Editing Robert Johnson (section)

===Recording sessions===
{{Main|Robert Johnson recordings#Sessionography}}
In Jackson, Mississippi, around 1936, Johnson sought out [[H. C. Speir]], who ran a general store and also acted as a talent scout. Speir put Johnson in touch with Ernie Oertle, who, as a salesman for the ARC group of labels, introduced Johnson to [[Don Law]] to record his first sessions in San Antonio, Texas. The recording session was held on November 23–25, 1936, in room 414 of the [[Gunter Hotel]] in San Antonio.{{sfn|Conforth|Wardlow|2019|pp=152–153}} In the ensuing three-day session, Johnson played 16 selections and recorded alternate takes for most of them. Among the songs Johnson recorded in San Antonio were "[[I Believe I'll Dust My Broom]]", "[[Sweet Home Chicago]]", and "[[Cross Road Blues]]", which later became [[blues standards]]. The first to be released was "[[Terraplane Blues]]", backed with "[[Last Fair Deal Gone Down]]", which sold as many as 10,000 copies.{{sfn|Conforth|Wardlow|2019|pp=185–186}}

Johnson traveled to [[Dallas]], Texas, for another recording session with Don Law in a makeshift studio at the [[Vitagraph]] (Warner Bros.) Building,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/us/dallas-church-preserving-the-legacy-of-robert-johnson.html?_r=0|last=Christensen|first=Thor|date=November 19, 2011|title=Dallas Church Preserving the Legacy of Robert Johnson|website=[[Nytimes.com]]|access-date=April 15, 2021}}</ref> on June 19–20, 1937.{{sfn|Conforth|Wardlow|2019|pp=204–205}} Johnson recorded almost half of the 29 songs that make up his entire discography in Dallas and eleven records from this session were released within the following year. Most of Johnson's "somber and introspective" songs and performances come from his second recording session.{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=167}} Johnson did two takes of most of these songs, and recordings of those takes survived. Because of this, there is more opportunity to compare different performances of a single song by Johnson than for any other blues performer of his era.{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=130}} In contrast to most Delta players, Johnson had absorbed the idea of fitting a composed song into the three minutes of a 78-rpm side.{{sfn|Wald|2004|p=132}}