Editing Robert Johnson (section)

===Early recognition and reviews===
Famed producer [[John Hammond (record producer)|John Hammond]] was an early advocate of Johnson's music.{{sfn|Perone|2019|p=91}} Using the pen-name Henry Johnson, he wrote his first article on Robert Johnson for the ''[[New Masses]]'' magazine in March 1937, around the time of the release of Johnson's first record. In it, he described Johnson as "the greatest Negro blues singer who has cropped up in recent years{{nbsp}}... Johnson makes [[Lead Belly|Leadbelly]]<!-- Source spells this as one name --> sound like an accomplished poseur."{{sfn|Pearson|McCulloch|2003|p=18}} The following year, Hammond hoped to get Johnson to perform at a December 1938 ''[[From Spirituals to Swing]]'' concert in New York City, as he was unaware that Johnson had died in August.{{sfn|Gioia|2008|p=188}} Instead, Hammond played two of his recordings, "Walkin' Blues" and "Preachin' Blues (Up Jumped the Devil)", for the audience and "praised Johnson lavishly from the stage".{{sfn|Gioia|2008|p=188}} Music historian [[Ted Gioia]] noted "Here, if only through the medium of recordings, Hammond used his considerable influence at this historic event to advocate a position of preeminence for the late Delta bluesman".{{sfn|Gioia|2008|p=188}} Music educator James Perone also saw that the event "underscored Robert Johnson's specific importance as a recording artist".{{sfn|Perone|2019|p=91}} In 1939, Columbia issued a final single, pairing "Preachin' Blues" with "Love in Vain".{{sfn|LaVere|2011|pp=24, 25}}

In 1940, nine of Johnson's songs were included on a "List of American Folk Songs on Commercial Records" prepared by musicologist [[Alan Lomax]] for a U.S. government conference.{{sfn|Lomax|1940|p=131}} Lomax's notations for the entries range from "elaborate sex symbolism" ("Terraplane Blues"), "very nice love song" ("I'm a Steady Rollin' Man"), to "traces of voodoo" ("[[Stones in My Passway]]", "[[Hellhound on My Trail]]", "Cross Road Blues").{{sfn|Lomax|1940|pp=131, 135, 136, 138, 143, 144}} In 1942, commentary on Johnson's "Terraplane Blues" and "Last Fair Deal Gone Down" appeared in ''The Jazz Record Book'', edited by [[Charles Edward Smith (jazz)|Charles Edward Smith]].{{sfn|Pearson|McCulloch|2003|p=21}} The authors described Johnson's vocals as "imaginative" and "thrilling" and his guitar playing as "exciting as almost anything in the folk blues field".{{sfn|Pearson|McCulloch|2003|p=21}}  Music writer [[Rudi Blesh]] included a review of Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" in his 1946 book ''Shining Trumpets: a History of Jazz''. He noted the "personal and creative way" Johnson approached the song's harmony.{{sfn|Blesh|1946|p=}} Jim Wilson, then a writer for the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'', also mentioned his unconventional use of harmony. In a 1949 review, he compared elements of [[John Lee Hooker]]'s recent debut "[[Boogie Chillen]]": "His [Hooker's] dynamic rhythms and subtle nuances on the guitar and his startling disregard for familiar scale and harmony patterns show similarity to the work of Robert Johnson, who made many fine records in this vein".{{sfn|Wilson|1949|p=14}}

[[Samuel Charters]] drew further attention to Johnson in a five-page section in his 1959 book, ''[[The Country Blues (book)|The Country Blues]]''. He focused on the two Johnson recordings that referred to images of the devil or hell{{snd}}"Hellhound on My Trail" and "Me and the Devil Blues"{{snd}}to suggest that Johnson was a deeply troubled individual. Charters also included Johnson's "Preachin' Blues" on [[The Country Blues|the album published alongside his book]].{{sfn|Pearson|McCulloch|2003|pp=24-26}} Columbia Records issued the first album of Johnson's recordings, ''[[King of the Delta Blues Singers]]'' two years later.