What evidence challenges the legend that Robert Johnson made a deal with the Devil?

The legend that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads is a widely recognized myth rather than a historical fact. Music historians and researchers provide several pieces of evidence that challenge this narrative:12

• Instruction and Practice: Music historian Robert Palmer, in his book Deep Blues, attributes Johnson’s rapid improvement in guitar skill to dedicated practice under the tutelage of musician Ike Zinneman (or Zimmerman).13
• Exposure to Diverse Styles: During his hiatus from Robinsonville, Mississippi, Johnson was exposed to a wide variety of musical influences, including the single-string picking techniques of Lonnie Johnson and Scrapper Blackwell, which helped shape his unique sound.12
• Origins of the Myth: The crossroads story appears to have originated with another bluesman, Tommy Johnson, whose brother later recounted the tale to ethnomusicologists as an explanation for Tommy's sudden musical prowess. The legend was eventually projected onto Robert Johnson, though the specific origins of this association remain unclear.3
• Absence in Recordings: The theme of a "Devil's bargain" is notably absent from Robert Johnson’s own recorded lyrics.3