Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson is famously associated with the most enduring myth in blues history: that he supposedly sold his soul at the crossroads for his extraordinary talent, a pact that led to his death at the age of 27. Yet, the true details of his life have remained largely unknown, obscured by a handful of inaccurate anecdotes.

Up Jumped the Devil is the culmination of over 50 years of meticulous research. Gayle Dean Wardlow has been interviewing individuals who knew Robert Johnson since the early 1960s and was the person who unearthed Johnson's death certificate in 1967. Bruce Conforth began his study of Johnson's life and music in 1970, dedicating himself to uncovering what was still unknown about the bluesman.

In this definitive biography, the two authors have drawn upon every available interview, resource, and document, much of which is material no one has seen before. Consequently, this book not only dismantles every myth that has ever surrounded Johnson but also presents a human story of a real person. It stands as the first book about Johnson to document his years in Memphis, detail his trip to New York, reveal where and when his wife Virginia died and the profound impact this had on him, fully portray the other women Johnson was involved with, and tell precisely how and why he died and who administered the poison that killed him. Up Jumped the Devil is set to astound blues fans who believed they already knew something about Johnson.