 " Cross Road Blues " reflects Johnson 's Delta blues roots and may have been in his repertoire since 1932 . It is the first recording to show his mastery of his mentor Son House 's style , particularly in his slide guitar work . Music historian Edward Komara identifies parts of " Straight <unk> Blues " by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell ( 1929 ) along with Roosevelt Sykes ' subsequent adaptation as " Black River Blues " ( 1930 ) as melodic precedents . However , Johnson infuses their relaxed urban approach with a more forceful rural one . Komara terms Johnson 's guitar playing a " blues harp style " . It contrasts with Johnson 's finger @-@ picking " piano style " , which uses a boogie @-@ style accompaniment on the bass strings while playing melody and harmonies on the higher strings . Harp @-@ style playing employs sharp percussive accents on the bass strings ( an imitation of the sharp draw used by harmonica players ) and allows Johnson to explore different chordings and fills . Johnson uses this technique for " Terraplane Blues " , which shares many common elements with " Cross Road Blues " . 
