- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Johnson
- Gospel/blues singer and musician Blind Willie Johnson was born--as far as is known, since not much information is available about his early life--in 1902 in Marlin, TX. Supposedly, he was blinded when he was about three years old when his stepmother threw lye at his father during an argument, missed and it hit Willie in the face. He earned a living later on by singing on street corners. In 1927 he became a Baptist preacher, married and moved to Dallas, TX, where he eventually recorded a gospel album for Columbia Records. Many of the cuts on that album later became classics in the gospel genre. He stopped recording in 1930, but continued to perform up until the 1940s.
In 1947 he died in Beaumont, TX. Reportedly, the house he was living in burned down, and after spending the night sleeping in its remains, he caught pneumonia and died soon afterwards.- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpouseAngeline(June 22, 1927 - 1933)
- Distinctive gravelly voice and guitar playing
- Was blinded by his stepmother because his father had beaten her when he found her with another man. He was seven years old at the time. She threw lye in his face.
- Only one photograph of him exists. It was included in a 1927 Columbia Records album. It is the only visual record of him that survives.
- Influential African American spiritual guitarist who recorded 30 sides between December 3rd, 1927, and April 20th, 1930.
- His wife Angeline recorded several tracks with him in the late 1920s. Nothing is known about her.
- Was an acquaintance of fellow blind blues legend Blind Willie McTell. Oddly enough, in a 1940 interview, McTell gave the impression that Johnson had passed away some time before then (when he actually lived until 1945).
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