King of the Delta Blues Singers

Released by Columbia Records in 1961, this compilation gathered sixteen tracks from Robert Johnson's two recording sessions in San Antonio (November 1936) and Dallas (June 1937), assembled by producer Don Law. Nine of the songs had circulated previously on Vocalion 78s, but this was the first time the bulk of Johnson's recorded work appeared together on a single release.

Very little biographical research on Johnson existed at the time, so the liner notes leaned on speculation and secondhand rumor, cementing some of the myths that would later surround him. Despite that, the record was received with near-universal acclaim once it reached wider audiences, and it became the first album inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.

The album's influence outran its initial sales. Producer John Hammond passed an advance copy to a young Bob Dylan, who was reportedly transfixed by the intensity of the performances, and the LP later appeared among the objects surrounding Dylan on the cover of Bringing It All Back Home. Through the 1960s British blues revival, guitarists like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards treated the record as a foundational text, and it is frequently cited as one of the most influential blues albums ever released.