Blind Willie Johnson

The Profile

American gospel-blues singer and slide guitarist from Texas. Recorded 30 sides for Columbia Records between 1927 and 1930. Renowned for the searing slide piece Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground, later included on the Voyager Golden Record. Blinded in childhood (cause disputed); performed as a guitar evangelist with a distinctive, gravelly voice.

Recorded for Columbia (1927–1930); signature slide-guitar style; repertoire blending gospel and blues; some recordings feature duet vocals by Willie B. Harris; Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground appears on the Voyager Golden Record (1977).

Three DeBaser reviews paint Blind Willie Johnson as a towering gospel-blues voice with knife-sharp slide guitar and raw spiritual intensity. Highlights include The Soul of a Man and Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground. Reviewers praise his rough, devotional singing and rhythmic slide style, often noting duets with Willie B. Harris. The consensus: these 1927–1930 recordings still sound urgent.