Crossroads

"Eugene's Trick Bag," the updated classical piece at the film's climax, is largely based on Niccolò Paganini's "Caprice #5." Legend holds that Paganini sold his soul to the devil for his musical talent. Steve Vai mimics Paganini's legendary rolling eyes, long, unkempt hair and gaunt appearance.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The screenplay was an original by John Fusco, who had long been involved with blues music. He worked as a blues singer and musician but had been warned by a doctor to rest his vocals. In 1981 his girlfriend, who worked at a nursing home, told him that an old Black man with a harmonica had been admitted. Fusco went to visit him and, on the way, imagined a story about what would happen if the player turned out to be a legendary bluesman, which gave him the idea for the story.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

As the film opens, Robert Johnson is shown playing and singing in a high soprano voice. Allegedly he actually had a deeper voice: when his records were made, the master's speed was slowed because Johnson's songs were so long they would not "fit" on the recording device, so slowing the machine would capture more but would raise the pitch when played back. For this reason all of his original 78 rpm records play at a higher pitch than he actually sang. Modern digital technology allows these recordings to be played back at the true and correct pitch by slowing the speed, which lowers the vocal range to its actual range and original speed value.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

While playing Jack Butler, the devil's guitarist, Steve Vai performed both sides of the guitar duel. Ry Cooder recorded the slide parts and produced the soundtrack.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The real Willie Brown was a guitarist, not a harmonica player.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

"Eugene's Trick Bag" was transcribed in full in "Guitar World" magazine in 1987.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Robert Judd, who played Scratch, died on January 20, 1986, only two months before the film's March 1986 release.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Keith Richards was initially considered for the role of Jack Butler.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

Lightning Boy claims to come from Long Island, where Steve Vai and Ralph Macchio were born.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Steve Vai used some riffs from the climactic duel as the basis for "Bad Horsie," a track found on his 1995 album "Alien Love Secrets."

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Scratch's first name in the film is "Legba." Papa Legba is a loa, or intermediary, between people and the divine in Vodou. In some places he is a trickster, but he is almost always depicted as the ruler of crossroads.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Arlen Roth was Ralph Macchio's guitar teacher on the film and played many of his parts. According to Roth's website, the final duel was assembled from parts played by himself, Steve Vai, Ry Cooder and Bill Kanengiser, who performed the classical playing throughout the film. Due to a contract dispute, Roth was not credited in the film.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

John Fusco wrote the screenplay as his master's thesis at New York University. It was only his second screenplay. Producer Mark Carliner served as Fusco's independent consultant and later helped get the film made.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

John Fusco was paid $250,000 for his screenplay.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Ry Cooder worked on the soundtrack for a year.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The guitar duel was originally about 15 minutes long. It was edited down to the last two minutes to heighten the scene's impact.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

In Willie's dream, Scratch's assistant keeps laughing about "hellhounds" chasing him. This is a clever reference to "Hellhound On My Trail," one of Robert Johnson's surviving songs.

EASTER EGGS & REFERENCES · SOURCED

Contrary to popular belief, Eugene does not play Joe Satriani's "Big Bad Moon" after the guitar duel. The riff is similar, but the Satriani track was written and recorded in 1989.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

John Fusco's screenplay won first place at the national FOCUS Awards (Films by College and University Students) and was sold to Columbia Pictures while he was still a student.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Going to Chicago to continue with music carries a twofold reference. First, one of Robert Johnson's most famous songs is "Sweet Home Chicago." Second, Chicago blues developed from Delta blues as African Americans moved north between the 1920s and 1940s.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

In the flashbacks, Willie Brown is referred to as "blind" more than once. This is also a clever nod to Blind Willie Johnson, a blues pioneer. His slide guitar influenced Robert Johnson.

EASTER EGGS & REFERENCES · SOURCED

Scratch/Legba is taken from the mystical figure Papa Legba. Papa Legba is the Louisiana Voodoo IWA (an immortal spirit assembled from several African religions) who serves as an intermediary between God and humanity. He stands at a spiritual crossroads and grants (or denies) permission to speak with the spirits of Guinea.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The guitar Jack Butler (Steve Vai) plays during the duel is displayed at the Hard Rock casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Steve Vai, who played both sides of the duel guitars (except for the neoclassical pieces), was named by Guitar World in 2012 as one of the top 10 guitarists of all time.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Lea Thompson revealed that early in her career she padded her résumé by lying that she had appeared in a film called "Crossroads." At the time no such film existed; ironically, this "Crossroads" was made later.

CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

Steve Vai played a "Jackson" guitar at the end of the film. The Jackson logo on the guitar's body was covered with black electrical tape during filming because they did not want anyone to think it referred to Michael Jackson or anyone in his family.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

The original production took on screenwriter John Fusco's screenplay.

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

Eugene Martone's (Ralph Macchio) nicknames were "Lightning," "Lightning Boy" or "Lightning Boy Martone," while Willie Brown's (Joe Seneca) nickname was "Blind Dog Fulton."

INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED