Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night... < TOP-RATED >

: Born in Texas in 1897, Johnson was not born blind. According to legend, he was blinded at age seven when his stepmother threw lye in his face during a fight with his father.

"Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" is often cited as one of the most transcendent pieces of music ever recorded. Released in 1927, this gospel-blues masterpiece is a wordless, haunting instrumental that uses humming, moaning, and bottleneck slide guitar to convey deep spiritual and human anguish. The Composition and Meaning Blind Willie Johnson - Dark was the night...

: The title and mood are inspired by the 18th-century hymn "Gethsemane," which describes the agony of Jesus Christ in the garden the night before his crucifixion. : Born in Texas in 1897, Johnson was not born blind

: In 1977, NASA selected "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" as one of 27 musical samples to represent humanity on the Voyager Golden Record . Astronomer Carl Sagan and his team chose it specifically to represent the human experience of loneliness . Released in 1927, this gospel-blues masterpiece is a

: The track features no discernible lyrics. Instead, Johnson uses his "chest voice" to hum and moan in unison with his guitar, creating a sound described as "unison moaning"—a style common in Southern Baptist churches.

: Johnson utilized a unique bottleneck slide style, reportedly using a penknife to achieve his piercing, vocal-like guitar tones in open D tuning. Biography: A Life of Hardship