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Blind Willie Johnson was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who is widely recognised as having been the leading exponent of what was occasionally called “holy blues” – blues music with religious subject matter that as result could also be termed gospel music, which as a result was highly distinctive and unusual. Born in Texas in 1897, he was blinded by his stepmother during a domestic confrontation when he was seven, and turned to music, performing around his native state from the 1920s through to near his death in 1945, but was active as a recording artist only between 1927 and 1930, recording four sessions in Dallas and one in Atlanta. This 30-track 2-CD collection comprises his complete recordings for Columbia across his career, on occasions accompanied on vocals by his first wife Willie B. Harris. Among the titles it features the highly-acclaimed and influential recordings “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground”, “Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed”, “It's Nobody's Fault but Mine”, “Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time”, and “John the Revelator”. It’s a worthy showcase for a unique artist.
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