1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales right 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 2: there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 2: to the Cabinet of Curiosities. It's practically cliche now, the 7 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,160 Speaker 2: young hopeful moving to Hollywood wanting to be discovered. Yet 8 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 2: it still happens. 9 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,120 Speaker 1: Every year. Thousands of people uproot their lives to pursue 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: their dreams of stardom. But one man found his fame 11 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: a different way by bringing the movies to him. Mexican 12 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: revolutionary Pancho Villa was born in Durango, Mexico, in eighteen 13 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: seventy eight, with a very full name of Jose Doroteo 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: Orango a Rambula. Many stories about his early life are 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: either apocryphal or just downright false, but it's widely believed 16 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: that he grew up in poverty with his parents and 17 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: four siblings. They suffered under the hacienda system, in which 18 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: wealthy estate owners would exploit poor workers for their labor. 19 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: After the death of his father, via abandoned his schooling 20 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: to find work and help his family keep their home. 21 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: He did a number of jobs, working as a bricklayer 22 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: and a sharecropper, among other things, but his life took 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: a sharp turn when he was just sixteen years old. 24 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: He'd been living in Shihuahua when he got word that 25 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: his sister had been assaulted by a local hacienda owner 26 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: back home. He returned to Durrango for revenge. After killing 27 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: the owner and stealing one of his horses, Via became 28 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,839 Speaker 1: a bandit to get by. Pretty soon he found himself 29 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: in trouble with the law, getting arrested for stealing mules 30 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: and guns. But while other criminals would have been sentenced 31 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,000 Speaker 1: to death for their crimes, Via had gotten involved with 32 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: some pretty important people who often kept him off of 33 00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: death row. Instead, he was forced to join the federal army, 34 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: but that punishment didn't last too long. He skipped town 35 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: and went back to Chihuahua to try and make an 36 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,959 Speaker 1: honest living as a butcher. When that failed, he left 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: once more and assumed a new name, one inspired by 38 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: his paternal grandfather, Jesus Villa. He called himself Francisco Pancho 39 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: Villa and Then in nineteen ten, his life changed forever 40 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: as the Mexican Revolution took hold. Via joined the other 41 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: revolutionary seeking to overthrow the oppressive Mexican government, but the 42 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: opposing forces and funding were very strong. If Via was 43 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:34,920 Speaker 1: going to have any hope of victory, he needed money. 44 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: But it wasn't like he could just kick start a 45 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: war or hold the GoFundMe. He needed big donors, and 46 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: he needed them fast, So he looked north to the 47 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: United States, specifically to the motion picture industry. Via reached 48 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: out to the Mutual Film Corporation with a proposal. He 49 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: would allow Mutual Film to shoot The Mexican Revolution in 50 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: exchange for a twenty five thousand dollars advance and fifty 51 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: percent of the film's profits. He even prompt to perform 52 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: re enactments of key battles in case they needed additional footage. 53 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: The studio agreed and told him that even though US 54 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: papers were painting Via as a villain, Mutual would show 55 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: the world a much different and sympathetic side of him. 56 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: The studio sent a crew down to Mexico, including actor 57 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: Raoul Walsh, who was cast as a younger version of 58 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: Via for the film. The goal wasn't just to make 59 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: a war picture. It was to craft a biography of 60 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: a man who was fighting for a better life for 61 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: his people. The Life of General Via, directed by William Carbaine, 62 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: told the story of triumph over adversity, at least it 63 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: would have if it had survived. Very little of the 64 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: production exists today. It's really just a few pieces of 65 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: footage and some publicity photos, And unfortunately for their star, 66 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: Mutual wasn't able to do what they had promised. After 67 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: the war, Via was left to deal with the fallout 68 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: all on his own. This included a nineteen sixteen US 69 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: expedition across the border to capture him and bring him 70 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: to justice for attacking New Mexico. Villa managed to survive 71 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: another seven years until his assassination on July twentieth of 72 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty three. He was killed in an ambush while 73 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: returning home from the bank. Although his reputation was tarnished 74 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: for decades following his death, he eventually came to be 75 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: revered as a champion for the Mexican people, an achievement 76 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: that might have happened sooner had his film not been lost. 77 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: Pancho Villa was a revolutionary hero who stood by his 78 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: principles until the very end, But it seems that even 79 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: he was tempted by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. 80 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 1: Every musician has their influences, artists they love and listen 81 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: to while shaping their own sound. If you're a classic 82 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: rock fan like me, then your favorite band was likely 83 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: influenced by the blues. And if you like Eric Clapp, 84 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones, then your favorite artist's 85 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: favorite artist was one man Robert Johnson. But just like 86 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: his later listeners, Robert had his own influences, and if 87 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 1: the rumors are true, he got his talent from a 88 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: sinister source. He won his musical style in a diabolical 89 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: deal with the devil himself. Not much is known about 90 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: Robert's early life. He was born in nineteen eleven in 91 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: Mississippi and at an early age became interested in the guitar. 92 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: In the deeply segregated South, black people often weren't allowed 93 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: in community spaces like bars, performance halls, or restaurants, so 94 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: blues musicians often performed in juke joints, which were casual 95 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: after hour spots in black owned stores or houses where 96 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 1: the black community could gather when Robert was a teenager, 97 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: he first saw a blues musician named Sunhouse perform a 98 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: juke joint in Robinsonville, Mississippi. When Robert tried to perform himself, 99 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: he was booed off the stage by Sunhouse and the 100 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: other patrons. Apparently Robert was no guitarist. Robert moved with 101 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: his mother to another town shortly after that, but when 102 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 1: he returned to Robinsonville two years later, Sunhouse was blown 103 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: away at how quickly Robert had become an excellent player 104 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: through his teens. In twenties, Robert traveled throughout the South 105 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: playing street corners, house parties, and juke joints. Twice he 106 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: sat down to record his original music, resulting in twenty 107 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: nine recorded songs. In nineteen thirty eight, when Robert was 108 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: just twenty seven, he died of unknown causes. He never 109 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 1: gained any recognition or fame in his lifetime, and was 110 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: buried in an unmarked grave in a pauper cemetery. Robert's 111 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: legacy might have stayed just like that if it wasn't 112 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: for a compilation of his songs called King of the 113 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: Delta Blues Singers, released in nineteen sixty one. The Man 114 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: who recorded Johnson's twenty nine songs, believed that he was 115 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: a great blues artist, and audiences in the nineteen sixties 116 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: seemed to agree. Teenagers Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, 117 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: and Keith Richards all love the record. Robert Johnson's music 118 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: helped shape the path of classic rock and roll. The 119 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: same time Robert's musical genius was being rediscovered, so too 120 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: was his darker reputation. Rumors spread that Robert hadn't just 121 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: been a great artist, his gifts were supernatural. To learn 122 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: to play the blues, he went to a crossroads somewhere 123 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: in Mississippi and made a deal with the devil, promising 124 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: his soul in return for musical talent. It didn't help 125 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: that many of his songs hinted at the supernatural, like 126 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: Hellhound on My Trail, Crossroad Blues, and even Me and 127 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: the Devil Blues. But the truth, well, it's not quite 128 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: as exciting. It was tireless practice, not dealings with the 129 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: devil that made Robert Johnson a star. The rumor about 130 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: his supernatural skills probably first came from the remarks by 131 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: the musician Son House. He was the one who had 132 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: laughed Robert off the stage in that juke joint the 133 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: first time Robert tried to play guitar. When Robert showed 134 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: up again nearly two years later, playing like a natural, 135 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: he made it that Robert must have made a deal 136 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: with the devil. Instead, what Robert really had done was 137 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: find a great teacher, a player named Ike Zimmerman. Now, 138 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: Robert and Ike did like to practice in graveyards after dark, 139 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: which does sound a little spooky, but this was for 140 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: practical reasons, not demonic. Graveyards were one of the few 141 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: quiet places where Robert and Ike could play without people 142 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: disturbing them. It's also likely that Robert's story was mixed 143 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 1: up with another blues musician with a similar name, Tommy Johnson, 144 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: who played Delta Blues in the same circuit as Robert, 145 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: claimed that he had sold his soul to the devil 146 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: to learn guitar. Robert may have died in obscurity, but 147 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: today his music lives on, as does his devilish reputation. 148 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: Whether or not the devil made him do it, he'll 149 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 1: have to admit that Robert Johnson was a hell of 150 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: a good player. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 151 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 152 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 153 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 154 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 155 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 156 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 157 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, 158 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: stay curious.