Robert Johnson recorded twenty-nine songs between 1936 and 1937 and died at twenty-seven. In the decades since, he became the most mythologized figure in American music — the Delta bluesman who sold his soul at the crossroads, the ghostly progenitor of rock and roll, a man more legend than person. Almost everything written about him relied on the same thin paper trail and the same recycled folklore.
Annye C. Anderson knew him as her stepbrother. She remembered how he walked, the pomade he used, the way he protected his guitar, the foods he liked, the family that loved him. At ninety-four, she decided to set the record straight — and called Preston Lauterbach to help her do it.
Brother Robert is the only account of Johnson's life written by someone who actually knew him. It dismantles the crossroads myth, establishes that Johnson was literate and musically sophisticated, and recovers the Memphis world that shaped him. It also arrived with a previously unknown photograph — only the third confirmed image of Johnson in existence. Co-authored with Annye C. Anderson.
A Rolling Stone–Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.
Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson
"Rich... there is an intimacy that fires the story to life.”
New York Review of Books
“[Brother Robert} book does much to pull the blues master out of the fog of myth.” (A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020)
Rolling Stone
Awards
A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020
Winner of the Audiofile Earphones Award Publishers Weekly, "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"
No Depression, "Best Music Books of 2020"
Best Classic Bands, "Best Music Books of the Year"
OnMilwaukee, "10 Great Books from 2020"
The Last Fair Deal: A Robert Johnson Podcast
The Last Fair Deal podcast, hosted by Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach, investigates the life and musical legacy of Delta blues artist Robert Johnson. The limited series separates historical facts from the enduring "crossroads" folklore, exploring early American blues. Through interviews and analysis, the podcast aims to provide a definitive look at the blues legend's impact.
Listen at Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Critical Acclaim
"Anderson offers vivid, personal glimpses of her stepbrother ... providing a colorful picture .... [An] earnest and enlightening memoir."
Publishers Weekly
"An illuminating portrait of an artist lost in the mists of history and mystery."
Kirkus
"Annye Anderson's lush, vivid memories from Robert Johnson's home base give the bluesman a personal dimension like never before. How he walked, the pomade in his hair, his protection of his guitar. The aura of mystery remains, but with Brother Robert, Johnson gains character and context, and becomes more of a person than we've ever known this specter to be."
Robert Gordon, author of Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters
and It Came From Memphis
"Cutting through the mythos that has long surrounded this iconic artist, this is an intriguing addition to the history of 20th-century blues."
Library Journal
"Although it's been more than 80 years since Anderson last saw Johnson, her memories are vivid and personal, as she recalls a well-loved older sibling who entertained his family and community with his guitar and vast repertoire of songs. [...] Anderson's account debunks myths about Johnson: he had a loving family; he was exposed to all kinds of popular music; he was not illiterate; and he did not go to the crossroads and sell his soul to the devil. Consider Anderson's heartfelt chronicle an earnest attempt to set the record straight."
Booklist
"Anderson's a charming storyteller, and her stories provide a fresh perspective."
No Depression
"A breathtaking look into the provenance of one of the 20th century's great musical minds, the social warp and woof of Black Memphis in the 1920s and '30s, and, in spite of racial violence that continues to this day, the persistence of family and the power of music."
Memphis Flyer
"[This book reveals] "new details about everything from Johnson's birth to his romantic history to his life at home with family - even his favourite foods and brands of tobacco and pomade. The book also arrives with a new photograph of Johnson - just the third confirmed image in the world."
CBC
"Mrs. Anderson summons up poignant memories of the young man she so admired... If Johnson has become an idealised figure, Anderson's book helps us to see him as a flesh-and-blood individual, an entertainer rather than some tortured mystic."
The Times (UK)
"A remarkable book, one which so richly complements those that came before it documenting Robert Johnson's life and legacy."
Under the Radar Magazine
"Rich... there is an intimacy that fires the story to life.”
New York Review of Books
“[Brother Robert} book does much to pull the blues master out of the fog of myth.” (A Rolling Stone-Kirkus Best Music Book of 2020)
Rolling Stone
"Intimate and warm."
No Depression
"Brother Robert is, by my count, the twelfth book about Johnson, and it’s one of the best, because after decades of stories of the musician as a dark blues lord, Brother Robert, which featured a new photo of him smiling on the cover, humanizes Johnson, showing the musician from the perspective of a young girl."
Texas Monthly
Selected Press & Interviews: Brother Robert
NPR (National Public Radio) | ’Brother Robert’ Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson
Annye Anderson and Preston Lauterbach join NPR to discuss dismantling the toxic "crossroads" myth in favor of revealing Johnson's true upbringing and sophisticated musical mind. Read & Listen at NPR.
The Commercial Appeal | ’Brother Robert’ gives first-hand account of bluesman Robert Johnson
A deep-dive feature tracing how Lauterbach and Mrs. Anderson built their collaborative partnership, and why she chose to wait until she was 94 years old to share her memories. Read at The Commercial Appeal.
New England Public Media (NEPM) | Robert Johnson's Stepsister Tells His Story, And Her Own, In 'Brother Robert'
A regional radio feature and photo essay capturing Mrs. Anderson’s life in Amherst, Massachusetts, and the behind-the-scenes process of bringing the book to life. Read & Listen at NEPM.
The Greenfield Recorder | ’Mrs. Anderson will do just fine’: The remarkable century-long life of Mrs. Annye C. Anderson
A detailed retrospective profiling Mrs. Anderson's century of life, including the exact moment her daughter discovered Preston's The Chitlin' Circuit at a bookstore, sparking the entire project. Read at The Greenfield Recorder.
Goldmine Magazine | American Back Roads: Robert Johnson's stepsister writes about the brother she knew
A comprehensive music-industry profile evaluating the historical weight of Mrs. Anderson’s eyewitness account of Johnson’s Memphis years. Read at Goldmine Magazine.
American Songcaster Podcast | Elijah Wald and Preston Lauterbach interview Mrs. Annye C. Anderson
An extended audio archive featuring a rare, long-form discussion breaking down archival discoveries and details about Robert Johnson's personal guitar. Listen on Spotify.
The Imbalanced History of Rock 'n' Roll | Robert Johnson Revisited & Preston Lauterbach Interview
A podcast feature analyzing the cultural impact of dispelling long-standing blues myths through familial primary sources. Listen at Imbalanced History.