Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did Tommy Johnson’s guitar style influence later blues and rock songs?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

B.B. King playing an electric guitar with an expressive face, wearing a plaid jacket, June 19, 1979. — Mississippi Delta blues Mississippi-born blues legend B.B. King, 1979.

Tommy Johnson was a highly influential Mississippi Delta blues artist whose guitar style and songwriting left a lasting impact on both blues and rock music.123

His approach was characterized by a simple but active guitar accompaniment paired with a distinctive, near-yodeling falsetto vocal style. Johnson’s recordings from 1928 and 1930 established several blues standards that were widely emulated by subsequent generations of musicians.123

The influence of his work is evident in several notable ways:
* Blues Standards: Songs such as "Maggie Campbell Blues," "Big Road Blues," and "Cool Drink of Water Blues" became staples of the blues repertoire.12
* Direct Adaptations: Howlin’ Wolf reworked lyrics from "Cool Drink of Water Blues" for his own song, "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)."12
* Rock Influence: Johnson’s "Big Road Blues" (1928) served as an inspiration for the 1968 rock hit "On the Road Again" by the band Canned Heat, which also drew its name from one of Johnson’s most famous autobiographical tracks.23