Lyrics | Artists | Blind Willie Johnson

Blind Willie Johnson

With a moan and howl that comes filled with pain and struggle, Blind Willie Johnson's music captures his tragic life and epitomises the soulful heartache of the blues. Born in Brenham, Texas in 1897, he was blinded as a child when his stepmother was beaten by his father, and took her revenge by throwing caustic soda into the face of seven-year-old Willie. Teaching himself the blues on a homemade cigar box guitar, Johnson's father left him to play for money on street corners and outside church and religious meetings, where he sang spiritual and gospel songs and developed a unique,...