According to Clapton, the riff is an embellishment of Robert Johnson's guitar lines and 'was the easiest for me to see as a rock and roll vehicle'. It features an up-beat hard-rock arrangement by Clapton and an eight-note guitar riff and has both major and minor scale centers. On March 10, 1968, Cream recorded a live version of 'Crossroads' during a performance at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. It features the guitar figure that Clapton later used with Cream and a harmonica solo by Jones. Their loose, R&B-influenced interpretation of the song was released on the Elektra Records compilation album What's Shakin' in June 1966. Powerhouse consisted of Steve Winwood on vocals, Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on bass guitar, Paul Jones on harmonica, Ben Palmer on piano, and Pete York on drums. In February 1966, prior to joining Cream, Eric Clapton recorded the song as 'Crossroads' with a short-lived studio project, dubbed Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse.

Although its lyrics do not contain any specific references, the song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical talents. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic slide guitar. 'Cross Road Blues' (more commonly known as 'Crossroads') is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936.

Lyrics to crossroads cream