The first song on the JUKE JOINT BLUES EP was completely inspired by Robert Johnson and the Delta Blues.
At a very young age I became fascinated with the guitar and started to learn as a young teenager. I discovered Eric Clapton and started to learn by playing along with his early records. I didn’t know what The Blues were or had even heard of them, I just knew I really loved what Eric Clapton was doing. I listened to his records over and over trying to duplicate what I heard on my guitar.
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and The Dominos is one of my favorite albums. It led me to Duane Allman and that slide thing he was doing. 
I had no idea what it was but I fell in love with it. I found a double album entitled “Duane Allman An Anthology” and the fourth song on side three is “Mean Ole World”, an outtake from The Layla sessions. It is Eric Clapton and Duane Allman playing on resonators. I didn’t know what it was but I was completely fascinated by it and have chased that sound my entire life……the stomping of feet, the resonator slide playing, that Delta Blues sound.
That all led me to Robert Johnson, The King Of The Delta Blues. I have listened to all of his recordings repeatedly and still marvel at what he was doing. I still have no idea how he played some of the things he did. I set out to write a Delta Blues song in honor of Robert Johnson and the way he was recorded. I tuned my resonator to open E and started messing around. The signature lick presented itself first and led to the words…..Whiskey and Women, got me drunk and wrecked my life. It took me a couple of weeks of playing the song to finish the lyrics and get the slide riffs just right.
Whiskey & Women
Got me drunk and wrecked my life
Whiskey & Women
Got me drunk and wrecked my life
Robbed me of everything
Including my wife
Including my wife
Sure had a good time
Most of which I can’t recall
Sure had a good time
Most of which I can’t recall
If you’re gonna fall
Might as well have yourself a ball
Have a natural ball
Oh woe is me child
All the sin and misery
Oh woe is me child
All the sin and misery
If I don’t change my ways
Might not be too many more days
Many more days
When it came time to record the song I wanted to set up to do the video at the same time. My given name is Robert and I am a Jr so I thought it would be cool to have my Dad do the voice of the engineer you can hear in the beginning of the video, “Hello Robert, come on in. Get yourself set up in the corner there and let me know when you’re ready. There’s some shine in the mason jar there…..in case you wanna loosen up. Ok son….one…two…three…..”
Just like Robert Johnson walked into a hotel room in Dallas Texas and recorded most of the music we have from him. In the corner of the room so the sound would bounce off of the corner walls back into the single mike they used to record him. Only he faced into the corner, I faced out for the sake of the video.
I used a single Shure Super 55 Deluxe Supercardoid Dynamic Vocal Microphone ran into the other room just like in the Johnson recordings. I played a newly acquired Recording King Swamp Dog Metal body resonator. It was perfect for this song.
The song and video are a tribute to Robert Johnson and the early recording technique of placing one microphone in a room and placing everything around it according to how loud you wanted it in the mix. You can view the video on my YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/MSOL3OhOpJs?si=gZsvE3EsAdYkXev2
And now on to the second song on JUKE JOINT BLUES, “Covid-19 Blues”.
Thanks for supporting me on My Delta Blues Americana Adventure.
Bobby
Bobby "Guitar" Martin 