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I understand your points, Tommer. For me, it's not so much who was responsible for RJ's death, as I certainly wouldn't have known the person, but it would close that chapter on Robert and put to rest that part of the mystery. It seems to me that it's the sharing of information that should be most important, but in McCormick's case especially, it's almost an 'I have what you don't' attitude. In Peter Guralnick's book, Searching For Robert Johnson, which itself goes back a good number of years now, the author states on page six that...

"(Mack) McCormick has gone a long way in filling the enormous void of knowledge surrounding Johnson's life and in 1976 announced that he'd completed a book, tentatively entitled Biography Of A Phantom and structured as a mystery, which will undoubtedly add a great deal more to our understanding when it is finally published."

I'm not sure what Mack's health is like these days (I recall being told some time ago that it wasn't what one would consider great) but you would think that in the thirty years that have passed since he announced a completed work that he could have ironed out the kinks in the book, found a publisher, and shared his supposed wealth of knowledge on Robert Johnson.

Gayle Dean Wardlow, who is sometimes ridiculed for his self-appointed 'Blues Detective' title, seems to be the only person who has been willing to share his findings without putting dollar signs in front of his research. Granted, he's made money on his book, his articles, and his discussion appearances, but he has never struck me as a person who wants to hold information back from those who wish to learn more. LaVere's seemingly back-handed dealings in acquiring the rights to Robert's pictures have left him looking like an unscrupulous money-monger and McCormick isn't looking much better in the blues public's eye.

I'd like to hope that we can look forward to more information on Robert Johnson but with the amount of blather looming around these researchers, and their desire to fight and argue about who found what first, I don't see much happening in the near future. It's also sad that Robert's relatives have continuously been tossed into the middle of the ring during the battles.