Me and Mr. Johnson is a 2004 album recorded by Eric Clapton consisting of covers of songs written and originally recorded by Robert Johnson. Released in March 2004 by Reprise Records, with the cover painted by Sir Peter Blake, using a series of photographs of Clapton. Clapton had planned to record an album of new material, but by the time of the recording sessions there were not enough new songs written, so the band instead recorded a series of Johnson songs. Me and Mr. Johnson sold more than two million albums worldwide and reached the Top 10 in more than 15 countries. A companion album and video release entitled Sessions for Robert J was released on December 7, 2004, and featured different versions of each of the songs from the studio album .

In the beginning of 2004, Clapton set out to record a new album, working with his long-time collaborator Simon Climie on several songs that Clapton wrote about love, peace and happiness. However, when it came time to record in the studio, there were not enough finished songs for an album, so Clapton suggested the band play some songs composed by Delta blues great Robert Johnson. In just two weeks, Clapton and his studio band, Andy Fairweather Low, Billy Preston, Steve Gadd, Doyle Bramhall II, and Nathan East recorded an entire album consisting of Johnson cover songs. Clapton was very pleased with the recordings, as was Warner Bros. Records and Reprise Records manager Tom Whalley. Clapton eventually finished his original material, which was released on the album Back Home in 2005.

In February 2004, Clapton was interviewed about his new studio album: "It is a remarkable thing to have been driven and influenced all of my life by the work of one man", Clapton said. "And even though I accept that it has always been the keystone of my musical foundation, I still would not regard it as an obsession; instead, I prefer to think of it as a landmark that I navigate by, whenever I feel myself going adrift. I am talking, of course, about the work of Robert Johnson. Up until I heard his music, everything I had ever heard seemed as if it was dressed up for a shop window somewhere, so that when I heard him for the first time, it was like he was singing only for himself, and now and then, maybe God. At first, it scared me in its intensity, and I could only take it in small doses. Then I would build up strength and take a little more, but I could never really get away from it, and in the end, it spoiled me for everything else. Now, after all these years, his music is like my oldest friend, always in the back of my head, and on the horizon. It is the finest music I have ever heard. I have always trusted its purity, and I always will".

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