This book begins by telling readers that a recording of Willie Johnson’s song, “Dark Was the Night,” was included as part of the Golden Record shot into space on the 1977 Voyager I, as part of representations of the sounds of planet Earth.

We then go back almost one hundred years, to January 25, 1897, when Willie Johnson was born in a small town in Texas. Willie went blind at age seven or eight. The story goes that Willie’s stepmother splashed Willie with caustic lye that was intended to hit his father. But few factual details are known about his childhood except that he loved to perform religious songs. He played a guitar too, and used the blade of a pocketknife to play a slide on its steel strings. Golio explains: “This made a sound like someone laughing or crying, as if the guitar had a voice of its own.”

Willie traveled around by train to the small towns in Texas, playing and singing for coins in order to eat and have a place to sleep. A man from a music company heard Willie and gave him the chance to make a record, which sold thousands of copies. One of the songs he played, “Dark Was the Night,” consisted of just Willie “playing slide, humming and moaning. It was a ray of light that touched people deep in their souls.”

The author ends:

“…after you died, your voice echoed down through the years. It even found its way onto a golden disc, sent into space, where it shined a light in the darkness and finally touched the stars.”

Back matter includes more background about Johnson, information about the Golden Record sent aboard the Voyager I, and a list of sources. About the Golden Record, Golio notes that music historian Alan Lomax chose Willie Johnson’s wordless song because he “believed that Johnson powerfully conveyed the sense of loneliness that all people feel - something very important to know about human beings and life on planet Earth.”

Illustrator E. B. Lewis uses muted watercolor washes for a blurred effect.

In an interview, https://www.isdakar-jagjournal.org/post/an-interview-with-e-b-lewis Lewis said, “My books are about emotion. And if you look at my work, the common thread you’ll find is that these are tough stories, very poignant stories, and stories that tug at the heartstrings. I like to think that’s my gift—to be able to capture the emotion and put it down on paper.”

True indeed.

Although readers can’t hear the music by just reading the book, lucky for us Youtube has sound for the title song. And if young readers (recommended for age 5 and up) get interested enough to find out more about blues and blues history, all the better. ( )

Beautiful illustrations retelling the life of this amazing musician.
Especially nice in this book was the tone of the writing, and the story being told as if the reader was Blind Willie himself.

I received a copy though Edelweiss for review, opinions are my own. ( )

next stop ... find the recording and listen to it!! ( )

Little is known about musician, Blind Willie Johnson, but his unique style of blues and slide guitar made him a popular musician—at first in church, and then on street corners throughout Texas, and finally, with the advent of the phonograph, on records. His song, "Dark was the Night," was selected for inclusion on The Golden Record, sent into space on September 5, 1977.

He was not born blind in 1897, but lost his sight and his mother as a young boy.

Gary Golio answers the questions he poses in the book,

So how does a blind boy get along?

How does he make his way in the world?

Willie Johnson's is a story of perseverance and the blues, and it offers a tiny glimpse of the African American experience at the turn of the turn of the 20th century. The inclusion of his music on The Golden Record is a metaphor for our humble beginnings, how far we've come, and how far we've yet to go.

Fitting with the vague details of Willie Johnson's life, E.B. Lewis' watercolor art is indistinct, allowing the reader to gather the feel and mood of the era, the place, the people, and the music—rather than a concrete rendering. The palette is dark, but sun and starlight signify the light of music that reaches all of humanity, even the blind.

Dark was the Night is an ode with a musicality to it that evokes a bluesy mood. I defy any reader to read this book without seeking out Willie Johnson's music. It will call to you and you won't be able to resist.

more at https://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2020/08/dark-was-night-review.html ( )