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,...