Peter Breslow wrote the article The NPR 100 ‘Hellhound On My Trail’ (NPR, June 05, 2000 AD) which is mostly about his exploits as a blues fan and musician. The points of interest where about one of the originators of Blue music; Robert Johnson:
Robert Johnson…only recorded 29 songs in the late 1930s, and he died at the age of 27. But his uncanny styling of traditional tunes and innovative guitar work influenced not only his fellow blues men, but a generation of rock musicians, too. And if there is one song that captures the mystery of this legendary figure, it is ‘Hellhound On My Trail,’ a haunting tale of a man pursued by the devil.
Here are some lyrics from Hellhound On My Trail:
I got to keep moving…Blues falling down like hail…And the day keeps on remindin’ me, there’s a hellhound on my trail…You sprinkled hot foot powder, mmm, around my door…It keeps me with ramblin’ mind rider, every old place I go, every old place I go…I can tell the wind is risin’, the leaves tremblin’ on the tree
A succinct background on Johnson is provided as follows:
Robert Johnson’s bio is well known to many music lovers…Young musician goes down to the country crossroads at midnight and sells his soul to the devil to learn how to play the guitar like no one else. He records just a handful of songs, and then, August 8th, 1938, just as his fame is starting to spread and he’s about to be invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, he’s murdered.
Was it black magic or was he poisoned in a roadhouse by the jealous husband of one of his many girlfriends? People said he was crawling on all fours and barking like a dog at the time, and you can hear that torment coming in ‘Hellhound On My Trail,’ recorded June 20th, 1937.
In any regards, a friend brought up the issue of the “27 Club”—celebrities, how have died at age 27—and I told him that he would likely be hard pressed to list more than about five such people. Well, the fact is that there is a very long list (no individual list seems to be exhaustive).
Why did they die and why at 27? Technically they died of various causes from drug overdoses to car accidents and from choking on vomit to suicide. But the why question deepens to regardless of official cause; why? Well, some claim that it traces back, at least, to Robert Johnson’s deal with the devil and that celebrities sell their souls for temporary fame, etc.
Well, whatever there is to that entire thing—one thing is of interest; why “27”? Well, who knows but 2+7=9 and 9=666 since 6+6+6=18 and 1+8=9.
Here is a partial list of the members of the “27 Club” (listed by first name): Alan Wilson—Singer of the Canned Heat Alexander Bashlachev—Musician Alexandre Levy—Composer, pianist and conductor Amy Winehouse—Singer Arlester Christian—Singer and bassist of the Dyke and the Blazers Brian Jones—Guitarist of the Rolling Stones Bryan Ottoson—Guitarist of the American Head Charge Cecilia—Singer Chris Bell—Guitarist of the Big Star D.D. Boon—Guitarist and singer of the Minutemen Dave Alexander—Bassist for the Stooges Dickie Pride—Rock and roll singer Fat Pat—Rapper with the Screwed Up Click Freaky Tah—Rapper with the Lost Boyz Gary Thain—Bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band Helmut Kollen—Bassist of the Triumvirat Jacob Miller—Singer of the Inner Circle Janis Joplin—Lead vocalist of the Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band Jean-Michael Basquiat—Formed the band Gray Jeremy Ward—Sound effects of the Mars Volta and De Facto Jesse Belvin—R&B musician Jim Morrison—Singer of the Doors Jimi Hendrix—Guitarist and singer of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys Jonathan Gregory Brandis—Actor, director and screenwriter Kristen Pfaff—Bass guitarist of the Hole and Janitor Joe Kurt Cobain—Singer and guitarist of the Nirvana Leslie Harvey—Guitarist of the Stone the Crows Linda Jones—Soul singer Louis Chauvin—Ragtime musician Malcolm Hale—Lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang Maria Serrano—Singer of the Passion Fruit Mia Zapata—Singer of the Gits Nat Jaffe—Swing jazz pianist Pete de Freitas—Drummer for the Echo & the Bunnymen Pete Ham—Keyboardist and guitarist of the Badfinger Richard Turner—Trumpet player of the Friendly Fires Richey Edwards—Guitarist of the Manic Street Preachers Robert Johnson—Blues musician Rodrigo Bueno—Cuarteto singer Roger Durham—Singer and percussionist of the Bloodstone Ron McKernan—Keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead Rudy Lewis—Vocalist of the Drifters Rupert Brooke—English poet Sean McCabe—Singer of the Ink & Dagger Soroush Farazmand—Guitarist for the Yellow Dogs Valentin Elizalde—Singer Wallace Yohn—Keyboardist of the Chase
William Henry Lane “Master Juba”—Dancer and entertainer
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