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Thanks, Derek.
Possibly one reason why Tommy Johnson gets "missed" is that he produced a limited number of recordings. In addition, I think he got left in the wake of all the fuss about Robert Johnson.
I tend to agree with your point about Robert; there was all that selling-his-soul-to-the-devil business that "dressed up" his legacy. Don't get me wrong; he made some great recordings. But it seems not to have occurred to some that with a pair of hands like his, combined with plenty of practice and the time to do so, he could well have become a gifted guitar player in a relatively short period of time.
As for the list, there is a glaring omission, IMO: Blind Willie McTell, a performer whose records I owned some years before Bob's song surfaced, and I would drop Lead Belly from the list, mainly because I see him as a songster, rather than a blues-man. Besides, the 12-string guitar wouldn't be sacrificed with McTell replacing him.
I don't think there's any question that Dylan citing Patton in "Highwater (For Charley Patton)" and the song, "Blind Willie McTell," itself, are accidents. I see them as serving as signposts for the still unborn who will surface after Bob is dead and gone and who will gravitate towards his music. As well, it can certainly be Bob paying homage and letting it be known that mere mortal that he is (or, was), he stands on the shoulders of giants. And he just might be saying to future generations - reading between the lines - to look to other places besides Robert Johnson's crossroads.
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