How Did Robert Johnson Die?
And where is his real grave?
It’s not the most satisfying answer, but In truth, no living human really knows for sure how the great Delta Blues guitar master died. The event itself is now close to 100 years past.
And any detail you hear about Johnson must be taken with great skepticism because of how much time has passed, how little actual information was known about him, and for the most part, a lack of any useful records.
How Did Robert Johnson Die?
Where was Robert Johnson “Poisoned”?
The best-corroborated narrative we have is that Robert Johnson was at a place called the Three Forks Store outside of Greenwood, Mississippi in August of 1938. The Three Forks Store used to be located just northwest of the intersection of US-82 and US-49E, where the Little Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Rivers meet just west of Greenville. The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi features several Three Forks Store artifacts.
Maybe Johnson was at the Three Forks to play blues guitar, maybe just to barrelhouse… The details are lost to time.
But most accounts said it took Johnson several days to die.
Blues piano legend Honeyboy Edwards claims to have been with Johnson that fateful night at the Three Forks, and discussed it numerous times in his long life. However, the details are, again, impossible to verify.
By the early 1960s, several researchers interviewed and spoke with family, but it was already too late to interview many of the people who may have been there.
Who killed Robert Johnson?
Nobody knows. In fact, nobody knows if he was murdered at all, or died of some other cause. There were no suspects or names, and there was no documentation of any investigation of his death. If he was murdered, in reality, crimes committed against African Americans living in Mississippi at that time were often met with indifference. The event is compounded by record keeping from Mississippi 1930s being scarce and flood prone.
Maybe Johnson was given a bottle of laced whiskey by a jealous husband, maybe not. Likely, why Robert Johnson was killed and who killed him will forever remain a mystery.
Where was Robert Johnson Buried?
There was even confusion around where Robert Johnson was buried, with two grave markers being erected at different cemeteries around Greenwood in the 1990s, based on speculation about Johnson’s final resting place.
But around the year 2000, researchers discovered some of the first clear details about the 70 year old mystery around Johnson’s death — including exactly where he was buried. By chance, they found the wife of the gravedigger who dug Robert Johnson’s grave, a woman by the name of Rosie Eskridge. She was able to finally give some details about Johnson’s resting place — including the exact tree he was was buried under.
Unfortunately, she either didn’t know, or it wasn’t discussed exactly how Johnson died. Mostly it just the circumstances of his burial.
The crew was supposed to come back in a couple months so Mrs. Eskridge could talk in more detail on camera, but sadly she died before they could meet.
Rosie was able to tell researchers and family that they buried Robert under the pecan tree in the back of the Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Leflore County, Mississippi. And so in 2002, they were finally able to place a proper headstone on bluesman Robert Johnson’s final resting place. It would be the third such headstone in the area, but almost certainly the most likely.
The Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church is located on the west side of Money Rd, just a couple miles across the Yelobusha River outside of Greenwood to the north. If you go, do consider making a donation to the church.
What is written on Robert Johnson’s Grave?
Robert Johnson’s grave is inscribed with the following:
ROBERT JOHNSON
May 8th, 1911 – August 16, 1938
– musician & composer –
he influenced millions beyond his time
[HANDWRITTEN NOTE]
“Jesus of Nazareth King of Jerusalem. I know that my Redeemer liveth and that He will call me from the Grave.”
Handwritten by Robert Johnson, shortly before his death and preserved in family papers by his sister, Carrie H. Thompson
What did Robert Johnson’s Sister Say About His Death?
Anderson cautions readers that the “deal with the devil” myths and so much of the infamy, rumors and mysticism around Johnson were just people trying to be opportunistic. And Johnson wasn’t some mythical ghost; he was her brother, and loved by his family.
What does Robert Johnson’s death certificate say?
Johnson’s death certificate was discovered by notable bluesologist and researcher Gayle Dean Wardlow, but the cause of death wasn’t entered. It was the first document found in relation to Johnson.
In Wardlow’s book Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson they found a follow-up investigation conducted years later, with the following text:
“I talked with the white man on whose place this negro died and I also talked with a negro woman on the place. The plantation owner said the negro man, seemingly about 26 years old, came from Tunica two or three weeks ago to play guitar in the juke house. He died August 16, 1938, on Star of the West Plantation near Greenwood, Miss. He was buried in Zion Church cemetery near Greenwood August 17, 1938.”
The follow up confirmed some details… and confused others! For one thing, the “Zion” church reference is what helped contribute to the second gravestone location in 1991. There were at least two churches with “Zion” in the name, and Columbia Records put a marker at Mt. Zion M.B. Church. But the gravedigger’s wife later confirmed it was LITTLE Zion M.B. Church.
A quick note about the syphilis — In conjunction with the document, there was a note about this in the margin, but it was written at a different time, and could easily be fraudulent, and so this detail should not at all be considered authentic.
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