Editing Robert Johnson (section)

==Influences==
Johnson fused approaches specific to Delta blues to those from the broader music world. The slide guitar work on "[[Ramblin' on My Mind]]" is pure Delta and Johnson's vocal there has "a touch of{{nbsp}}... Son House rawness", but the train imitation on the bridge is not at all typical of Delta blues—it is more like something out of [[minstrel show]] music or [[vaudeville]].{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=139}} Johnson did record versions of "Preaching the Blues" and "[[Walking Blues]]" in the older bluesman's vocal and guitar style (House's chronology has been questioned by Guralnick). As with the first take of "[[Come On in My Kitchen]]", the influence of Skip James is evident in James's "Devil Got My Woman", but the lyrics rise to the level of first-rate poetry, and Johnson sings with a strained voice found nowhere else in his recorded output.{{sfn|Wald|2004|pp=171–172}}

The sad, romantic "[[Love in Vain]]" successfully blends several of Johnson's disparate influences. The form, including the wordless last verse, follows Leroy Carr's last hit "When the Sun Goes Down"; the words of the last sung verse come directly from a song [[Blind Lemon Jefferson]] recorded in 1926.{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=183}} Johnson's last recording, "[[Milkcow's Calf Blues]]" is his most direct tribute to [[Kokomo Arnold]], who wrote "Milkcow Blues" and influenced Johnson's vocal style.{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=184}}

"[[From Four Until Late]]" shows Johnson's mastery of a blues style not usually associated with the Delta. He [[crooner|croons]] the lyrics in a manner reminiscent of [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|Lonnie Johnson]], and his guitar style is more that of a [[ragtime]]-influenced player like [[Blind Blake]].{{sfn|Wald|2004|pp=170–171, 174}} Lonnie Johnson's influence is even clearer in two other departures from the usual Delta style: "Malted Milk" and "Drunken Hearted Man". Both copy the arrangement of Lonnie Johnson's "Life Saver Blues".{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=175}} The two takes of "Me and the Devil Blues" show the influence of [[Peetie Wheatstraw]], calling into question the interpretation of this piece as "the spontaneous heart-cry of a demon-driven folk artist".{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=177}}