country, and in respect to their original tunes, not because I am one of them.

I'm not Chubby Checker, Elton John or Thelonius Monk, either, but I savage their original tunes just as brutally.

jwieties · Dec 12, 2012

I just got it last night. It's excellent. Believable renditions of some incredible music. The ukulele translates these songs well. One observation is that many of these songs are in the same key and have a similar structure. That's good and bad. Once you learn some of the riffs, many of the songs sound very similar, but you do quickly learn a lot of songs and you really get to explore a couple keys in detail. You do have to be familiar with the music. There are songs were the notes are sparse and it is all about syncopation, timing and feel.

Definitely recommend.

Newportlocal · Dec 12, 2012

webby said:
I just don't get the RJ thing, and white middle class folks in 2012 shouldn't be singing about how hard it is working in the cotton field BECAUSE THEY DON"T WORK IN THE COTTON FIELDS - It's a complete travesty - like the house of blues.

Ummm... Because guys like Robert Johnson,Blind Willie Johnson, Howlin Wolf,leadbelly,muddy waters,John Lee Hooker, etc. were part of the core of what makes most music what it is. For example,howlin wolf and the rolling stones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILFjY2mbarg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

jwieties · Dec 12, 2012

webby said:
I just don't get the RJ thing, and white middle class folks in 2012 shouldn't be singing about how hard it is working in the cotton field BECAUSE THEY DON"T WORK IN THE COTTON FIELDS - It's a complete travesty - like the house of blues.

To each his own, but the blues has nothing to do with working the cotton fields. It has to do with embracing your adversity and finding away to celebrate it. Not sure what kind of music you listen to, but if it is anything even remotely pop from over the past 60 years, chances are it is heavily influenced by this music. Wouldn't be to hard to make a direct connection to Jake S, easy to see the influence in the music of James Hill.

I see where you are coming from Webby. Nothing worse then a poser, but this is just music that makes a lot of sense to me and I think really transcends issues of culture, race and time.

Ben_H · Dec 12, 2012

It's on my Xmas list so no, not yet!

Barbablanca said:
Anyone had their hands on this book?

It's got the same photo on the cover and the same sepia tint as the "RJ for Guitar" published recently and considered difficult, but definitive. But that says nothing, because there aren't that many photos considered authentic of the author of Come on in my Kitchen....

So, anyone actually held it in their hands and thought of heading down to the Crossroads with it?

didgeridoo2 · Dec 12, 2012

jwieties said:
I just got it last night. It's excellent. Believable renditions of some incredible music. The ukulele translates these songs well. One observation is that many of these songs are in the same key and have a similar structure. That's good and bad. Once you learn some of the riffs, many of the songs sound very similar, but you do quickly learn a lot of songs and you really get to explore a couple keys in detail. You do have to be familiar with the music. There are songs were the notes are sparse and it is all about syncopation, timing and feel.

Definitely recommend.

Good point about knowing the syncopation. I've had it for a while and haven't gotten around to focusing on it, except the first song or so. Looking forward to getting into it when I have a little more time.

Barbablanca · Dec 12, 2012

I don't know a single blues about working in the cotton fields.

RJ's songs are largely about his relationship with women and his feelings of existential angst - they are two themes which have not changed all that much (in their essence) since the thirties. And, as has been said above, the Blues is the grandfather of ROCK! - I cam to manhood to the tunes of Cream, Fleetwood Mac and later Led Zeppelin, etc.

I think I'll take the plunge! Thanks for the advice guys!

Pukulele Pete · Dec 12, 2012

:drool:

webby said:
I just don't get the RJ thing, and white middle class folks in 2012 shouldn't be singing about how hard it is working in the cotton field BECAUSE THEY DON"T WORK IN THE COTTON FIELDS - It's a complete travesty - like the house of blues.

Right , and for now on no one should play "fly me to the moon" unless they are actually flying to the moon.

Luke El U · Dec 12, 2012

IMHO, A reading of Leroi Jones' (Amiri Baraka's) book "Blues People" might shed some light on webby's comments.
Classic blues are wonderful to listen to and interesting to study. But anybody in the 21st century posing as an
early-mid 20th century African-American blues musician would look and sound quite naive.

drbekken · Dec 12, 2012

webby said:
I just don't get the RJ thing, and white middle class folks in 2012 shouldn't be singing about how hard it is working in the cotton field BECAUSE THEY DON"T WORK IN THE COTTON FIELDS - It's a complete travesty - like the house of blues.

I most definitely see your point, but then you don't have to be a white Austrian to play Mozart either, thank God.

Plainsong · Dec 12, 2012

drbekken said:
I most definitely see your point, but then you don't have to be a white Austrian to play Mozart either, thank God.

Yes, and everyone's definition of poser is different. Is a poser one who plays badly, plays well, or plays at all? You'd limit yourself terribly if avoiding anything modern that wasn't blues influenced. Hope you like atonal!

Kimosabe · Dec 12, 2012

I worked in the fields but I'm not black. Can I play the blues? Eine kleine cottonfield musik, anyone?

Barbablanca · Dec 12, 2012

"Can blue men sing the whites?" as Bonzo Dog famously sang

Well, I have just ordered a copy new from another store for about $7

AnnaUK · Dec 12, 2012

My copy arrived today. I've only had a quick flick through, but it looks very comprehensive and suitably difficult (not a bad thing). I will most likely have an attempt at some of the arrangements over the weekend, so I'll let you know how I get on.

Kimosabe · Dec 12, 2012

What would be nice

What would be really nice for us wannabe cottonpickers is for someone good to make a video of the song exactly as it is tabbed so that we can get the syncopation down.

I imagine it's not exactly as RJ played it after he sold his soul to the devil.

There's a real nice ap called The Amazing Slower Downer. You can put in a song or a video of a song and it slows it down as much as you want yet keeps it in the same key. It's only $50. Google it.

It's interesting that way back then, RJ was eating tamales. Texas born.

Tamales aren't always thought of as soul food, even if they're red hot.

Must have been some mixing of the cultures.

PedalFreak · Dec 13, 2012

We had one in our store. Really liked it!

Robert Johnson for Ukulele

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