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Song Story

Kind Hearted Woman Blues

On the very first day of his recording career, a 25-year-old Robert Johnson sat before a microphone in a makeshift studio in Room 414 and delivered a masterpiece. "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" was the first song he ever...

RecordedNovember 23, 1936, Gunter Hotel (Room 414), San Antonio, Texas
LabelVocalion
Show PlacementShow 1 (track order 9)

On the very first day of his recording career, a 25-year-old Robert Johnson sat before a microphone in a makeshift studio in Room 414 and delivered a masterpiece. "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" was the first song he ever committed to wax. Rather than a raw, thrashing Delta stomp, Johnson played a meticulously crafted, jazz-inflected arrangement. He included a fully realized, cascading guitar solo: a rarity for solo country blues at the time. The track proved Johnson was not just an emotive singer, but a sophisticated, deliberate composer who fundamentally redefined the acoustic guitar's potential.