Dark Was the Night

Starred review from June 15, 2020
When NASA scientists compiled a recording of sounds to send into space representing Earth and humanity, those sounds included thunder, crickets, classical pieces, and a short wordless song by musician "Blind Willie" Johnson. Willie Johnson's mother died while he was still a boy, and shortly thereafter he lost his sight. Now young Johnson's light came from singing in the church choir and playing the guitar. He traveled to cities throughout Texas, where he sang and played for money. One day, an adult Johnson was given the opportunity to record an album of his songs. One of the songs was "Dark Was the Night," a haunting yet hopeful tune marked only by Johnson's humming and characteristic slide-guitar playing. The second-person narrative is brief but evocative. In the backmatter, Golio shares with readers that this song was chosen for the Golden Record placed on Voyager 1 in 1977 because "Johnson powerfully conveyed the sense of loneliness that all people feel--something very important to know about human beings and life on planet Earth." Lewis' illustrations have a soft, blurred effect to them, conveying both the bygone time and Johnson's vision loss. They are washes of mostly blue and violet, with punches of bright yellow and gold. The author's note also discusses the challenges of researching Johnson and provides a bit more information on Voyager 1. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 65% of actual size.) An ode to a too-little-discussed musician and an excellent introduction to his amazing musical talent. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

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June 1, 2020
Grades K-3 The subject of this beautiful biography is blues musician Blind Willie Johnson, whose soulful singing and slide guitar playing so moved people that his song Dark Was the Night was included on the Golden Record that NASA sent into space in 1977. There is little known about Johnson's life, a fact acknowledged by Golio in an afterword, but the author has turned the details uncovered by scholarship into a simple, inspiring story of one man's commitment to lifting up himself and those around him with his music. As Golio puts it, It was the sound of one human being reaching out to all the others, telling them not to be afraid of the dark. Imagery of light and darkness runs throughout the text, both spiritually and literally in Johnson's blindness, and it is also skillfully evoked in Lewis' illustrations, which set stars sparkling in the deep blue of outer space and sends gold radiating from Johnson's guitar as he plays, smiling all the time. An American treasure who shouldn't go unsung.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 1, 2020

Gr 2-5-In 1977, Voyager 1 launched into space bearing a Golden Record of images, sounds, and music-a message from Earth to the unknown. One of the chosen songs shares the title of this picture book biography of singer Willie Johnson. Johnson, a blind Black man, was born in Texas in 1897 and loved to sing and play the cigar-box guitar his father had made for him. By the age of eight, he had lost both his mother and his eyesight. As a young man, Johnson took his guitar on the road, traveling from town to town by train, busking to make a living. He often sang the blues, using his pocket knife on steel guitar strings to play "slide." A music executive heard Johnson sing and decided to sign him. Johnson's first record sold thousands. He died in 1945, but his music lived on, now immortalized somewhere in the universe, though easily accessible through YouTube. Lewis's expressive watercolors depict the subject's humble country beginnings as well as the joy he felt when he sang and played. The book's recurrent theme of light is captured in the bright yellow wash throughout. The story of Johnson's life is framed with vivid spreads of a night sky illuminated by stars, referencing both the Voyager's mission and the song title. VERDICT A beautiful, timely tribute to a little-known musician and space venture.-Barbara Auerbach, Cairo P.L., NY

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Starred review from November 16, 2020
The inclusion of Johnson’s song “Dark Was the Night” on a recording aboard NASA’s Voyager frames this biography, handled with artistry by Golio and illustrated by Lewis in dazzling watercolors. Golio explains that in 1977, a collection of Earth’s music was launched into deep space, which included “a musician, playing his guitar and humming a tune of light and dark.” Information about Johnson (1897–1945) is scant, but the creators make the most of it: “You were born in the light, Willie Johnson,” Golio begins, as Lewis paints Willie’s mother cradling her infant close, her smile as warm in the sunshine. He loses her while he’s still young, then loses his sight. But his playing and singing gain notoriety, and eventually a man from a record company hears him. The volume movingly commemorates Johnson and his music, which “shined a light in the darkness and finally touched the stars.” Ages 5–8.