Robert Johnson (born 18 March 1944) is a British guitarist. He was formerly in

British folk rock British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...

band

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, and we ...

from 1972 to 1977, and again from 1980 to 2001.

Early life

Johnson was born in London; his mother was a music teacher. He was educated at

Westminster City School Westminster City School is a state-funded secondary academy for boys, with a mixed sixth form, in Westminster, London. The school educates over 800 students, with links to more than 100 different cultures, in a central London location. The sch ...

in London and the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...

Musical career

Johnson played acoustic and electric guitars and sang on

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of ...

player Roger Nicholson's 1972 album ''Nonesuch for Dulcimer'', credited as Robert Johnson. He went on to become a member of the successful English electric folk band

in 1972, after being introduced by fiddler Peter Knight. Johnson first appeared on the group's fourth album, ''

Below the Salt ''Below the Salt'' is the fourth studio album by Steeleye Span and their first after they joined the Chrysalis label. The album takes medieval influence and combines it with the band's British folk rock style. The lineup on the album includes ...

'', where he took lead vocals on the track "King Henry". Along with "King Henry", he introduced many of the band's better-known songs into the repertoire, such as "Thomas the Rhymer", "Alison Gross", "Long Lankin" and "

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Steeleye.freeservers.com; accessed 26 May 2017. Despite taking lead vocals on many songs, he was something of a background member. Johnson left Steeleye Span temporarily in 1977 to work on a concept album, ''

The King of Elfland's Daughter ''The King of Elfland's Daughter'' is a 1924 fantasy novel by Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany. It is widely recognized as one of the most influential and acclaimed works in all of fantasy literature.; pp 1124 Although the novel faded into rela ...

'', along with Peter Knight. However, he returned in 1980 to record ''

Sails of Silver ''Sails of Silver'' is the eleventh studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. It was released in 1980 by Chrysalis Records. The album was produced two years after the band's ostensible break-up. At the request of Chrysalis Records ...

''. After

Tim Hart Tim Hart (9 January 1948 – 24 December 2009) was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Early years Tim Hart was born in Lincoln, England, but moved to St ...

's departure from the band in 1980, Johnson became the sole guitarist and a more prominent member, taking on a central role for the albums ''

Back in Line ''Back in Line'' is the twelfth studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. The album was released in 1986, after a hiatus of almost 6 years. It is their first album without founding member Tim Hart, who quit the music business ent ...

'' (1986) and ''

Tempted and Tried ''Tempted and Tried'' is the 13th studio album by British folk rock band Steeleye Span. The album was recorded after a three-year hiatus after the release of ''Back in Line''. After releasing ten albums in fairly rapid succession during the ...

'' (1989). Owing to health reasons, he left Steeleye Span in 2000, but returned the following year to record '' Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span''. However, his remaining health issues prevented him from touring, so he was replaced by Ken Nicol. Nevertheless, he continues to be involved with the band, contributing songwriting and vocals to their studio albums, most recently ''

Wintersmith ''Wintersmith'' is a comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, set in the Discworld and written with younger readers in mind. It is labelled a "Story of Discworld" to indicate its status as children's or young adult fiction, unlike ...

'' in 2013.

Personal life

Johnson is a qualified psychologist, having completed a degree with the University of Hertfordshire. He and his former wife, Jane (now divorced), have two children, Barnaby and Holly.

References

1944 births Living people Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire British folk guitarists British rock guitarists British male guitarists People educated at Westminster School, London Steeleye Span members British folk rock musicians Chrysalis Records artists {{UK-guitarist-stub