"'
Cross Road Blues' (commonly known as '
Crossroads') is a song written by the American
blues artist
Robert Johnson. He performed it solo with his vocal and
acoustic slide guitar in the
Delta blues style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he
sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical genius. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a
crossroads as the site where
Faustian bargains can be made, as the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan. ... Over the years, several bluesmen have recorded versions of the song, usually as ensemble pieces with electrified guitars.
Elmore James' recordings in 1954 and 1960–1961 have been identified as perhaps the most significant of the earlier renditions. Guitarist
Eric Clapton and the British rock group
Cream popularized the song as 'Crossroads' on their 1968
Wheels of Fire album, and their fiery
blues rock interpretation became one of their best-known songs and inspired many cover versions. ..."
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