The Black Man At The Crossroads

reply to post by PtolemyII


It is a fictional portrayal of all things blues.

The real Willie Brown played guitar.

There is no lost song.

The devil does not host guitar battles.

It is not about Robert Johnson, as much as it uses Robert Johnson folk legends as a plot device.

Bleeeeep
Anyone into demonology know if:

This "Black man at the crossroads" is the same being as Mephistopheles?

Could it also be the same being as "Rain man"?

Does he use the items you bring to him to create a spirit for the receiver, or does he possess you, or is it something else he is doing?

Is his ability different than that of Mephistopheles' or Rain man's?

Is he really even a demon or is he just a fallen one?

Well, that all depends on perspective. To some people any spirit not of their religion is evil or demonic, but really the whole idea of the black man of the crossroads actually comes from African roots. Particularly the spirit Legba, keeper of the gate and lord of the crossroads; opener and closer of doorways.

en.wikipedia.org...

voices.yahoo.com...

Though interestingly enough you find gods, goddesses and spirits of associated with crossroads in many cultures across the globe and most of those spirits are often associated with the same symbols and spiritual functions.

another spirit of the crossroads, also shares a couple of symbols in common with Legba, the dog and the key.
en.wikipedia.org...

applesthateatpeople
reply to post by PtolemyII

 

It is a fictional portrayal of all things blues.

The real Willie Brown played guitar.

There is no lost song.

The devil does not host guitar battles.

It is not about Robert Johnson, as much as it uses Robert Johnson folk legends as a plot device.

I'm pretty sure I gleaned all of that, but I was answering the OP.
And how do you know he doesn't host guitar duels.
He's usually compared to Legba in voodoo lore btw, not the devil, so thanks for singling me out to "correct", but no need.
Not to mention, Steve vai is in it, and plays all the guitar parts, and that in and of itself, makes it godlike, despite it being the blues version of the karate kid.

A guy on YouTube commented

" This is a deity in african religions like Eleggua in Santeria or King Exu of Palo Mayombe or Brazilian Cambodle or Papa Legba in Voodoo."

Hope that helps

reply to post by ldyserenity

Yes I've read his story, but I still don't get many answers from it. He doesn't explain what if anything he gave to the crossroads man for those abilities.

His home and his life. Robert Johnson came back from the crossroads (so to speak) about 1934. After that he never lived in one town for very long and he died in 1938. His age at the time of his murder was 27, so you could say he set a precedent for the great rock 'n' roll exit as taken by Hendrix, Morrision, Joplin etc.

reply to post by PtolemyII

Steve vai is in it, and plays all the guitar parts

Ralph Macchio's guitar parts in Crossroads are played by Ry Cooder, a guitarist who could eat Steve Vai for breakfast any day of the week. And who, incidentally, wrote the soundtrack for that film.

PtolemyII

applesthateatpeople
reply to post by PtolemyII

 

It is a fictional portrayal of all things blues.

The real Willie Brown played guitar.

There is no lost song.

The devil does not host guitar battles.

It is not about Robert Johnson, as much as it uses Robert Johnson folk legends as a plot device.

I'm pretty sure I gleaned all of that, but I was answering the OP.
And how do you know he doesn't host guitar duels.
He's usually compared to Legba in voodoo lore btw, not the devil, so thanks for singling me out to "correct", but no need.
Not to mention, Steve vai is in it, and plays all the guitar parts, and that in and of itself, makes it godlike, despite it being the blues version of the karate kid.

edit on 11/9/13 by PtolemyII because: (no reason given)

"Legba? Where you been? He done changed his name to Scratch."

Scratch (or Old Scratch) = Devil.

You said the movie is about Robert Johnson. I was simply saying, no, it's not.

reply to post by applesthateatpeople


Also...

Another reason for the Robert Johnson myth is:

Son House once gave an interview where he talked about how fast Robert Johnson took to guitar playing...

He said, "that boy musta sold his soul..."

Other than that, there is no other evidence.

Even the song itself has nothing to do with making a deal with any supernatural entities.

reply to post by ldyserenity


Did you just make all that up, or can you link the source of this legend.

reply to post by Astyanax


The deul scene, was touted as all Vai, for years. I would know, I've watched it since it was released.
The bit about Ry wasn't even mentioned, and the soundtrack of the movie is a completely different version, than the one in the movie.

Makes me wonder now, why all the real extended versions from the movie were removed from YouTube, and now it's all the soundtrack versions with stills

AthlonSavage
reply to post by ldyserenity

 

Did you just make all that up, or can you link the source of this legend.

It's linked at the OP.

reply to post by PtolemyII


I watched a few Crossroads duel clips on YouTube yesterday, wondering whether to post one in the thread or not. In the end I decided against it, but the clips are there. It's not all 'soundtrack and stills'.

If there was ever an issue it probably had to do with copyright infringement.