See also Robert Johnson (musician), a Delta Blues

Delta blues

The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...

 musician

Robert "Bob" Johnson (born 18 March 1944) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 guitarist formerly in the electric folk

Electric folk

Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...

 band Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span

Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

 from 1972–77 and again from 1980-2001.

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

Westminster City School

Westminster City School is a voluntary aided Christian school for boys in Westminster, London. The school has 800 students on its roll, and it offers 105 of 130 places each year to boys practising the Christian faith in the Anglican dioceses of London and Southwark. The other 25 spaces are...

 in London. He became a member of Steeleye Span in 1972 after being introduced by fiddler Peter Knight. He first appeared on the group's fourth album, Below the Salt

Below the Salt

Below the Salt is a 1972 album by Steeleye Span, and considered by many fans to be one of their best. The album has a slightly medieval theme, most notably in the artwork and title...

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

Gaudete

Gaudete is a sacred Christmas carol, composed sometime in the 16th century. The song was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs published in 1582...

".

Despite taking lead vocals on many songs, Johnson was something of a background member. He left Steeleye Span temporarily in 1977 to work on a concept album, The King of Elfland's Daughter

The King of Elfland's Daughter (album)

The King of Elfland's Daughter is a concept album by former Steeleye Span members Bob Johnson and Peter Knight. It was based on the 1924 fantasy novel of the same name by Lord Dunsany and recorded and released in 1977...

with Peter Knight. However, he returned in 1980 to record Sails of Silver

Sails of Silver

Sails of Silver is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span.The album was produced two years after the band's ostensible break-up, at the request of Chrysalis Records. Peter Knight and Bob Johnson both returned, replacing their own replacements Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick, who had...

.

After Tim Hart

Tim Hart

Tim Hart was an English folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of electric folk band, Steeleye Span.-Early years:...

'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

Back in Line is an album by the electric folk band Steeleye Span.This album, the band's 12th, was released in 1986, after a hiatus of almost 6 years. It was their first album without founding member Tim Hart, who quit the music business entirely...

(1986) and Tempted and Tried

Tempted and Tried

Tempted and Tried is the 13th studio album by the electric folk 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 1970s, the band entered something of a creative dry spell, with...

(1989).

Johnson left Steeleye Span in 2000 due to health reasons, but returned in 2001 to record Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span

Present--The Very Best of Steeleye Span

Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span is an album by Steeleye Span, which is frequently mistaken for one of the band's many compilation albums. Although all but one of the songs had been previously released, the album is actually a collection of new studio versions of the songs involved...

. However, his remaining health issues prevented him from touring, so he was replaced by Ken Nicol.

Johnson is a qualified psychologist, having completed a degree with the University of Hertfordshire

University of Hertfordshire

The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...

. He also gives guitar lessons. He and his former wife, Jane (now divorced), have two children, Barnaby and Holly.