320 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI THE CROSSROADS Robert Johnson, one of the top blues musicians of all times, was born in Hazlehurst. Legend has it that he sold his soul to the devil to play the blues. The site of this devilish exchange is allegedly in Clarksdale at “The Crossroads,” or the intersection of Highway 49 and Highway 61. The myth of the origin of Johnson’s incredible abilities was fed by the musician’s suspicious death at the age of twenty-seven, and the fact that his music only became well known after his death. PHOTO BY GREG CAMPBELL