Robert Johnson stands at the crossroads of American music, much as a popular folk legend has it he once stood at Mississippi crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in exchange for guitar-playing prowess.

He became the first modern bluesman, linking the counTRy blues of the Mississippi Delta with the city blues of the post-World War II era. Johnson was a songwriter of searing depth and a guitar player with a commanding ability.

Though a sTReet singer whose repertoire was not limited to the blues, Robert Johnson is among the first and most influential Delta bluesmen, despite his having recorded only 29 songs before dying at the age of 27.

He is credited with writing blues standards like "Dust My Broom", "Sweet Home Chicago," "Ramblin' on My Mind," "Crossroads", "Love in Vain" and "Stop Breaking Down" and "Terraplane Blues".

Equally important, Johnson's persona and his songs inTRoduced a musical and lyrical vocabulary that are the basis of the modern blues and blues-based rock.