GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) – Others impersonate Elvis. Rocky Lawrence does a pretty mean impression of Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson.

And Lawrence can always count on Mississippians to recognize him – even if he said in his other stateside stops he’s greeted with “Robert who?”

“I want to tell them, You know, Robert Johnson, only the guy who started all the rock and roll you hear on the radio,'” Lawrence said. “Only when I come to Mississippi do people nod their heads because they just know.”

Lawrence, a 50-year-old Connecticut native, has been impersonating Johnson for seven years, but he said his fascination with Johnson – who, legend has it, sold his soul to the devil for his raw blues talent – dates back about 35 years.

When Lawrence was 15, he noticed that the beginning riff of “Voodoo Chile” by Jimi Hendrix sounded much like a song by bluesman Muddy Waters. He investigated Waters’ influences and learned of Johnson.

“There’s something about Robert Johnson that just took me over,” Lawrence said.

He started a jazz and blues nightclub, then sold it and formed the “Delta Blues Band.” When his stepdaughter was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Lawrence made ends meet by honoring his musical muse.

“I came up with the idea to do Robert Johnson out of love and necessity,” Lawrence said. “I had sold my business and had no band. When a child is that ill, your life changes. I finally decided to do Robert Johnson the way it was meant to be.”

First, he attempted to match Johnson’s look by finding a replica of the suit Johnson wore in one of the only two photographs known to exist of the bluesman.

Then, he tried to match the sound. He even plays the same type of guitar – a Gibson L1 acoustic.

His act has taken him from South America to Denmark, and he said of fans around the world: “You play in Europe, South America, everyone knows who Robert Johnson is. He’s as big as Britney Spears in the states.”

Johnson wrote “Me and the Devil Blues,” “Crossroads Blues” and “Rambling on My Mind.” Eric Clapton last year assembled a tribute album, “Me and Mr. Johnson,” which was nominated for a Grammy.

Lawrence played with David “Honey Boy” Edwards, who was present the night Johnson was fatally poisoned in 1938 in Leflore County.

“I have always played and treated Robert Johnson like Mozart or Beethoven or any other men of that ilk,” Lawrence said. “When you get my Robert Johnson, you get it the way it was written. That’s what I wanted, and he deserves that much.”