| Todd Rundgren's Johnson | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Todd Rundgren |
| Cover: | Todd_Rundgren's_Johnson.jpg |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Length: | 40:08 |
| Label: | MPCA Records |
| Producer: | Todd Rundgren |
| Prev Title: | Arena |
| Prev Year: | 2008 |
| Next Title: | (re)Production |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
Todd Rundgren's Johnson is Todd Rundgren's tribute album for blues musician Robert Johnson, released April 12, 2011, for Johnson's 100th birthday.[1] Rundgren started out playing guitar professionally in a blues garage band called Woody's Truck Stop,[2] around 1966, where he was heavily inspired by and performed blues songs by Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the Blues Project, and music by original Chess blues artists and British blues-rock groups like the Yardbirds.
This album is a testimony to that music, its direct predecessors, and influence, as Rundgren says, "When I first got out of high school, my first gig was in a blues band. I was fascinated with the music and all through high school started exploring recordings by a lot of the originals. Ironically enough, Robert Johnson wasn’t one of the people that I was familiar with. He was from an era of acoustic blues and I was very much into electric blues. But he did have a huge influence on a lot of the people that were influencing me — most particularly Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and that whole crop of English blues guitar players."[3]
Most of the tracks feature Rundgren playing everything but the bass, which he delegated to long-time associate Kasim Sulton.
The album's title is a double entendre, johnson being a euphemism for penis. Rundgren discusses the album in detail with Ultimate Classic Rock.[4]
Rundgren also released a live version, Todd Rundgren's Johnson Live, on December 3, 2013.
All tracks written by Robert Johnson, except where noted