Goethe's Faust on this Day in History

This day in history: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's tragic play "Faust, Part 1" premiered on this day in 1829.

This play was based on the Faust legend, one of the most popular story lines in literature and imagination. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain.

The idea that you can enter into a deal (contract/compact) with the devil has fascinated minds for centuries. This theme has been used in books (The Picture of Dorian Gray, Rosemary's Baby, Memnoch the Devil, The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Devil and Tom Walker etc), in movies (Crossroads, Sleepy Hollow, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Constantine, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, Ghost Rider, The Witch etc) and in songs ("The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band, "Cross Road Blues" by Robert Johnson, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, "Deal with the Devil" by Judas Priest, "The Width of a Circle" by David Bowie, "The Black Rider" by Tom Waits etc) and TV and video games as well.

Even popes are said to have made compacts with the Devil. Read more at

https://thebookshelf2015.blogspot.com/2016/12/contracts-with-devil-by-george-jacob.html

See also 200 Books to Download about Satan the Devil & Witchcraft - For a list of all of my disks and digital books click here

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Faustian Blues Legend Robert Johnson on This Day in History

 

This Day in History:  Blues Legend Robert Leroy Johnson was born on this day (May 8) in 1911. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. He is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style.

Johnson is also well known for the story of his compact with the devil. According to legend, as a young man living on a plantation in rural Mississippi, Johnson had a tremendous desire to become a great blues musician. One of the legends often told says that Johnson was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near Dockery Plantation at midnight. There he was met by a large black man (the Devil) who took the guitar and tuned it. The devil played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Johnson, giving him mastery of the instrument. This story of a deal with the devil at the crossroads mirrors the legend of Faust. In exchange for his soul, Johnson was able to create the blues for which he became famous.

Robert Johnson also died a young death of either poisoning, syphilis, pneumonia or all three together. He was only 27 when he died, making him the first member of the 27 Club. The 27 Club is an urban legend that popular musicians, artists, and actors die at age 27 with statistically anomalous frequency. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been repeatedly disproven by research, it remains a cultural phenomenon, documenting the deaths of celebrities, many noted for their high-risk lifestyles.

Other members of this club are Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.