“Take Me Down” by The Pretty Reckless, from the album Who You Selling For?

The Pretty Reckless is one of my favorite bands. Fronted by former actress and lifelong musician Taylor Momsen, they are driving rock-and-roll into the next generation. The song “Take Me Down” draws inspiration from a very old tale in the music world.

The story told in “Take Me Down” is based on the Legend of Robert Johnson, the legendary blues guitarist of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Johnson appeared quickly, seemingly out of nowhere, with a new style of guitar and vocal talent never heard before. And just as quickly, he disappeared.

Unlike the white musicians of the time, black musicians of this era were forced to travel on foot at night between the stops on their local circuit. It wasn’t out of place for a new artist to arrive suddenly, and disappear just as quickly.

According to the legend, Johnson was walking between cities one night, guitar in hand heading to the next stop. At midnight, the the devil himself appeared to him with the offer: his soul for mastery of the guitar. Standing at the crossroads, the contract was made and along with it the blues sound for which he became a legend.

Johnson is likely the first member of the “27 Club”, passing away in 1938. Very few photographs and recordings of his work existed in the early days, fueling the rumors about the source of his abilities. Stories were told of the young black man, a voice and fingers unlike any other, appearing at the club one night and gone the next.

In the 1960’s his recordings were re-released to a new generation of rock-and-roll musicians. His Delta Blues style leaned heavily on boogie-woogie 5th/6th patterns, influencing early rock-and-roll guitarists like Chuck Berry.

Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, and Keith Richards all cite Johnson as an influence to their work. Songs such as “Crossroads” (famously covered by Eric Clapton and Cream), and “Walkin’ Blues” (Muddy Waters) are standards in the blues music genre, along with this one that holds a special place in my Chicago heart:

As a black blues musician from the 1930’s, there wasn’t much contemporary documentation of Johnson. Only 3 photos are known to exist, and a smattering of newspaper clips from various cities reviewing his shows. This fueled the fire of the “Legend of Robert Johnson”; the story of the man who sold his soul to the Devil for the Blues.

With “Take Me Down,” Taylor and TPR tell the story of another young musician chasing down success at the crossroads.

You can find recordings of his music here, courtesy of the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation.