Robert Johnson (39)

Robert Johnson
1911-1938
Delta blues progenitor
Cause of Death: Pneumonia

Sympathy for the Devil: The myths surrounding Johnson's early death have helped build the enduring legend of the doomed blues Prometheus cursed for his gifts. The most popular story--that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his guitar skills--inspired the 1986 Ralph Macchio vehicle Crossroads.
Estate of Confusion: Johnson died with neither legitimate children nor will, leaving his recordings to an unknowing family until 1973, when the last heir, a half-sister, was located by a music historian, to whom she assigned all rights to the small estate. When Columbia's The Complete Recordings went platinum not long after its 1990 release, however, royalties to the estate rose to $1.3 million and a truck driver named Claud L. Johnson emerged, claiming to be Johnson's illegitimate son. In 2000, after an eight-year hearing, he was named sole heir.
Peer Plaudits: Johnson is the blues icon: Eric Clapton famously said that "his music remains the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice." The White Stripes covered his "Stop Breaking Down Blues," and if you think Jack White's penchant for fedoras owes nothing to Johnson, think again.