Led Zeppelin – “Traveling Riverside Blues”
Perhaps the most famous and transformative Robert Johnson cover. In 1969, Led Zeppelin turned the song into a pagan boogie that showcases Jimmy Page’s insistent central riff, John Paul Jones’ fat bass line, John Bonham’s impossible beat, and Robert Plant’s possessed performance, which borrows from at least three Johnson compositions.

Howlin’ Wolf – “Dust My Broom”
Long before white British kids discovered him, older black bluesmen were playing the hell out of Robert Johnson’s tunes, chief among them Howlin’ Wolf. His hoarse delivery and blaring harmonica lend the tune a strident groove, as if he doesn’t quite grasp the sexual undertones.

Cream – “Cross Road Blues”
Few artists have done as much to make Robert Johnson boring and tasteful than Eric Clapton, who recorded a deadly album of covers in 2004. But this version of “Cross Road Blues,” recorded with the short-lived supergroup Cream, gets points for exploding the power-trio format. Maybe Clapton just needed Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to egg him on.

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