Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey

The drama of In Cold Blood meets the stylings of a Coen brothers film in this long-lost manuscript from musicologist Mack McCormick, whose research on blues icon Robert Johnson’s mysterious life and death became as much of a myth as the musican himself

Little is known about blues master Robert Johnson, giving rise to legends that he gained success by selling his soul to the devil. Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey is musicologist Mack McCormick’s all-consuming search to uncover Johnson’s life story. McCormick spent years of his career reconstructing Johnson’s mysterious life and death, but never made public his discoveries. Biography of a Phantom publishes his compelling work for the first time, including 40 unseen black-and-white photographs.

The book explores McCormick’s sleuthing for Johnson’s loved ones and to gather oral histories. An editor’s preface and afterword from Smithsonian curator John W. Troutman reckons with the damage McCormick did to the Johnson family and examines the controversy of white male enthusiasts assuming owenership over Black narratives and legacies in the blues community.

Robert Johnson died at twenty-seven of unknown causes, and Biography of a Phantom includes Mack’s vivid account of the theory supported by his research and interviews. While Johnson died before achieving widespread recognition, his music took on a life of its own and inspired future generations. Biography of a Phantom, filled with lush descriptive fieldwork and photographs, is an important historical object that deepens the understanding of a stellar musican.