November 23, 1936 was a good day for recorded music. Two men, an ocean apart, sat before a microphone and began to play. One, Pablo Casals, was a cello prodigy who had performed for the Queen of Spain. The other, Robert Johnson, played guitar and was a regular in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. These recordings would change music history.
This episode originally aired on NPR in 2011.

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Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries for more on our stories. You can also visit us at radiodiaries.org.