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B.B. King

BLUESMUSICMAGAZINE

A Life & Legacy 1925 - 2015

A Tribute

To

September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015 We hope you enjoy this special digital-only tribute to the legacy of B.B. King. Blues Music Magazine decided to create this special digital-only issue devoted solely to honoring B.B. King’s life and music. B.B. had an enormous impact on American music for over 60 years, and this was going to be a special digital issue for our paid subscribers only. As the tribute took shape we realized, it needed to be shared with the world and it needed to be free. We hope you share it with your friends across the globe. For our regular subscribers, this is not Issue #7, you will receive #7 early in the summer. It will feature an in-depth talk with Joe Bonamassa about his summer Three Kings Tour, biographical pieces on the three Kings (B.B., Albert, and Freddie), profiles on Ana Popovic, Sugaray Rayford, Dave Specter, over 50 CD reviews, and much more. For non-subscribers, we ask that you put on your favorite B.B. King record, read the wonderful testimonials from his friends, enjoy the timeless pictures, revisit some of our favorite reviews of B.B.’s recent music, and consider subscribing to Blues Music Magazine. In today’s digital world, print magazines like Blues Music Magazine must rely on individual subscriptions to continue in print. Your subscription or donation is a vote of confidence to keep the magazine sharing the blues. This issue is available for print on demand for all our collector fans at MagCloud.com

Art Tipaldi Editor In Chief

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B.B. King

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B.B. KING BIOGRAPHY by Art Tipaldi

REVIEWS B.B. King CDs & DVDs

DOWN IN THE DELTA by Roger Stolle

MUSICIANS & FRIENDS by Various Artist & Friends

B.B. KING’S BAND by Ron Levy & Michael

AROUND THE WORLD by Bob Margolin

WRITERS REMEMBER by Various Writers

BLUESVILLE by Bill Wax

ONE LAST NOTE by Jack Sullivan

PHOTOGRAPHERS REMEMBER by Various Photographers

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INTRODUCTION by Art Tipaldi

RIFF & GROOVES From The Editor-In-Chief

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FRONT COVER PHOTOGRAPHY (B.B. KING)© PERTTI NURMI BACK COVER - B.B. KING & LITTLE MILTON ART TIPALDI

PUBLISHER: MojoWax Media Inc. PRESIDENT: Jack Sullivan

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Art Tipaldi LAYOUT: Jack Sullivan

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS David Barrett / Michael Cote / Thomas J. Cullen III

Bill Dahl / Hal Horowitz / Tom Hyslop Larry Nager / Bill Wasserzieher / Don Wilcock

~~~ COLUMNISTS

Bob Margolin / Roger Stolle ~~~

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vincent Abbate / Grant Britt / Michael Cala

Mark Caron / Tom Clarke / Kay Cordtz Ted Drozdowski / Robert Feuer / Rev. Keith Gordon Brian D. Holland / Stacy Jeffress / Chris Kerslake Michael Kins-

man / Karen Nugent / Brian M. Owens Tim Parsons / Tony Del Ray / Phil Reser

Nick DeRiso / Pete Sardon / Richard Skelly Eric Thom / Mark Thompson

M.E. Travaglini / Bill Vitka ~~~

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Scott Allen / Robert Barclay / Mark Goodman

Les Gruseck / Aigars Lapsa / Doug Richard Joseph A. Rosen / Dusty Scott / Marilyn Stringer

Jen Taylor / Susan Thorsen~~~

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Mail 2 copies to: Blues Music Magazine P.O. Box 1446, Bradenton, FL 34206

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~~~ Blues Music Magazine welcomes articles, photographs,

and any material about the blues suitable for publication. Please direct queries to [email protected]. Blues Music Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited

manuscripts, photographs, or illustrations. Material may be edited at the discretion of the editors.

To be credited and reimbursed, all submissions must be properly marked with name,

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Blues Music Magazine. © 2015 MojoWax Media, Inc.

In 1999, B.B. King and his rhythm section came to my high school and graciously did an hour workshop with 100 of my students. These were students involved in my Blues and Literature class and our History of Popular Music class; they were not necessarily musicians or band members. B.B. was amazing. We all know you will never meet a more gracious, humane person in your life, but these 100 kids and about 50 adult lives were forever changed by this 74-year-old ambassador of good will. The students said the moment he walked in the room, they felt a spiritual-like aura and they were hooked by his demeanor. More than anything, B.B. showed those in attendance how to be human as he offered essential lessons in how we should live with each other. As he shook hands, B.B. told one kid to practice the guitar, “So you can show me something the next time I come here.” Though the kid was a trombone player, he went out and bought a guitar, figuring B.B. must have known something. The kids wrote down whatever word or line he said to them and quoted it in future journals or writings. Many of my students have said they want to live a life B.B. would be proud of. I’ve already seen those changes happening. When you think there’s nothing more he can do, B.B. will surprise you and go beyond your expectations. With only one pick to give away, I pointed out an 18-year-old student in a wheel chair. Not only did he give her the pick, he said he would only sign autographs if he could sit next to her. As he left, he kissed Amy. Her smile said it all. After the 90 minutes with my students, an hour’s drive to the night venue, and a 90-minute evening show, he welcomed over 100 people into his room back stage, signed and talked to each for as long as was necessary. When he ended the night, he told three of my students who made it to the evening show, “Treat people with kindness, and they will treat you the same way.”“Let B.B.’s music keep our spirits high”

Art Tipaldi, Editor In Chief

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This biography of B.B. King is interspersed with quotes from the many interviews I’ve had with B.B. over the past 20 years.

“The blues is the source. It has to do with people, places, and things. It’s life, with all the emotion and passions. As long as we have them, we’ll have blues. The blues contains all the basic feelings of human beings: pain, happiness, fear, courage, confusion, and desire told in simple stories. That’s the genius of the blues.” – B.B. King Since the late 1940s, Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King, has played his blues for audiences around the world. He was born in 1925 in the Mississippi Delta, and has performed on stages around the world for well over 20,000 one-nighters with only “Lucille” as his defense. From the start, B.B. King stood up to all fears. He learned the blues in the cotton

fields of Indianola, Mississippi, in the 1930s. It was when he played in and around Indianola when King decided on the blues. As a teen he was in a local Gospel choir, and he was also influenced by the guitar sounds of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and T-Bone Walker. But the people of Indianola helped King decide which path to follow. “I would sit on the corners of my hometown in Indianola playing the guitar with a hat for tips at my feet. When they asked for a Gospel song, they’d pat me on the head and tell me to keep it up, that I’d be good someday. But they didn’t put nothing in the hat. Others would come up and ask me to do a blues song and always put a little something in the hat. You can see what motivated me to be a blues singer.” He delved deeper into the blues when he relocated on Beale Street, where Riley B. King became “The Beale Street Blues Boy” before he shortened it to just “Blues Boy.”

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When King arrived in Memphis in the late 1940s, he took lessons from his cousin, Bukka White. It was there that King’s signature vibrato was born of frustration. King had trouble working Bukka’s slide and developed his shaking vibrato as a way to approximate White’s slide. Today, that signature guitar vibrato is imitated over and over. It was also in Memphis that King was hired by WDIA’s Rufus Thomas to be a disc jockey on that station. Each day, King played records, hyped his own shows, and sold Peptikon, an alcohol filled stomach-ache medicine, to listeners. During these years, he was woodsheddin’ in the local jukes and clubs on both sides of the Mississippi River. One night in Twist, Arkansas, Lucille was born. King was playing at a juke where they used a trashcan and kerosene to keep warm. A fight broke out over a woman’s attention between two male rivals. As they fought, they spilled the can and the dry wooden walls and floor of the juke was engulfed in flames. All escaped, but King remembered that his black Gibson guitar was still inside. He ran in and saved the guitar. When he found out that the name of the woman they fought over was Lucille, he decided to name his guitar that to remember. Though King began recording in the early 1950s, it was after his number one hit in 1951, “Three O’Clock Blues,” that King bought a bus for his band and hit the road. In fact, he hit the road so hard that he gave up his radio gig. “I can tell you that in 1956, I did 342 one nighters. I never did that again. We average more than 200 shows every year.” Throughout his career, King has released over 80 albums and been featured on countless DVDs, but it was the stately, mainstream treatment of “The Thrill Is Gone” in 1969 that draped the ambassador’s robe over King’s broad shoulders. Since then, he carried blues music abroad. “When I bring the blues to these places, I try to make friends. One of the biggest commodities we export is our music. I’m a part of that. “Playing ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ is my favorite part of my show. That’s always been my biggie because it’s been played more than any other one of mine. People remember the intro so when I start it, people immediately recognize it.” As the blues ambassador, King readily accepted those responsibilities and continued to do humble duties for people.

“I’m a simple man. I think it’s important to stay close to the people. I’ve got a policy I’ve honored; I’ll sign autographs for any fan. Since the people have been so nice to me through the years, I try and always remember to be at my best behavior when I play. That might be the night that you come with your wife and family to see me for the first time, and I want everything to be good. I try and do that all over the world. I want friends and families to get along. I want this to become a world where we can talk to people and make compromises and don’t have to call people names on the streets or go to war.” Sadly, there were darker lessons King assimilated. For example, every early B.B. King song is co-written by Jules Taub or Joe Josea and neither is ever mentioned by King. King explained, “Nobody knows who he was. I definitely don’t. That’s the company getting a share of my royalties. That was their way of claiming half of the song. I didn’t think about it at the time. I don’t hold that against them. That was a part of my learning.” King also dealt with the dark side of promoters in the chitlin’ circuit. “The chitlin’ circuit was a series of small clubs that I played until I was in my 30’s. It was a place you could get 150 people crowded in. Some guys would be shooting craps, and I played for the ones who weren’t gambling. I’d get $15 when I finished, if I could find the promoter. That was a good way to get training. We had to try and make each night an audition. Whether we worked tomorrow depended on how well we did tonight.” King was quick to point out how he survived discrimination throughout the Jim Crow South. “There were so many times where there were things you would like to do, you could not because of the segregation. I fought back in my own way. If I went to a gas station and they wouldn’t let me use the restroom, I wouldn’t fill up my bus. I did that for a long time. We let it be known we didn’t like what was going on.” Yet, bitterness was never a crown this King wore. Instead, the Blues Boy embarked upon a life on the road that would broadcast his vibrations around the world. “I’ve been movin’ on all my life.” His over 60 on the road testified his Ambassador of the Blues title. No performer has shouldered this responsibility with more dignity than B.B. King. years on the road testified to his Ambassador of the Blues title. No performer has shouldered this responsibility with more dignity than B.B. King.


In a Rolling Stone poll of 100 Greatest Guitarists, King was named the Number 3. His run of 15 Grammys began in 1971 with Best R&B Vocal Performance for “The Thrill Is Gone.” He’s won six Grammys for Traditional Blues Albums Live At The Apollo, Blues Summit, Blues On The Bayou, Ridin’ With King, his 2001 collaboration with Eric Clapton, 80, A Christmas Celebration Of Hope, and One Kind Favor. In 1987, King was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. For all the years he has devoted to this blues calling, King has received five honorary degrees, three NAACP Image Awards, six Lifetime Achievement Awards, the B’nai B’rith Humanitarian Award, the 1990 Presidential Medal of the Arts, the 1995 Kennedy Center Honor, and dozens of DownBeat Critic and Readers’ poll awards. Most recently, in 2014, King was inducted in the DownBeat Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2012, King anchored a night of blues at the White House that was broadcast on PBS. In 1980, King was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame, and in 1997, King was presented the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles. King has amassed 39 Blues Music Award nominations and won 15 Awards. After wining the Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year for 11 years in a row, from 1995 to 2005, the Blues Foundation renamed it the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year in 2006. There are three biographies of King, The Arrival Of B.B. King by Charles Sawyer in 1980, Blues All Around Me by B.B. King and David Ritz from 1996, and B.B. King Treasures by B.B. King and Dick Waterman complied in 2005.

In 1991, B.B. King’s Blues Club opened on Beale Street in Memphis. In 1994, a second club opened at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles. A third club was opened in New York City’s Times Square in June 2000. Since then, others have opened in Nashville, Las Vegas, and Orlando. In 2008, Sirius/XM renamed its blues channel B.B. King’s Bluesville, which featured intimate stories told by King. King has been in numerous movies and TV shows. He is also prominent in Eric Clapton’s three Crossroads Guitar Festival DVDs playing with Robert Cray, Jimmie Vaughan, Hbert Sumlin, Clapton, Buddy guy and others. When King asked U2’s Bono to write a song for him, Bono wrote “When Love Comes To Town” specifically for King in 1989 and then recorded it with King at Sun Studios. In 2004, King received Sweden’s Polar Music Prize from the King

and Queen of Sweden. When you travel to Lucerne, Switzerland, and stay at the Hotel Schweizerhof, request room 146, the B.B. King room. In 2008, the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened in Indianola, Mississippi,

giving King a permanent presence in his Delta hometown. Most recently in 2014, MVDvisual released the docu-biography, B.B. King The Life Of Riley, a two-hour DVD that features King and many others telling King’s life through stories and musical performances. In one of our last talks before we finished, B.B. King told me one more blues nugget. “Some will say to you anybody can play the blues, but that doesn’t mean everybody’ll like it. You have to express your self when you play the blues. It’s a very simple music, but I think that simplicity makes we that play the blues work harder at it.” Play on Mr. King, may your vibrato continue to spread the message throughout the ages.– Art Tipaldi


PHOTOGRAPHY © JOSEPH A. ROSEN

“Withoutadoubt,B.B.Kinghasinfluencedmorerockandbluesmusiciansthananyoneelseinhistory.Thereissimplynooneelsewithmorerawpassionoreloquence.He’salsothekindestandmostgenerouspersontoothermusiciansIknow.Therearereasonswhyhe’sbeenlovedandreveredforsolong–it’sthedignityandhearthebringstohislifeaswellashismusic,andthefactthathe’salwaystruetowhywelovedhiminthefirstplace.”— Bonnie Raitt


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I was privileged to have the unique and special honor of working for eight years with one of the greatest American artists of all time, B.B. King. A great man known and loved around the world for his grace, soulful musical genius, and genuine humility. Mr. King is not just ‘King of the Blues,’ but a beloved man whose personal qualities and examples of leadership earned the love and respect of every one of us that worked for and knew him. B.B. often called me his “son” on and off stage and treated me like one he truly loved. The feeling was mutual and always will be. As a personal and musical role model, I never saw him fail to take the high road, or give less than 100% of himself. I described and detailed many specific examples of this in my book, Tales Of A Road Dog (published by Levtron.com) devoting five chapters to Mr. King and the B.B. King musical family I grew up with on the road performing on every continent short of Antarctica. A family that B.B. nurtured and a family whose devotion and familial bonds are still strong today. Every musician who played for Mr. King either before or since my tenure (1969-76) shares this same fraternal kinship and always will, as well as our mutual friends. During my tenure with B.B., every night was a completely new show. We never knew what he was going to play other then always starting with “Everyday I Have The blues” in Bb, then into “How Blue Can You Get” in D-natural. He never named the keys and rarely counted off a tempo, unless it was for the benefit of showmanship to include the audience. We did a good 300 shows a year and B.B. always maintained the highest standards of excellence and we were expected to outperform anyone we shared the stage with, no matter who they were or what they did. And we usually did. It was a source of pride he instilled in all of us, all the time. He played and led us with so much heart and passion every night, you had to keep up. Lately, many have wondered, “Why is

B.B. still working despite his advanced age and declining health?” The answer is simple. Mr. King has always felt an unwavering responsibility for “his” people, the musicians whose livelihoods and families depended on him. He also felt a great responsibility and love towards his unwavering fans. I never saw him leave a venue until he had signed autographs, posed for photos, and spoke or listened to every single fan that came to him. He was always a true gentleman. So many times over the years he would remember the names of these fans, and their children and relatives. Some of whom he might not have seen in decades. He

loved all people with a king sized heart and was giving of himself to a fault, pained if he felt he ever let anyone down. B.B. has given me many fond memories. I still cherish his hearty laugh and broad smile when remembering his response to one of my crazy stories or jokes, youthful naiveté or something I played well he liked. Sometimes he’d grimace when I played, said, or did something back-asswards too!

Yet he was just as gentle at those times; setting me straight and making sure I got it. Combining the patience of Job with the wisdom of Solomon and his Delta country parables, he won my total respect and admiration. His wholehearted paternal pride inspired me to work harder to do my very best, just like him. I was only 16-years-old when I first met Mr. King in 1967 as a fan. Now in my sixties and 23 years older than B.B. was when we first met, I know it still amuses him to regard me as a grown man. During our reunion after a concert last year, we were able to share things with each other man to man, that grew quite personal and emotional. Unspoken, we both realized this could be our very last time together. He graciously asked me to play on his next album even though we both knew it would never be. Eventually he tired and we bade each other our fond farewells, and hugged goodbye. We had reached deeply inside each other’s hearts and souls once again. And, it was very good and complete.– Ron Levy

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I could write several volumes of books about my experiences while playing bass from 1985 to 2002 for Mr. King, but the most important fact for me about working for B.B. is that he had health insurance for his band. That is unheard of in the music business. I became ill in 2002 and had to come off the road. Having health insurance provided by B.B. King’s company, King Road Shows Inc. probably saved my life and kept me from becoming bankrupt with medical bills. Mr. King also kept me on retainer while I recovered. He even helped me with my college tuition when I went back to school at Tennessee State University 2005. TSU is where I met B. B. King’s nephew, Walter King, in 1978. Walter referred me to B.B. in 1985 when I first joined the band. One bit of advice that B.B. taught me was to be true to yourself. I would be intimidated by other great musicians we would be on the bill with, and B.B. would say, “Don’t let those other musicians intimidate you. We do what we do. All we can be is ourselves.” I miss him dearly.– Michael “Mighty Mike” Doster

B.B. King’s name is synonymous with the word blues. It was not merely his enormous talent that made him King of the Blues; it was his unending drive for self-improvement, his professional demeanor, and his ability to serve as the worldwide ambassador for the blues. He was appreciated beyond the blues community and was equally loved and respected by both fans and peers. These are just a few of the reasons B.B. King was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the 1980 inaugural class and has a Blues Music Award category named after him – the B.B. King Entertainer Award.– Jay Sieleman, President and CEO, The Blues Foundation


B.B. King loved the sound of a slide guitar, but could never figure out how to play it. Instead, he learned to bend the string and found his signature sound. Oh, what a sound. The first time I met B.B. was at the third anniversary celebration of his blues club opening in New York City. After the performance I introduced myself to his manager, Floyd. He asked if I could wait around until after the show because Floyd thought B.B. would want to say hello. I was escorted to the green room where a line of people were waiting to meet him. I was brought to the center of the room and introduced as “that guy” who does the satellite blues radio show. Before I could say anything, B.B. got up from his chair, came over to me, and said, “I’ve been wanting to meet you.” Gob smacked, I said, “Mr. King, this is all wrong. I’m supposed to say that to you.” He laughed and it was the beginning of a true friendship between us. I soon realized B.B. felt that he owed everyone else the thanks for their support and love, not himself.

Over the next 12 years he remained gracious to everyone around him. As program director for Sirius/XM B.B. King’s Bluesville, we produced 40 one hour shows together as well as three specials. I was lucky enough to spend many hours with him over those years, much of it sitting at his dining room table recording conversations which became the program “You and Me with B. B. King.” Each program of “You and Me” had eight to ten songs. B.B. would talk about the artists even though we did not play the music while recording the interviews. But he knew every song. And I can’t recall him ever saying anything nasty about someone. He was not that guy. If he felt like someone was wrong or had disappointed him, he would just get a sly smile on his face and let me draw my own conclusions. He answered any question I put to him and was willing to do so with honesty. His acceptance and the respect he showed became a lesson I will forever take to heart. For me, if B.B. said you were “OK,” you were golden. Interestingly, B.B. was constantly looking

for the next new bit of technology. He had satellite radio before almost anyone else knew what it was. He had an internet connection on his bus before most of us were connected at home. B. B. was always inquisitive about the latest trends and refused to be stuck in the past. I consider the show I did with B. the highlight of a 33- year radio career. He showed us all how to carry ourselves with dignity and respect. Yes his guitar playing influenced every player who came after him. He was also a great vocalist, but more than that he was a remarkable man. As long as we remember him, he will never be gone.– Bill Wax

12 Blues Music MagazinePHOTOGRAPHY © DUSTY SCOTT - COURTESY - BILL WAX



I had the privilege of seeing B.B. King perform several times and the thrill of meeting him once. Never was a legend more gentle, elegant, kind, and humble. In spite of his stature he didn’t draw sharp lines between music, culture, or race the way less evolved folks do, and yes even some the blues world. And like many of us, cowboys were his childhood heroes. He once said in an interview: “This is going to probably sound funny to you, but I didn’t think I was any different from anyone else, other than I was a black kid instead of being a white kid, and it was a segregated society. We walked to school. The white kids had a school bus. And, I was crazy about Roy Rogers. I liked William Elliott. We called him Wild Bill, never did think of them as being white. They were cowboys, my heroes.” To me, besides his unparalleled musicality, that speaks volumes to the inspiration and greatness of B.B. King.– Gary Allegretto

I discovered him way back through Crown Records. The first time I met B.B. King, we were playing at the old Fillmore West in San Francisco in the middle 1960s. I was in the Butterfield Blues Band. B.B. invited me to come to his hotel. I went to the Fairmount the next day. He was in his dressing gown and he had sheet music spread all over his bed and he was practicing his ass off doing scales and arpeggios. I thought to myself that here’s a guy who’s on top of the world, the greatest guitar player there is and he’s still practicing and tryin’ to improve. I thought, there must be some kind of lesson in this. He asked if I was hungry, calls over to Oakland and orders dry fried ribs. All he had to say was, “This is B.B. King and I’m at the Fairmount Hotel. Send me over two orders of dry fried ribs.” Within half an hour, they were there. That’s a power right there.

The next time I saw him was I New York. We were playin’ the Fillmore East and he invited me to his house. He lived in New York before he moved to Las Vegas. The apartment was in Uptown Manhattan, a really nice neighborhood. There was practically no furniture in it, but one whole wall was full of LPs and tapes. All he ever really cared about was music. One time B.B. was gonna play on a Roy Milton song, “Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket,” on one of my albums. I had the track with me and I was going to Las Vegas to have B.B. play on it. I make jam and hot sauces from what I raise in my garden and B.B. likes them. I’d ask him which he wanted, jam or hot sauce, and he’d say both. I got the jam for him in my bag and I’m going through security. The older guard told me that I couldn’t take it through. I thought there might be a chance to cop a plea using B.B.’s name. I told him it was for B.B. King in Las Vegas. He thought it over for a moment, looked at me and said, “You tell B.B. the thrill is gone and so is his jam!” you know how they usually throw these in a wastebasket? This guy stuck it under his chair. When I got there, it was me and B.B. and his longtime valet, Norman. It was the first time I’d seen Norman unwind. We all sat and talked for two hours before we hit a note. I asked B.B. if he ever knew Roy Milton and he said they played together on the ball field in Memphis before the Negro league baseball game. We’d be out there playin’ and Satchel Paige would be there to pitch.– Elvin Bishop

PHOTOGRAPHY © ARNIE GOODMAN

The first time I saw B.B. King perform was at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival. He was explosive, exciting, and the very picture of dignity. A few months later, he opened a show for the Rolling Stones in Fort Collins, Colorado, and while the situation was wildly different, he was once again exciting and dignified. My friends and I had worn the grooves off our copies of B.B. King, Live At The Regal, and his live shows delivered every ounce of the promise implied on that amazing record. Fast forward 15 years or so to the legendary La Cigale Theatre in Paris, France. B.B. King was the headliner, and I was the support act along with a trio. We had been in France for a month, and my bass player was quite unhappy when our tour manager informed us we would be playing an extra show and he had changed all our tickets accordingly. When we arrived at the venue with my grumpy bass player, I had an interview with a journalist, so my band went backstage to the dressing rooms. By the time I was finished with the interview, B.B.’s dressing room door was closed, but my bass player was beaming and going on and on about what a wonderful man B.B. King was, and how he had talked with him and my drummer as if they were all old buddies and on and on. He was transformed, and he was happy. After our opening set, B.B. went on stage with his killer band and told the audience how much he’d enjoyed our music, and we got another round of enthusiastic applause. Then B.B. leaned into the microphone and said something like, “Do you want to know a secret?” Of course, the audience howled, “Oui, oui,” in response. B.B. once again leaned into the microphone and stage whispered that it was my bass player’s birthday. Again, the audience went crazy while B.B. led them in a weird French version of Happy Birthday.

B.B. King certainly didn’t have to do that, but it made for one of the most unforgettable evenings in that bass player’s life. It also made a lifelong fan out of me. B.B. King was so much more than a great musician, though he was most certainly that. He was a deeply soulful and generous man who lived to inspire everyone with whom he came in contact. We will not see another like him in this life.– Spencer Bohren


PHOTOGRAPHY © BOB SEKINGER


B.B. King and my father Lonnie Brooks have been friends for nearly 60 years. I’ve been very fortunate to get to know B.B. like a family member because of their friendship. Whenever I had the opportunity to open a show for B.B. or just to go see him perform, he would always call me out to the stage and introduce me to the crowd saying, “I feel like I’ve helped raised this young man.” When it came to being a professional musician, outside of my father, he was one of the best examples. I’ve studied B.B. on and off the stage throughout my blues career. B.B. created his own style of playing the guitar by bending (or squeezing) the strings.

I was told by many of my elders that no one was playing the guitar like that before B.B. King. He has dedicated his life to playing the blues and I know for a fact that he feels joy from making people happy by playing the blues. B.B. built a solid bridge from Muddy Waters and the Delta Blues musicians, then laid a new foundation that enable us to take the blues to the moon and beyond. His music has touched many people all over the world. I can talk forever about that, in addition to being just as great of a man. In the summer of 1993, I had the pleasure to do a tour of 52 cities with B.B. King, Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, and my dad Lonnie Brooks. This was the best tour I’ve been a part of in my life! We were playing a lot of bigger outdoor venues that were sold out with blues fans. I watched B.B. every night from the side of the stage. One night in Miami, as he was walking off the stage after his set, he saw me and pulled me to the side and said, “I see you’ve been watching me every night son, I wish I had something like this when I was your age. Your daddy is just as good as I am, we just have different styles, you take what you can from all of us and make it yours.” That made me feel so good because he knew how I felt about my dad, but he also

seen how much I was admiring him. I’ve watched him handle many other situations with class and professionalism. He always treats everyone with respect and remains humble. He is a man who really cares about all people. B.B. can make people from many different backgrounds feel happy just by saying and/or doing the right thing. He has a rare gift of connecting with people from any race, sex, age, or creed. This is why he is and always will be the King Of The Blues and also The King Of Charm!– Ronnie Baker Brooks

RIP Uncle B. My heart is extremely heavy. This is a huge loss for our community and for the world. you can never be replaced. A true icon, a true gentleman, a true scholar, a true King! I’ve always looked up to, respected, and admired B.B. King the man as if he was the Pope. His influence on me as a person was extraordinarily similar to his influence on me as a musician. He treated people with a very kind, humbling, inviting, welcoming, and respectful spirit. Just as if he treated the music he wanted to share with you the same way with every note from his convincing vocals to the singing of Lucille via his fingers all coming from his soul and spirit. I will never ever forget being on tour hitting 35 cities on the B.B. King Blues Festival in 1993 with my dad Lonnie Brooks, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, Eric Johnson, and of course B.B. King. Every show I was on the side of the stage watching the masters work, soaking it all up and learning as much as I possibly could. The last date of the tour was San Francisco at the Concord Amphitheater where John Lee Hooker stopped by the show to see everyone’s set. This particular time I was on the side of the stage all by myself watching Buddy, then B.B. came and sat right next to me on my left hand side. We were chatting a bit then Koko came and sat next to B.B. on his left side, then moments later John Lee came and sat right next to me on my right hand side. For that moment I was like “whoa.” Buddy was ripping it up, working the crowd into a frenzy as usual. Then he brought it down and said, “Whoa, whoa, hold it, I can’t go no further without giving it up to the greatest blues man alive, Mr. John Lee Hooker. The crowd was screaming so loud that John Lee didn’t hear him say his name. So John Lee turned and reached over me in the middle of both super legends to tap B.B. and said, “Hey B., stand up, he’s talking ‘bout you.” B.B. says, “No man, he’s talking about you.” John Lee says, “No, no, he’s talking bout you.” Then B.B. said, “John Lee Hooker, the greatest blues man in the world, he is definitely talking bout you so stand up man.”

John Lee stood up and the crowd went berserk. I was right in the middle of two super legends arguing about who was the greatest blues man, but neither was arguing that they were the greatest. B.B. won that funny little argument. That type of energy and level of respect that I felt back then keeps me humbled for two lifetimes.”– Wayne Baker Brooks

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I met B.B. in 1965 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York City. He was very generous in his accepting of me, as a young Brit singing the blues, which meant a lot to me. B.B. King is one of the all-time greatest blues players. He definitely is one of the most important figures, in terms of bringing the blues to a wider audience. The fact that he’s kept going so long is a testament to his strength. The last time I saw him play was just a few years ago and he was still delivering the goods. – Eric Burdon

B.B. was brought out on stage with some assistance and sat down in a chair. It was magical. As soon as he picked up his guitar, it was as if someone had turned on the lights. His entire body was aglow with a spirit that poured out through his fingers. After his performance, I ran backstage to shake his hand and to thank him for the years of great music. I wanted to give him Eric’s newest album, Soul Of A Man, which paid tribute to many of the blues greats. In the darkness of the backstage, I saw him coming down in a wheelchair. He seemed

smaller and more vulnerable than he had appeared just moments earlier. I approached him with some hesitation and a great deal of respect. I felt that maybe I shouldn’t be seeing him in this private moment. His entourage was very protective of him, so I stopped and put down my head in embarrassment. Turning my eyes up to look at him, I could see that he was welcoming me, not even knowing who I was. The bright aura that he had had all around him on stage was now visible only within his eyes. I touched his hand, which felt as smooth as butter; it was as if my hand disappeared into his. I thanked him for the

years of great music and handed him Eric’s CD, “For your listening pleasure.” He took it from me, smiling, and said, “Glad to see he’s still at it.” Then he was pushed away in his wheelchair, straight onto his tour bus and gone. A true gentleman, full of grace and humility.– Marianna Burdon

My own memory of B.B. is strong. I went to see him several years ago. I was always a great admirer of the blues as a young person and, unfortunately not many of the originals were still around when I came of age to see concerts. So, I’ll never forget my encounter with him, some years after Eric and I first saw him perform together. I went back on my own to see him again.

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B.B. King has been so special to me, I don’t even know how to describe how much he meant. From the time I was 17 years old, right up until the last time I saw him a year ago, he selflessly gave me wonderful career advice that I’ll always remember. He was generous with me beyond words. Most of all, I just loved what a sweet, humble man he was. Being with him always made me feel so good. I will always love him. He was the King of my Heart.– Shemekia Copeland

“B.B. paved the way for blues musicians to tour the world by spreading his music, his good will, his strength of character. We met when we were teenagers in West Memphis, Arkansas, and I am thankful for his life-long friendship. He’ll always be precious to me in my heart and in my soul. My love is with you B.”– James Cotton

I first met B.B. King the way most people do, by listening to his records. I was 16 and found an RPM label 78 of “Three O’Clock Blues” I had played gigs opening for Floyd Dixon and Lowell Fulson in L.A. and recognized the song as one of Lowell’s.How had B.B. King slipped past my radar? I knew blues pretty well for a kid, from the Texas-style, Mississippi-style, Piedmont-style, the Chess recordings out of Chicago and the Central Ave. sound out of L.A., but B.B.’s style was unique. It was a combination of so many guitar styles. From T-Bone Walker and Muddy Waters to the more jazz style of Oscar Moore or the jump style of Louis Jordan. He had a less-is-more style that most players don’t pursue or achieve until they’re much older, with less to prove. In 1989 I was 18 and my dad was inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall Of Fame in New York. I performed dad’s “Leroy Brown” for the induction (It was one of the few songs my dad wrote that was piano driven). When I finished my performance, B.B. introduced himself, he said I had a great left hand and asked if I’d be interested in going on tour with him.


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I was very flattered for such high praise, I said yes, but I never expect to ever hear from him. Two or three weeks later I got a call that he wanted me to meet the bus in Seattle. It was my first tour. I had never played such big venues, and I was playing solo. I was intimidated by the audience, B.B. King, and his band, but when I finished the first song and felt the love from the audience, all my fear disappeared. The next day I got on the bus and B.B. invited me into his lounge in the back and was truly complimentary and encouraging. B.B. gave me, and countless other young musicians, the confidence, encouragement, and opportunity that you need to make a living playing music. I will forever be grateful to B.B. King for his generous spirit and for giving me my first big break. I don’t know of any artist who has mentored more young players than B.B. King. He single handedly inspired generations of great players to carry on the musical tradition that was passed down to him. As much as his music, the love he shared will be his legacy.– A.J. Croce

One of the greatest honors in my life is B.B. King telling me that he and I are friends. He told me this after I brought my son, then age eight, to one of his shows. At that time I had done several tours with Mr. King. I wasn’t playing on this show, but I was back stage with my son when Mr. King came out. He never gave me a look, he walked straight down the long hall way directly to my son and shook his hand while asking him what his name was. So gracious, so kind, so personable. My son was on cloud nine because Mr. King really was a king in his eyes and especially his dad’s. After he shook my son’s hand, he turned to me and asked, “How are you Albert?” I said, “I didn’t know if you would have recognized me.”

He looked at me slightly confused and said we’re friends Albert, of course I would! What a wonderful experience to have my greatest idol say that to me. I have so many memories about all the shows I did with Mr. King. It was always such an honor to sit with him back stage and to watch the master perform. It was like class in session for me every night. I will never forget how after the show he would meet and greet each and every person who came to see him no matter how late he had to stay. The opening bands would always have to go last because the people and his fans came first. I would make sure that at every show I would get in the waiting line and personally thank him for having us open, and he would always comment on how I didn’t have to do that, but how much he appreciated it. Just a complete gentleman. Mr. King was and always will be my greatest inspiration both musically and personally. He came from the hardest life possible and made not only his life better, but everyone’s life who was ever lucky enough to have him in theirs. He was the most humble gracious gentleman both on and off the stage that I’ve ever met. The great band in heaven just got the performer they’ve been waiting for today. I will treasure my memories with and of him for the rest of my life.– Albert Cummings

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in love with B.B. King, nor can I remember a time when he wasn’t a household name. This sure says a lot for B.B.’s presence and contribution to blues music, as very few blues artists have received mainstream media attention or top 40 radio status. As a budding blues guitar player, B.B. was a major part of my blues education: sitting and laboring over his records, trying to get his licks into my fingers. There was so much sophistication in his music. I personally found B.B. a tougher study than some of the simpler blues players, but so worth every note and nuance. Of course I had seen B.B. many times in concert, but as I began to tour with Albert Collins, I began to find myself performing on the same bills with B.B. King, along with the honor of meeting the man. What a thrill for this young, white girl to meet another one of her idols, the King of the Blues, and now get to watch him from the wings of the stage. I know that many folks will say the same words; that B.B. King is a class act, because he is. He was always so kind and gracious to myself and all who meet him. They say the mark of a great blues artist is to be able to create their own unique sound and style. Both vocally and on guitar, there is no mistaking B.B. Thank you B.B. King for giving the world so much beautiful, soulful music, for so many years!– Debbie Davies

I feel so blessed to have had a chance to spend time with the King of the Blues, B.B. King. I’ve opened for him twice. The first time during his set, he introduced me and wanted me to come out on stage to say thank you to me. When I got out there, I gave him a big red lipstick kiss on his cheek. His eyes got big, he smiled at me and he said, “You’re pretty. I’m 80 and not dead yet.” The

audience loved it! The second time was in Detroit at the Fox Theater. He was always generous to his fans. At the end of his performance, he started throwing chain pendants that marked his 2012 world tour to the audience. I was standing backstage and wanted one so bad that I walked out on the stage and startled B.B. he looked at me holding his chest. I apologized and said, “I’m sorry B.B. but I wanted one

of those pendants.” He said, “Here baby.” And gave me the last one. I will always cherish this.– Thornetta Davis


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In 1997, B.B.’s luggage didn’t arrive with him at Oslo Airport, so he had to go to the hotel without his guitar and suits. Despite this, B.B. agreed to use a guitar that we managed to provide from a local music store. Just as he made himself ready to go on-stage with just trousers and a shirt “Lucille” arrived at the venue by express delivery from the airport. This was two minutes before show time and B.B. was of course very happy to be reunited with his beloved instrument. Still his stage clothes were missing, and he excused himself to the audience for not wearing a jacket.– Jostein Forsberg

“When I began the Talkin’ Blues project in 2000, I made a wish list of musicians I wanted to interview, and B.B. King was on top of that list. I believed that no single interview was more important than another and that if I couldn’t get an interview with a specific artist, there was ‘always someone else’. The one exception to this rule was B.B. King. I mean, how could you claim to document the blues without interviewing the King of the Blues? On January 31st, 2001, I sat in B.B.’s bus at the Bell Centre in Montreal talking to him about his life in the blues. I remember feeling a little nervous when I boarded the bus, but he greeted me with a kind “hello” that put me at ease immediately. As soon as he spoke to me, I remember thinking that he sounded just like he did on the Johnny Carson Show. I was amazed that I found myself sitting there talking to one of the greatest blues musician that ever lived. I didn’t know much about the blues back then but I clearly understood what a special moment this was for both my project and for me. The 20-minute interview flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. While we packed up the gear, I thanked him for the interview, and I asked him to sign his autobiography and a copy of his Live At The Regal CD. 22 Blues Music Magazine

As he did so, he thanked me for doing this project on the blues and for including him in it. At that point in time, I found the idea of him thanking me for what was, then, the greatest moment on my blues journey to be somewhat unbelievable. Fifteen years later, and a few more encounters with Mr. King, I realize that no one else on this planet has sacrificed more of themselves for their art – given so much to their genre and their fans – than what B.B. King has done for the blues over all these years. And when he thanked me that day for my attempt to document the blues, I know he really meant it. I can’t thank him enough for what he has brought to my life – in person and through his music.– Mako Funasaka, film maker, Talkin’ Blues

My Lifetime of Love for B.B. KingAt the age of 16, my whole world was turned upside down when my friend took me to see a B.B. King show at the Fillmore West. B.B. was young, strong, played loud, and had a ten-piece band behind him; he left a powerful, chiselled indentation on my psyche. From then on I was deeply immersed in electric city blues. His blues changed my life; it gave me focus, direction, and set my path. I played ES-355’s, wore the suits, always had horns in my bands, and essentially made B.B. – the person and his guitar playing – the crux of my life. Early on, I realized that to really understand the essence of blues playing and not just be a clone, you need to go deeper into the artists’ soul, personality, and idiosyncrasies. So I dug into his inner feelings rather than simply the notes he played. I attempted to understand his mannerism rather than his riffs alone. Blues is as much about phrasing and the space between the notes as the actual notes they hit and that is essentially the player’s own inner feel. So I always met up with him when he had shows in Europe and asked all the intense questions I could, which he happily answered – including pressing on my outstretched arm so that I could measure the finger pressure he puts on the strings. To best illustrate B’s personality, I remember this encounter. The very first time ever met him, I just wanted to tell him how much influence he had had on my life. I said, “B.B., I just love your music, and I play all your old stuff in my set to this day.” Without missing a beat, he looks at me and said, “Why? Don’t you like my new stuff?” My heart sunk. Had I offended the King? But he quickly gives me a big hearty laugh. Like his guitar phrasing, a man of few words and sharp wit. BB King’s Blues Is King 1967 LP is the one that had changed my life and dominated my career in music, and imposed the essential feeling and ingredients for the real blues – let alone the guitar licks and tone that the young B was dispensing in 1967. The album captures B.B.’s unique sound of his Gibson ES-355.

I first met B.B. King in the fall of 1988 back stage at the Peabody hotel in Memphis at the then called W.C. Handy Awards. I was overjoyed and nervous to be honest but B.B. was so easy going it was just like meeting my uncle or one of the traveling preachers I had met at the holiness church as a child. We were the first non-Memphis band to win the blues competition and part of the winnings were the B.B. King Lucille Award. I asked him to check out my red Electra 335 copy and he said, “You got the right one.” I only met him a few times since then, but I’ve met and befriended several of his children over the years. I thought it only proper for me to write a song for him and I put together “For You Mr. King.” Much love and respect.– Larry Garner


You can hear his sustained notes and powerful attack with a pure tone that people are paying money to try and copy. B.B.’s guitar phrasing is intelligent and goes beyond the standard blues expression. It is all in his hands, heart, and soul. Nobody can make five simple notes sing the way B.B. King can. There is so much tension, attack, and exploration in every song he played on this set. I still listen to this for inspiration and I wouldn’t feel too lonesome on a desert Island if I had this to keep me company. I will never get tired of listening to B.B. – Otis Grand

I have had the good fortune to hang with B.B. everywhere from a festival in a bullring in Spain to dinner in his home to the White House itself. And he was always the king at making others feel loved and welcome. I remember having a picture taken with him and he said, “Put your arm around me and pretend that you like me.” He was a tease and an incredible flirt with women. If I’d see him coming, I’d quickly put my arm around Shemekia [Copeland] hugging her close and say, “How you doing B?” To which he replied, “Not as good as you, you dirty dog.” He had a wonderful, sweet, self-deprecating sense of humor. I loved and will always love the music of B.B. King. But not as much as I loved the man. The fact that he played guitar and sang on a duet I wrote for Koko Taylor called “Blues Hotel” is one of the proudest achievements in my life.– John Hahn Why was B.B. King so universally loved?

Perhaps it was how he signified the American dream, coming out of the cotton fields of Mississippi to international acclaim. Could have been that he was the quintessential gentleman who was kind, classy, and made the effort to dress up out of respect to his audience. The humorous banter he had with his fans while in song that allowed us to share and understand the human condition, may have contributed. Or was it the passionate and sincere intensity of his vocal delivery that made us feel and believe? He could connect us all together, no matter how otherwise disparate, through the compassion he engendered as an observant world traveler. But maybe it was as simple as this: transcendence from the first note he played in that singular tone he had, that took us to another plane of existence, above the mundane, away from our problems, and into a trancelike nether world from which we didn’t want to return.– Carl Gustafson – Blinddog Smokin’

I’ve had the honor of producing B.B. King in the recording studio. Most artists record their instrument track and then put their instrument down and record their vocal part. B.B. would always sing and play those tracks at the same time. I would sit beside him as he sang and played. I would point to the line on the lyric sheet, and he would sing it. He would ask me about the lyrics and how he should phrase them. I’ve worked with a lot of great singers, but he had the best phrasing of any vocalist I’ve ever been around. He would hand me Lucille (his guitar) and talk about his life in between takes. He would tell stories about meeting presidents, popes, queens, and other kings. He had met so many presidents he told me, “Presidents come and go but they all want to meet the “King.” Ironically I got to play drums on “Sweet Home Chicago” with him at the White House with President Obama.


I remember sitting on his bus behind the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville before one of his concerts playing him the mix of a song I had written and produced for him. He kept wanting to hear it over and over. He kept smiling and saying, “I love it, now play it again.” There was a line of people outside the bus waiting to have there moment with the King so I was trying to find a way to make my exit so others could get on board before he had to go onstage. I finally left the CD with him and said goodbye. I remember my friend Kenny Wayne Shepherd told me that he went on the bus to talk to B., and B.B. kept playing him my song. I’ll never forget him announcing from the stage that they had some special people in the audience that night. He included me on that list. I thought for a moment I was dreaming. In my opinion blues sounds like blues because B.B. played it that way. His guitar tone, dynamics, and vibrato were uniquely his own, but now everybody plays that way. B.B. was a gentleman, a friend, and a tremendous ambassador for the blues. He made the world a better place. God Bless the King!– Tom Hambridge

Then going to the Mississippi Homecoming in Fayette and watching you there as the featured performer, then later talking music with you after shows when I was guitarist for Dorothy Moore and she was opening for you in the 70’s. All that I as well as what an entire generation of bluesman learned from you will always keep the blues alive. You will be missed but never forgotten. Long live the king, B.B. King.– Zac Harmon

Mr. B.B. King will always be the standard for the blues in Mississippi. Though the blues took you all over the world, you never left Mississippi out as the birthplace of the blues. You inspired generations of us growing up with surviving more challenges than anyone needed to. You were always a shining example of statesmanship, and you made us proud. I personally reflect on the times that I saw you when you came to Jackson, Mississippi, and parked the bus on Farish Street in Jackson. Seeing you come into my father’s store and speak with my father about items that you needed.

I was fortunate to have seen B.B. King perform a number of times over the years. The first time I saw B.B. was at what is now considered his ‘major cross-over’ performance, at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West, in San Francisco, in June of 1968. As the album from that performance attests, it was a great show, and it certainly marked the onset of B.B.’s ascent as a major draw with rock audiences. In the late 1970s, I saw BB King in tandem with Bobby “Blue” Bland, his longtime good friend from their early days together as young musicians on Beale Street in Memphis in the late 1940s. This show was at the Circle Star Theatre, in San Carlos, CA, a venue that featured theatre-in-the-round seating, with a slowly revolving large stage that allowed the entire audience to see, hear, and experience the show extremely well from every seat in the house. Both of these superb blues artists, as always, gave excellent performances, highlighted by their sharing the stage for a couple of classic blues tunes together to close the show. B.B. always gave his audiences a great show, but my favorite, most memorable performance of his was not at a concert featuring his own music. On January 27th, 2010, B.B. King was one of the special guests invited to perform at his old friend Bobby “Blue” Bland’s 80th birthday party, for a sold out crowd of 2,000 friends and home folks in Tunica, MS.


B.B. King sat at a table, down front, in the audience, obviously enjoying the evening’s festivities and the music of Clarence Carter, Millie Jackson, Denise LaSalle, and other guest performers. About halfway through the show, B.B. came on stage and played and sang just one song, and then he and Bobby “Blue” Bland sat comfortably together at center stage. B.B. was on hand to honor and celebrate his old friend, and he did just that, to the utmost. He drew Bland into on-stage chit-chat just like they were sitting together privately backstage. The two of them cordially and cheerfully reminisced about their many years as friends and fellow musicians, sharing stories about good times and bad times, and even singing snatches of a few of their favorite songs together. It was a most memorable night with so many great blues and R&B performers on hand to honor Bobby “Blue’ Bland’s birthday, but the highlight for me was B.B. King’s sincere, gracious, and thoughtful kindness in helping to make his old friend’s 80th birthday party really special for everyone.– Michael “Hawkeye” Herman

After the workshop there was a long line of audience members that came up, shook his hand and asked questions. I waited until it was my turn, but all my 15-year-old brain could think of was, “Do you know Muddy Waters?” I stammered. B.B. looked surprised at the question and said, “Yes.” I just countered” Wow.” B.B. looked confused by my thoughtless question but was very polite about it. I walked away seeing how much time B.B. was willing to give his audience as he didn’t leave until he had shaken every hand and answered every question. It was a lesson in humility and a total example in how spreading the blues gospel is paramount. I saw B.B. many times after this and he always delivered a classy show and gave his all. My favorite was at Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans as it felt like a homecoming for him and he played his tail off. A few times I was backstage and B.B. was always totally welcoming to everyone in his dressing room, never one to have an attitude. As a musician, King is what Little Walter is to harmonica, an out and out icon in a total class of his own. B.B.’s voice was so great he needn’t have picked up a guitar and he still would have been a stunning artist! King’s guitar has gone through so many phases and styles it’s kind of mind boggling. His playing is so reflected in all the greats – Earl Hooker, Eric Clapton, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Louis Myers, Matt Murphy, Jody Williams, Lafayette Thomas, Peter Green, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Mike Bloomfield plus countless other younger and older players.– Mark Hummel

B.B. King was one of the first older blues men that I both heard on LP (still have it), got to see perform, and shake his hand. I went to East L.A. City College to watch B.B. do a free blues guitar workshop in 1970 or ‘71. About 200 in the audience heard an intimate lecture and musical snippets of B.B.’s influences. It was my introduction to names like Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Bukka White (King’s uncle), Robert Nighthawk, Lonnie Johnson, Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, and more whom I’m probably forgetting at the moment. It opened my eyes to how many influences make up a well-rounded musician’s playing!

26 Blues Music Magazine PHOTOGRAPHY © DAVID HORWITZ

Then B.B. began a slow blues and sang one of the oldest traditional blues lyrics, a lyric full of meaning. He sang, “I can hear my black name ringing all up and down the line.” It was a ballsy thing for B.B. to do, to make an overt racial reference in this whiter-than-white situation, and also make reference to the stigma that darker-skinned black people had among lighter-skinned black people. (Remember, B.B. was the man who said that “playing the blues is like having to be black twice.”)

B.B. King was reaching out over a couple hundred white businessmen in suits and women in cocktail dresses and saying to Hound Dog Taylor, “There’s a cultural statement, a shared history and a racial bond between us that’s at the heart of this music. You and I feel and understand it even in this slick place where most people are just having dinner – something that nobody else in this room has more than an inkling of. I’m a big star, and you’re a local bar blues musician, but that doesn’t matter. We both share this music and its meaning in a way that no one else in this room can.” I stand in awe of B.B. King for making that bold, personal outreach – to speak soul-to-soul to Hound Dog of their blackness and cultural identity in that lily-white

situation took both nerve and depth of being. The man is a giant and deserves every accolade he’s ever gotten.– Bruce Iglauer, founder and president Alligator Records

In 1973, Hound Dog Taylor, Alligator’s first artist, opened a show for B.B. King at a big downtown theatre in St. Louis. Only two years before, Hound Dog had been playing entirely at local South and West Side Chicago clubs for 50 or 100 people a night. Now he was opening for the King of the Blues. To our amazement, B.B., in his remarkably gracious manner, came to Hound Dog’s dressing room to say ‘hello.’ Yes, he came to greet his opening act. It’s not what you expect the headliner to do. A few months later, B.B. was playing at the London House, a ritzy Chicago supper club on Michigan Avenue. It was the kind of upscale, Las Vegas-ish place that B.B. was often playing at the time. Normally, the patrons (usually successful white businessmen and their wives or girlfriends) would spend a lot of money having dinner and seeing the show. But you could stand at the bar in the back of the club and hear the music for the cost of a couple drinks. Hound Dog and I decided to go to the London House to see B.B. from the bar. B.B., who was perhaps 100 feet away, spotted Hound Dog standing in the back of the club. He got on the microphone and said, “We’ve got a wonderful blues musician in the house. How about a nice round of applause for the great Hound Dog Taylor?” Hound Dog was thrilled. He was walking on air; B.B. King had introduced him!

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I’ve known B.B. King personally for over 45 years. He’s been kind to me from that very first moment. He called my 10-year-old kid up on-stage in Oregon 28 years ago, introduced him to the crowd, and handed him his guitar pick. Every time we’ve talked since, he’s asked me how my “little boy” was doing. When I’d say something like, “Uh, B., the little boy is 28 now,” he’d roll his eyes and we’d have one of those collective old guy moments. He’s always remembered me because he also remembers I was there when he “suddenly” became famous, and he knows that his fame was never important to either of us. My ex and I drove up to Vancouver to see him circa 1980, and after the show he offered to get us a room in the hotel because he didn’t want us driving back to Seattle at 2 a.m. I once even received a letter from him when he was on tour in New Zealand, thanking me for writing to him. What “superstar” ever does that? I’ve never met a man more generous with his time. In 1993, after a lengthy show at Concord Pavilion, he signed autographs for 300 people who had VIP passes. It took him two hours, because, of course, B.B. doesn’t just sign, he talks to

everybody like he’s known them for years. I’ve been on stage with him twice. The first time was that Fillmore weekend in 1970, when I recorded the interview that became part of Dick Waterman’s book with B.B. The Fillmore’s stage door guard, a 40-ish black gentleman, didn’t want to let me in. I told him B.B. had asked me to come and play the jam with him. The guard told me to wait by the door. When B. came in, carrying his

own guitar, he saw me looking helpless in the corner. He sized up the situation in an instant, turned to the guard, who was already in full reverence mode, and said, “He’s with me,” and waved me in. Later, during the jam, the other guitar players were either too intimidated or downright petrified to kick off the first tune. So I did. The second time was the most memorable of my musical life. It was at the Nyon Fest in Switzerland in July 1985. He called me up out of the photo pit to jam with himself, Luther Allison, and Big Miller. When he realized my guitar was already in the lockup, he offered me Lucille! I

kid you not. And he meant it. No, of course I didn’t accept. I played piano instead. But still.– Jef Jaison

PHOTOGRAPHY © JEF JAISUN

When a person changes the entire course of your life, it sure is difficult to sum it up in a few lines. That is exactly how I felt when I was 22-years-old and B.B. King asked for my autograph on a CD I was giving to him. I am positive that I’m not the only young blues guitarist with a similar story of B.B. making them feel special, and the way he made people feel is why he was such a wonderful role model. “Dear B.B.,” I paused… “Thank you for changing my life, and for everything you’ve done.” One might think that being at his level of fame would go to a man’s head, but not B. He was the consummate gentleman. Having studied B.B.’s guitar playing for hundreds of hours, listened to him for hundreds more, and having spent time with him on several occasions, I realize how extremely fortunate I’ve been. Just recently, I taught a guitar class on Mr. King: his stinging 1950’s style, 1964’s extremely influential Live At The Regal, and the King’s more recent tone and approach. Hearing the way his playing evolved over the years is eye opening and an inspiration in itself. After I performed in front of Buddy Guy, he said, “I like the way you play that B.B. King stuff.” I said that I was trying to throw some Buddy Guy in there too when he replied “It’s all B.B. and T-Bone.” Buddy and guitarists like Little Milton, Otis Rush, and Luther Allison know exactly where it all came from. Many young guitarists today are playing riffs that they think originate with Hendrix or Clapton, but they don’t realize that it all stems from B.B. King. I am too young to have seen Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, but old enough to have seen Robert Jr. Lockwood, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, and B.B. King. In years to come, blues fans and artists will no longer have access to the truly original blues artists that shaped this music in it’s most significant and influential days. That breaks my heart. I can’t imagine a world without them. During the B.B. class, and as I write, I can feel myself getting choked-up and teary-eyed. It’s amazing how the influence of an artist can make you feel so close to them.

The love and respect is felt so deeply. It’s sad, beautiful, and inspiring. I think about B.B. King every day, and if you do too, he will live forever.– JW-Jones

B.B. King was influencing my music and me long before I came into the blues. When I was performing country music, I always seemed to gravitate toward the bluesier songs. There was something in them that made me feel at a deeper level. And believe it or not, I learned “The Thrill Is Gone” from a Barbara Mandrell album. And guess who was playing guitar for her on that album? It was B.B. King. He taught me that I don’t have to play a lot of notes to be able to make people feel the music. B.B. has the ability to hear the music between the notes and can make you feel more with one note than anyone I’ve ever heard. I was honored to work some shows with him, and even though he was in a wheel chair going to and from the stage, he still “picked” Lucille like nobody’s business. My mentor, Koko Taylor, always told me that B.B. was like a brother to her. They paved the way for so many of us, and we’ll be forever grateful for their music that has touched millions. I’m so glad I’ve had B.B.’s music as part of the tapestry of my life. I truly adore him. He is a great man, an icon. And I love him.– EG Kight


I don’t know how many young blacks know that B.B. King is the bridge we came across on. And I don’t know how many young white blues people know that, when I started in 1962, B.B. was almost a pariah in the up and coming “Sound Of America.” From 1960 until “The Thrill Is Gone,” we thought of him as an old blues singer, something which we did not want to be associated with. For which I will ALWAYS be ashamed. And then, in 1964, I saw him at the Apollo Theatre with his big band, on a Saturday night. I’ve tried, to be ASSOCIATED with him ever since. Nobody can replicate him, and nobody ever will. I love you B.B.– Bettye LaVette

“B.B. is the great ambassador. I met him for the first time at LAX when he was here to film a Sanford and Son episode. We were waiting at the same baggage claim. I got my guitar and opened it up to check it out and I heard a voice say, ‘That’s a nice looking guitar you got there.’ I said, ‘Thanks.’ He looked familiar to me so I said, ‘Do you play?’ He said, ‘You might have heard of me, my name is B.B. King.’ My jaw nearly dropped on the floor. I said, ‘The B.B. King? The blues man?’ He replied with that smile of his, ‘Yes, that’s me.’ I told him he looked different from when I’d seen him in Norfolk and St. Louis. He patted his stomach and said, ‘Life’s been pretty good.’ We shared a good laugh and talked about guitars as the bags came down. I’ll never forget how gracious and humble he was.”– Doug MacLeod

The King and I Janiva MagnessB.B. King. Music like his comes along once in an entire century, probably less. Would it be accurate to say that B.B. King is THE most influential guitarist and singer known in modern times? I am certain of it. The vein of gold that he gave to the world, in my view, is deeper than any other known. He played and sang in such a special way. This was a private conversation between the two of you. He was always ever speaking to one special person and it was riveting and unquestionably personal. As the result of that dialogue, we stop in our tracks when he calls to us. “Oh! B.B. King is playing that song for ME! Speaking directly to ME! He must have been reading MY mail. Such blistering truth to the bone. There are literally millions of listeners who have had that very same experience. It has also been said many times that his guitar and voice are easily identified in one note. ONE NOTE! Consider that for a moment, allow that to sink in.


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One note in a world of constant partial attention, where no one is singularly focused on ANYTHING anymore. We operate as if we are multitasking machines in a world at times that at times appears to be imploding and suddenly there rings ONE note coming from a speaker somewhere, and it is unquestionably and irrevocably B.B. King, and he is speaking to me, in a most profound way. That is the gift. The year 1971 was a phenomenal year for me. I was barely 14 years old yet, had a pretty good idea what was coming when Mr. King stole the show from Quicksilver Messenger Service at a concert in Minneapolis. I had his records already. Safe to say, the majority of the young, hormonal white audience had no idea they were about to be anointed in the blues. I loved being in it and watching it happen. It has been one long and crooked journey since that night in 1971. Imagine my shock in 2009 when I was nominated and won the Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award in Memphis. Mr. King was the presenter that year with Ms. Bonnie Raitt as the trophy gal. For me, in that moment when the Man himself called my name, every note and nuance, every cry and quiver of B.B. King’s voice and most trusted companion Lucille ever made, all came rushing thru me as I walked to the stage. Totally surreal. I still tear up with when asked to talk about that night. No one can begin to comprehend that moment for me. I know it was real because I have seen pictures and have a piece of hardware that says so. Still, the memory of that night remains the dream of a 14-year-old girl who first witnessed B.B. King slay an entire unsuspecting audience of kids in Minneapolis. So, in 2009 as I approached the stage and Bonnie handed me the hardware, I took the hand of the King. I had the chance to thank Mr. King for all of it. All I could do was grin like a smitten 14-year-old girl. You know why right? It simply don’t get any better than that. Long live the King.– Janiva Magness

Back in the mid-‘90s, B.B. King performed at the Skyline Stage at Navy Pier in Chicago. I had the opportunity to accompany renowned photographer Peter Amft (whom I knew while working as Art Director at Delmark Records), on an assignment for Blues Revue to capture B.B. for the cover of the upcoming holiday issue that year. Peter’s idea was to have the blues icon wear a Santa hat, holding his dear Lucille close to his face. Good concept, though B.B. wasn’t all too thrilled with wearing that silly hat, and it was showing on his face, as in he wasn’t smiling, which was making for a less than ideal cover shot! Then Pete said, “Kate! Go sit by B.B. for a shot!” He thought this might loosen him up and trigger a grin. Peter’s intuition and experience as a photographer paid off, as it did make B.B. flash his genuinely warm smile. Bad news was: it couldn’t be used for a cover with me in the frame!– Kate Moss


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I saw B.B. King perform several times over the years, but the first still remains the most memorable. It was Sunday evening of July 4th weekend at the 1969 Newport Jazz festival. My two friends and I had been there since Thursday, sleeping in the car and seeing and hearing an almost overwhelming array of the biggest names in jazz and rock. Earlier in the day, we spent an afternoon listening to James Brown, who had an entire revue. The night before, Sly and the Family Stone caused a riot with their irresistible, rocking soul. So, we were tired going into the Sunday night show. Buddy Rich’s big band played, amongst other jazz artists and B.B. King took the stage. He was at the height of his powers and his set was powerful and tight. His voice and Lucille’s, took turns testifying. After he played, an exciting “new” artist came out and dazzled the crowd with his loud, rocking blues. It was Johnny Winter, whose brand new Columbia Records album was just released. He played through eight Twin Reverbs and his slide playing was incredible. Toward the end of Winter’s set, B.B. came out and jammed with Johnny and his band which consisted of Tommy Shannon on bass and “Uncle” John Turner on drums. The two guitar slingers jammed back and forth, and it was the only time I ever saw B. play like this. He played fast, rocking lines, Wes Montgomery-styled octaves, and demonstrated a command of the finger board with an abandon I never saw again. He has always played with the feeling, taste, tone, and restraint that was his trademark. This was a unique and wonderful jam! Sidebar: Led Zeppelin closed that night at Newport. In 1990, ironically on July 4th, I spoke backstage with Tommy Shannon after Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s incendiary set at Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT. I brought up that night with B. at the Newport Jazz Festival and Tommy said, “You know, I’ve forgotten so many of the shows since then, but I sure remember that one!” I got to meet B. in Burlington, VT. after a show he did there in 1971.

I was hanging with friends outside by the stage door and B. and his rhythm section were in the first car and the horn section was in the second. They were going to drive straight to Boston where they had a show the next night. B. was sitting behind the wheel of a large Thunderbird with a cassette player on the front seat next to him with a stack of cassettes to listen to. He was warm and welcoming and when I reached out my hand to shake his, it got lost. It was as if I had put it in a baseball glove. To this day, it’s the biggest hand I’ve ever shaken and its size was only exceeded by his heart.– Mark Nomad

B.B. and the Bull B.B. King has long been famous for his “storytelling” solos, as they’re often described. Cue “The Thrill Is Gone” or Live At The Regal and you’ll hear what I mean. But he’s just as good a storyteller in the traditional sense. Here’s one of my favorites. One evening in 1993 B.B. was commiserating backstage with John Lee Hooker on the effects of aging. Leave it to B.B. to come up with an optimistic spin: “Remember when you was young?” he asked. “Somebody says, ‘C’mere!’ and you’d get up and start running. Now you think about it: Do I really want to run, or should I just walk on over there? “It’s like an old tale I’ve heard about the young bull talkin’ to the old bull. He looked down and see the female cows. Looked at the old bull, say, ‘Hey, man, let’s run down there and make love to one of the females.’ And the old bull looked at him, over his glasses, and said, ‘Well, son, I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we just take our time, walk on down there, and make love to all of ’em?’” – Jas Obrecht


Late May 14, 2015, I, like all of Riley B. Kings fans, friends, and disciples, learned that The King of The Blues had gone on to Glory. Weeks before, we all been told that he was in hospice at His home in Las Vegas and like the gentleman that he was, he had kindly let us know that He was resting comfortably and yes He appreciated each and every one of our thoughts and prayers, emails and letters. It seemed to me that like his big, soft hands were comforting us as if to say, “It’s alright, y’all don’t worry ‘bout ‘Ol B.” I remember the first time I saw B.B. in the flesh. It was a hot Austin Texas summer night was the late ‘70s and Antone’s was packed! I’d never seen anything like it. The audience was mostly black with a few of us longhaired white kids thrown in. The men were dressed to the nines most with boutonnieres and the ladies all wore bodaciously beautiful hats and their Sunday best. The only difference was, it was Saturday night, not Sunday morning! The band was more like an orchestra. There was a tight, kickin’ rhythm section and a full horn section with a conductor. The band played a couple of standards to warm up the crowd and then, with a snare press roll, the conductor introduced, “And now Ladies and Gentlemen, The King Of The Blues, B. B. KING!” He hit the stage with a fury; the sweat flying off his brow and the twirl of his left hand’s vibrato was like nothing I’d ever witnessed before or since. It changed me forever. Now I knew what I had only imagined. It was like a wall had hit us and it was good and we were all better for it. He gave us all a scare though. Near the end of the set, they blew into “You Upsets Me Baby” at breakneck speed and at the final verse lyric, “I better stop now cause I got a weak heart,” he clutched his chest and fell back! Only to be caught by four very well positioned and very strong band members. It was a gag. One I wasn’t prepared for. It truly scared me. I was not ready to lose B.B. King yet. Many years later, I found myself opening for B.B. on several occasions.

We got to play together on-stage. Once on his birthday and the last time I had the honor to play with my hero and friend, Steve Cropper, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, Robert Cray, and I all gathered to open B.B. King’s in Las Vegas. B.B. sat front and center in a chair fit for a King, enjoyed the show, and even played a few with us. But that night, we were there for him. When I got the news, was I sad? Yes, of course I was, but moreover what seemed to wash over me was the feeling that B.B. King had spent 89 years on this earth living better than any one man I knew Truly, a life well lived. The lives he touched, the burdens he lifted, the generations of young guitar players encouraged and challenged to work just a little harder, it is impossible to know how many millions of lives he changed for the better. We will all miss B.B. King, for there could never be another. I feel so fortunate, just a kid from Stephenville, Texas, who went from played along to Live At The Regal over and over in my bedroom to sharing the stage with my hero on all those occasions. No, I still am not ready to lose B.B. King but we can’t hold on forever. And then again, maybe we can.– Lee Roy Parnell

I started listening to B.B. King’s records in the early 1960’s at the suggestion of my friend David Cohen, who was an active studio guitarist. I used to buy his LPs (Kent/Crown/United) out of the .99-cent bin at my local supermarket. In the summer of 1966, I went back east with Long Gone Miles, where we gigged a little. There I met an as yet unrecorded, but much appreciated, Jimi Hendrix. When I returned to L.A., I saw that B.B. was booked to play at Gazzari’s on the Sunset Strip. I called and found that there were still tickets available. I couldn’t wait. I arrived and didn’t see the expected throng. I entered a virtually empty room. I couldn’t believe it.


I used the pay phone to call my girlfriend and a couple of others. By the time B.B.’s show started, with vocalist Lu Watters (spelling?), there were no more than eight of us in the audience. I was stunned. B.B. took the stage and did his show fully and energetically, never indicating in any way an emotional reaction to the small numbers. I went back the next night, with the same result. Those there had a great, great show, and we applauded as much as we could. But, loud and exciting blues-based electric guitar with minimal backing was ascendant among young rock audiences. B.B.’s presentation, brilliant as it was, was out of fashion. B.B. was to achieve his well-deserved recognition in another few years, but never think that it was not a paid-for or easy journey. An auto shop stood adjacent to the Ash Grove, my brother Ed’s club. One of the owners was related to B.B., as he was to Bukka White, who would spend some afternoons sitting on a wooden milk crate chatting. It was Bukka who took B.B. in when he arrived in Memphis, buying him his first electric guitar. It was Bukka’s slide sound, according to B.B., that inspired his famous vibrato. B.B.’s tour bus would be brought in for servicing at times, and once I was invited aboard. I entered and saw a guitar case on a seat, and asked about it. It was, indeed, Lucille. I asked permission to open the case, and when I did, I saw a pack of Black Diamond strings, the same as I used on my acoustic guitar. Big surprise. It was just a couple of years later, 1968 or 1969, when I was hosting “Nothin’ But the Blues” on KPPC, L.A.’s first underground FM station, that I was asked to interview B.B. on the air. “Why I Sing The Blues” had just come out, and management was very eager to introduce B.B. to the white blues public. By that time Albert King and other more pared-down black high-amplified blues artists had been recognized by the young white audience, but B.B. was still largely confined to the chitlin’ circuit. What a wonderful talk we had, what a gracious man. I was invited to his show that night at the Long Beach Arena, with Charles Lloyd opening.

The place was largely empty, but B.B. did his show as if the place was full. His road to recognition and the ascent to general adulation was hard won. – Bernie Pearl

Since I’m the “blues guy” at WBGO, I have been assigned to interview B.B. King as well as emcee his 1990 show at the Beacon Theater in New York City. I have been listening to B.B. for many years and, although he wouldn’t remember it, met him at a show about fifteen years previously. Prior to the official start of the interview, he did a couple of IDs for the station. He knocked each of them off in a single take. They are still in use 25 years later. When you interview an artist of King’s stature, you must realize that this is about him and whatever (book, album, etc) that he is promoting. I did my homework and was able to ask him a couple of good questions about the record. But I also asked him a question that had been on my mind for quite some time: How does B.B. King see himself? Is he a guitar player who sings? Or is he a singer who plays guitar? When you emceed for a big blues artist in those years, you never introduced the star. That was left a member of the group whose sole purpose was to get the man on stage with the audience pumped. Think of Scrap Iron with Little Milton. In the case of B.B. King, this was the task of BeBop, whose given name was unknown to me and surely not known by the general public. My task was to introduce the band who wouldplay a couple of songs to warm up before BeBop took over. Once that was done out came B.B. King and the band started in with “Every Day I Have The Blues.” I have no particular memory of the show except that B.B.’s show in those years was very tight, all the pieces in place, everyone in line. I know I enjoyed myself since one always enjoyed oneself at a B.B. King show.


And that question, how did he answer it? He hedged. While I didn’t get my scoop, I should not have been surprised at his response. More than anything else, B.B. King was an Ambassador for the blues, not just his own music. And he answered that question like an Ambassador.– Bob Porter

A Moment with the KingOver the years I have had the privilege of being the opening act on a number of shows for B.B. King and also met him a number of times when I played with John Lee Hooker. I know that you have certainly heard it before, but I must say again, he is, without a doubt, one of the most gracious and generous men you would ever want to meet. To illustrate the point, I opened for B.B. at Royal Festival Hall in London many years ago. It is one of the premier places to perform in London, and I was simply honored to be there opening the show for him. After my set, I decided that I had to go say hello to B.B. backstage, wish him well, and also give him greetings from John Lee Hooker. When I was shown to his dressing room, he looked at me and said, “Roy Rogers, what are you doing here?” He had not been informed who the opening act was. It had been awhile since I had seen him and almost “apologetically,” he invited me to come on in and sit down for a visit. Now mind you, that was shortly before he was to go onstage, but he insisted that I sit down and wanted to know how I was doing, etc. Knowing that it was really close to his set time, I thanked him and wished to take my leave, because he was due to perform very soon and I wished to give him some space before his set, but he asked me to please stay a little longer and then he requested that I take a walk with him. Probably from my excitement at just getting to visit with him, I did not fully grasp what was happening at that very moment, I just started walking with him while he was still talking to me. Then, all of sudden, we were at the curtains and I heard his introduction from the band on-stage. Somebody came up and gave him Lucille, he thanked me, said goodbye and walked right out to do his show! was absolutely stunned that he would be so kind and had taken the time to talk to me, literally up to his entrance. I never will forget it.– Roy Rogers

As it goes on I realize how sad it will be to live in a world B.B. King is physically no longer in. I’m sure he is resting peacefully, content at what he has given to all of us. But we mere mortals have to solider on and remember the impact that just one human can have on this world. In my opinion, B.B. King is up there with all the great Americans from Abe Lincoln to Duke Ellington, Martin Luther King to Louis Armstrong and all the other great men and women who helped develop this country’s culture. As the all-encompassing Internet, along with lack of interest in our country’s true heritage, sees our real roots slipping away, we need to honor the things that are rich, deep and meaningful. B.B. King is certainly one of those things.– Duke Robillard

“Sweet Sixteen” was the first recording I really “got it” as to B.B. King’s greatness. In truth, he was a hero in the chitlin’ circuit, long before he “crossed over.” Much later in life, I played with him on a European festival tour. I was inside his tour bus, introduced myself, and took a picture with him. He was a most gracious and wonderful man. Thank you Bro. King, your blues will live forever.– Mighty Mo Rodgers


Talking about B.B. King is a little bit hard but I guess it’s a little bit easy when you think he isn’t just B.B. King. He’s the King of what he has done. It makes me think about how easy it is, but that it shouldn’t be when I say what I’m going to say. A king is someone who works hard. Even though he ain’t on the throne, you have to work hard and labor hard to be crowned. You are crowned king from the work you have put in. For B.B., 40-50 years ago, he wasn’t on the throne, he was on his way to be the king of the blues. I, and anyone following him in his footsteps, have to work hard whether in music or any other avenue you take for life. When looking at a king, you look at someone who labored hard. B.B. King labored really hard. It shows me to be crowned like he was or is I know I have to work really hard. It’s hard to become as great as he was, the king. I’ll try to be as close to as great as he was or is. To be called a part of his crownship is good enough for me. Bless his labels, his king crown, the chair he sits in, and everything he has done. There was sweat, hardship, and thorns to get where he is. It wasn’t always so easy to be a king. It just looks like that from the outside. So hail to the king. He’s the king to a lot of people. He’s the king now and forever. God bless the king. Bobby Rush to B.B. King. May the King Rest in Peace.– Bobby Rush

My first close up encounter with Mr. King was in 1986. I had snagged one of the coolest gigs in my early career: the Homecoming concert in the Grove, held at Ole Miss University in Oxford, Mississippi, warming up for the legendary B.B. King! Our band was stoked to the max when we arrived and saw Mr. King’s bus parked on the outskirts of the beautiful green expanse of the grove. We set up and began our set. I sang with all the fury and spit that my younger self

could muster. My adrenaline was pumping til I thought I might pass out in the warm and humid Southern air. Soon afterward B.B.’s band took the stage and started their usual vamp music to introduce Mr. King. He appeared on-stage bowing and waving to the delight of the thousands or more students gathered on the grounds. To my utter shock

and awe, the first thing he said was, “How about Reba people! How about Reba and the Portables! Let me hear you!” He put his hand to his ear like he always does and made the crowd respond thunderously. I felt my face flush and began to tear up with a rush of emotion as he said it over and over! I am sure he had done that a million times before for everyone he shared a bill with, but for me, that moment was as if God himself had anointed me. After the show B.B. made his way back to the area where his bus was parked and people began to line up in front of a small table set up in front of the bus.


PHOTOGRAPHY © COURTESY REBA RUSSELL

We hurried over and someone in our band asked B.B. if he would take a photo with us. He very sweetly said, “I would be happy to but you all will have to wait until I speak to the people who came to see us and sign autographs.” We said we would. It took about three hours. No joke. B.B. sat there and signed until there wasn’t one person left in the area. It was amazing to watch him graciously shaking hands, taking photos, signing little cards he had printed or albums people had brought with them. We witnessed the kind and respectful way he interacted with his fans and it was a huge lesson that I carry with me to this day. When everyone had gone, he waved us all over and seemed impressed that we had been so patient for the opportunity to share some moments with him as well as get our photo. He instructed us to get all around him, and as our guitar player’s wife got ready to take the photo I lightly placed my hands on his shoulders. As I did he reached up to touch my hands. What a thrill! That brief encounter with Mr. King lives deep inside my heart. I cherish that photo, but don’t need it to remember that time of sublime joy. Twenty-four years later at the King Biscuit Blues Festival’s 25th Anniversary, B.B. and I were both on the roster. My bassist and husband Wayne, anticipating B.B.’s performance, brought that photo hoping to get B.B. to sign it. After B.B.’s set, Wayne hung around, eventually was able to get to Mr. King, and asked him to sign the old photo. When he saw the photo he raised his eyebrows and said, “Well this sure was a while ago.” As always, with great kindness, he took pen in hand and autographed it. Needless to say, it is one of our most beloved possessions. I dearly love that fine gentle man not only for his amazing talent, but for his generous spirit and tender manner.– Reba and Wayne Russell

B.B. King was like a second father to me. When I was 15 years old, Mr. King took me out on my first national tour. At the end of that tour, he invited me to his dressing room and sat me down to offer some advice about life, the music business, and a little bit about women. I was fortunate enough to have toured with him many other times, and I would always take the opportunity to go see him when I had the chance, thus building an invaluable personal relationship with him over the past almost twenty-three years. B.B. King is a man I admired, not just for his incredible music, but also as a human being. He always had a smile, he was gracious with his time, and was always available to offer me some advice and encouragement. Every year, B.B. would make the time to go back to his hometown in Indianola, Mississippi, to perform a free concert, “for the kids” (as he explained to me) and each year, after his free concert, he would go to Club Ebony, one of the places he had gotten his start, and he would play until the wee hours of the morning. When we filmed 10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads, our timing was perfect and lined up with B.B.’s homecoming that year. He invited us to film at Club Ebony, and I was able to sit in with him, in that historic juke joint, and play “The Thrill Is Gone” with The King.

PHOTOGRAPHY © AMANDA GRESHAM

What a lot of people don’t know is that it was my birthday that night and when I went on B.B.’s bus to say hello before we started filming, he sang “Happy Birthday” to me. When the film crew discovered what they had missed, they asked him to sing it again for the cameras. B.B. politely declined explaining, “No, that was something special just for Kenny.” Which is how he made everyone feel, that you were the most important person in the world while you were with him. I always cherished my time with Mr. King and I am grateful for the music he left us but mostly for the stellar example he set for me and for anyone who knew him.– Kenny Wayne Shepherd

When I opened on a tour with Buddy Guy and B.B. King, they asked me earlier in the day if I wanted to get up with B.B. and I said, “Yeah.” They prepped me before I went on about possible songs. When his band leader, James Boland, talked to B.B., they decided on “Everyday I’ve Got The Blues.” I knew the song, but I listened to a version to get some lyrics. I brushed up on the words, and then after “The Thrill Is Gone,” he brought me out and had me sit next to him. As soon as I got there, he gave me a rose. I almost started crying right there. He called off the key of Bb, and I started playing rhythm as he sang. We traded off verses and guitar solos. It was so much fun, I thought I was in a dream. I was self-conscientious about my tone because when he started playing his tone was so amazing; I wanted to put my guitar away. Then we started playing the song “I Know.” I didn’t really know the words, so I just made up some verses and he did too. Playing with him was like driving a cool, old car like a big old Caddy convertible with a big engine that drives real smooth.– Susan Tedeschi

I have a special little ledge in my dining room, where I keep a few things near and dear to me. There, among precious family treasures, is this photo of B.B. King. I took this during the BMA’s in 1989 or 1990. His place on my ledge says it all for me.”– Bonnie Tallman

In 1994 when I shared the bill with B.B. King at Stockholm Jazz & Blues, I had no way of knowing that 10 years later, I would actually one day share the stage with B.B. King. If someone had told me that I would sit in a chair between B.B. King and Gladys Knight, and at his request, I would have thought they were crazy. But life is sometimes funny that way. Our first “official” meeting was in 2001 at Piazza Blues Festival in Bellinzona, Switzerland where I was on the bill with B.B. King. I was in the backstage area following what I thought was my less than stellar, performance, but like all the others in the green room, I was excited to get to see the man!


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We were all waiting for his show to start, and I could see Mr. King in his flashy suit sitting in a chair at the stage entrance waiting for his band to finish their instrumental selections. Then I saw Keb’ Mo’ walking through the crowd in my direction. As he drew closer, I could see that he was actually coming to me! “Earl, come with me! Quick! He said, and without question, I followed him. “Where are we going?” I asked. He just said, “Hurry!” Suddenly I realized we were walking up the stairs to the area where I had just seen B.B. King, and there he was! B.B. King himself and he was looking in our direction and smiling. At me! As I got within hand shaking range, he held out his hand to shake. I took his hand in mine, and he pulled me close and looked me right in the eyes and said, “Son, you took me to chu’ch!” (Chu’ch is Ebonics for “church”). I was thrilled, stunned, star struck, and quite unable to speak but finally I managed a shaky “Thank you. Mr. King.” He was very complimentary of my show, and I felt validated. I remember telling him how proud my parents would be if they knew I had met him and how disappointed I was that there was no camera. It would be two years before I saw him again. This time, in San Diego. I was asked to do a short opening set for his show at 4th & B. There was only one dressing room at 4th & B and my accompanist and I were told that when B.B. arrived, we would have to clear out of the room. No problem. We got the word that B.B.’s bus arrived, and we immediately began moving toward the exit. As we were walking out, I heard a voice from behind me say, “Is that Earl Thomas?” I turned to see that it was B.B. King! “Hey man,” he said. “Last time I saw you was in Switzerland! How you been?” OMG! In 2004 I was invited back to Switzerland to do the Montreux Jazz Festival. I was told that I would be performing four shows, one on the Stravinsky Hall main stage and three in the jazz bar. The big news was that I was going to join B.B. King and Gladys Knight onstage for the traditional B.B. King jam session. This was going to be B.B.’s last time in Montreux as he had reached the age where traveling to Europe had become difficult.

The biggest news though was that B.B. King, yes the man himself, had requested Earl Thomas to join him for this spot. That night on Lake Geneva was magical. Not only did I get to meet Gladys Knight, I got to ride in the limo with B.B. to the gig. Yes little ole Goody Bridgeman from Pikeville, Tennessee, at the Montreux Jazz Festival in B.B. King’s limo en route to one of the most prestigious venues in the world! The song we sang was “Stormy Monday.” I sat between B.B. King and Gladys Knight, a million miles from 1994 and a zillion miles from Pikeville, Tennessee.– Earl Thomas

In August, 2011, Walter opened up for B.B. King at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa. It was a glorious Sunday. After the show, we waited backstage for B.B. to come off the stage. He then arrived riding on a golf cart with many people around him. B.B. recognized Walter and shouted a greeting. He told the golf cart driver to stop. However, after making contact with Walter, he immediately turned his attention to our 10-year-old son, Dylan, who was standing with Walter. “Who is that young man?” B.B. inquired. Walter said: “That’s my son, Dylan.” B.B. then tapped on his lap and said to Dylan: “Come up here young man.” He asked Dylan a few questions and continued talking with Walter and me. After five minutes, B.B. continued on the golf cart, and Dylan stepped down. He was aglow with excitement. Driving home, Walter and I were talking with Dylan about the experience. Walter said to Dylan: “You know, you just sat on B.B. King’s lap. He is not just a legend; he’s an American icon.” Dylan chewed on that for a little while and said: “Yes I know that, but when you meet him, he is just like a friendly neighbor.”– Marie Trout


The first time I met B.B., was in 1968 and I was 17 years old. I worked after school in a shopping mall in South Jersey. I walked past a record store, looked in, and recognized B.B. King, who was there shopping. I was completely star-struck and very awkwardly approached him and asked for an autograph. I told him I played the guitar. He wrote: “To Walter – keep playing,” and talked to me for almost an hour. He was the most gracious man I had ever met. I was on cloud nine. He talked to me about the blues, he encouraged me, and it was an experience I will never forget. The second time was 17 years later at the Beacon Theater in New York City. I was with John Mayall, and we were on a festival bill with Charlie Musselwhite, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, and B.B. King. He was still the most humble, gracious man I had ever met. We did many shows together after this, and he always called me by my name, and made me feel very special when I was around him. I consider him the greatest blues man that ever lived, and I am not open to discussion on that point.

His music, more than anyone else, showed me that the blues truly could be the most genuine, heartfelt, honest, and emotional music there is. It set me on the path that I would follow for the rest of my life. And I am forever in his debt, and I am still incredibly star-struck. His body of work is monumental and stands alone among the annals of this music.– Walter Trout

(From Left To Right)CocoMontoya,CharlieMusselwhite,B.B.King,JohnMayall,DeaconJones,WalterTrout,1985.


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Hanging With The KingHow could I ever predict that I’d open for the legendary B.B. King. It was April 1998, thousands of miles away from my Midwest town in the USA. It was Gronau, Germany at the Gronau Blues Festival where I was honored to get the crowd ready for B.B. and Lucille. How did this unknown blues girl end up across the water with a King? It was the same promoter who worked with my father Tommy Tucker “Hi Heel Sneakers” that set it all up. Before the show began, I learned that B.B. was not feeling well, as I believe he had already been diagnosed with diabetes. It never hindered his performance. His voice and Lucille killed it. The people were in a trance. After his show, he tapped me on my shoulder, his way if approving my performance. Really, who would have thought a young unknown blues girl from the Midwest and a legendary icon from a small town in Mississippi would meet across the waters and establish a connection that would inspire her musical journey for life. Fast forward ten years to 2008 at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival in Monterey, CA. B.B. was the headliner, and I was honored again to play the same bill. After my performance, I sat in the Monterey crowd, watched B.B. dazzle the crowd with B.B. stories and Lucille. When the festival was over B.B. invited Robert Hughes, my guitarist, and me on the bus. From what I knew, it was rare to get invited on his bus. I walked on the bus and my heart was fluttering with joy. B.B. was sitting in a big leather chair styled for a king. B.B. did most of the talking predicting my path I will hold that moment – the conversation and the advice in my heart forever. Priceless advice and praises from a King. I adore and respect B.B. all he has given to the world and especially the blues world. In his memory, we must keep the blues alive!– Teeny Tucker

When I was about 14 years old, I bought a blues compilation record called Greats Of The Blues. It was on that album that I first heard Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Ray Charles, Jimmy Reed, and the great B.B. King. I wore a hole in that record right over “Sweet Little Angel,” his voice on that song just swept me away. Years later I had the opportunity to see B.B. King when I was in college with Koko Taylor and Bobby “Blue” Bland in support. That show changed my life. I couldn’t believe the sound of his guitar, it was powerful and spiritual, it sang like a bird and cried like a widower, it was the greatest guitar sound I have ever stood in a room with. All musicians are dreamers, but the rarest kind of musician makes more dreamers, and even rarer still is the musician that makes you go out and buy guitars, start bands, and know that you have to play from your heart and soul every time because you “witnessed” something you can’t forget. That was B.B. King to me. Years later, my band had the distinct honor of opening for B.B. King, the circle of the dream had come around to the front, and I was humbled once again to stand in the presence of true greatness, love, and generosity. RIP BB King – We all love you.– Chris Vos – The Record Company

“The eight blues stamps were being dedicated in Greenville, MS., in September 1994. B.B. flew into the Memphis airport and no one was there to meet him. This would have been enough for anyone else to turn back. “So he rented a car on his own and headed down I-55 to Greenville. He got stopped for speeding, but they recognized him and after they heard his story, they gave him a police escort the rest of the way. He showed up four hours late, but the show went on anyway.”– Dick Waterman


42 Blues Music Magazine PHOTOGRAPHY © SCOTT SALTZMAN42 Blues Music Magazine

“Icallmyselfabluessinger,butyouain’t

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mortal obstacles, an everlasting tribute to the King of the Blues.– Grant Britt – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

B.B. King didn’t invent the blues. But he definitely personalized them. From the first note on, you know who’s bending those strings. When he first started, nobody else played like him. Now everybody does to some degree- there’s not a guitarist alive who doesn’t have a King lick in his repertoire. “When I touch the string, my hand is not on the neck at all, afterwards” the guitarist says, attempting to explain his signature vibrato on his instructional video, B.B. King, DCI Blues Masters Vol 3, Tape 1. King says his sound comes from the wrist. “You do it like you’re weighing a pound of feathers over here,” he says, talking about this right hand, “and a pound of lead over here,” indicating his left, fretting hand. “It’s a little twist this way and that way.” That little wrist twist, a voice like a locomotive roaring through the Delta and an ability to compose and perform music that appeals to all ages makes King one of the most recognized and beloved figures in blues. King’s persona is larger than life but never overbearing. He commands a stage, but his presence is that of a man possessed by the music, his performance a sharing of his powers, not an assault on the senses. The guitarist kept up a blistering tour schedule well into his late ‘70s, still continuing to do dates even though he was reduced to sitting down to perform and filled a lot of his concert time with lengthy anecdotes sprinkled with his homespun philosophy. But even in his dotage, the fire still burned hot. He kept it damped down more often in later years, but when he opened the furnace door in concert, the heat came boiling out. He’d slam into “When Love Comes To Town,” the 1987 hit written for him by U2’s Bono, roaring with the energy and power of a man half his age. He still tackled “The Thrill Is Gone” with the same vigor you saw on his 1974 video Live In Africa when he was at the top of his form. B.B. King will always be with us. His spirit and his legacy are powerful enough to survive any

B.B. King was already nearly a decade past retirement age when we spoke on the phone in August 1999 to talk about his latest project, Let The Good Times Roll, a tribute to Louis Jordan. At 73, King was already taking a seat during his performances, but he had no plans to stop touring, no plans to stop making records, no plans to stop imagining what might come next. “The sky’s the limit. I never stop dreaming about the things we can do,” King said from a California hotel room while touring with the B.B. King Blues Festival, the multi-act show he had been leading for several years. That summer, those acts included guitar hero Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Indigenous, a blues rock band composed of young Native American musicians. King said such youthful artists – Shepherd was some 50 years younger than King – brought him solace that someone would always be around to keep the blues flame burning. “When I’ m dead you won’t miss me,” King said. “They will carry it on.” Of course, King was only half-right about that. And he would continue touring for more than a dozen years before old age and diabetes cut him off from the very thing that had been keeping him alive and nurturing his soul all those decades. “It’s still really fun for me. I have a chance to meet a lot of young people and talk with them,” King said a month shy of his 74th birthday.44 Blues Music Magazine

In July, the Lambertville (NJ) Music Circus presented the King of the Blues. LMC was a theater in the round with an intermittently rotating stage inside a circus tent. My friends and I were thrilled to meet B.B. after the show. He spoke to us in a cordial manner and genuinely appreciated meeting such young (I was the oldest at 20) and knowledgeable fans. (The following week we were back at the LMC for Paul Butterfield.) In October we traveled to the Fillmore East for an incredible triple bill of Paul Butterfield, B.B. King, and Elvin Bishop. We had tickets for the second show, which commenced at 11:30 and concluded at 3:30 a.m. Fifteen minutes later the principals (and various sidemen) re-emerged for a lengthy jam. The sun was coming up when we left the Fillmore East and returned to Philadelphia.– Thomas J. Cullen III – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

“Sometimes I forget I’m 73 because I’m around young people and young thinking people all the time – until my arthritis starts to hurt.” King still had big dreams. He wanted to hear his music on mainstream radio, a wish that soon would come true when Eric Clapton teamed up with him to record the 2000 chart-topping Riding With The King album. And he wanted to be a movie star. “I’ve been in many, many movies, but I’d like to be a co-star in one with somebody,” King said. “I’ve had some talking parts through the years, but I’d like to go the whole route.” King didn’t get that co-star gig. Instead he got the top billing in the 2012 documentary “The Life of Riley.”– Michael Cote

In the summer of 1968, I purchased my first B.B. King record, the Bluesway single “Paying The Cost To Be Boss” (b/w “Having My Say”). A few months later I purchased Live At The Regal and soon thereafter Blues Is King, unarguably the two greatest live blues albums of all time. I saw B.B. for the first time on a bill with the Rolling Stones at the Spectrum in Philly, November of 1969. The manic hoopla surrounding that night has obscured almost every memory except the Stones’ performance. However, in 1970 I saw B.B. three times in a seven-month span at three legendary venues in three different states. They are my most cherished memories of B.B. King. In March, B. B. opened for Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton at the old Electric Factory in Philly. This time I was up close. By the end of his set, my hands were sore from clapping and my voice was hoarse from cheering.

BackstagewithB.B.King: Thelegend’spersonaltouch

B.B. King, inside the bright circle of television light, asks someone to bring him a soda. The stage crew, meanwhile, is hurriedly disassembling the stage out in the arena. It’s 1990, deep inside an aging civic center in Monroe, Louisiana. He has been signing an endless stream of albums, pictures, and scraps of paper in his dressing room. King’s been interviewed, photographed, and given the key to the city. His concert has been over for hours, forever. “What we want you to say, Mr. King,” the TV person instructs, “is: ‘Hello, I’m B.B. King.


One of them, a boy wearing crooked glasses, finally asks: “Is he done yet?” The man guarding B.B. King’s door says: “Almost, son. In a little while.”– Nick DeRiso – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

Lucille and I would like to encourage every one of you to join the fight against crime in this parish.’ “What we want you to say, Mr. King,” the TV person instructs, “is: ‘Hello, I’m B.B. King. Lucille and I would like to encourage every one of you to join the fight against crime in this parish.’ King considers it for a moment, and then he looks some more at a piece of paper with notes about what he’s supposed to say. There are a group of people lining the walls of his dressing room – friends, bodyguards, attendants, and the never-ending line of families waiting for their sliver of time with King. He takes time for it all, as if there wasn’t any other place he’d rather be. King has just finished performing for more than 1,900 people, another in a lifetime’s tapestry of nights spent weaving stories of love-gone-bad and love-gone-for-good, all with his patented butterfly-wrist guitar twang. He has now thrown off his coat, and wiped his brow. It is well past midnight on a Sunday morning, approaching one a.m., but B.B. King doesn’t seem weary. In fact, he looks like he’s just getting started. King says: “Hello, I’m B.B. King. Lucille and I, we’d like to join –” He stops, and smiles with open joy. “We’ll do another; we’ll do another,” the TV person says. King takes a deep breath: “Are we ready? Alright,” he says, cheerfully. “O.K., Hello. I’m B.B. King. Lucille and I would like to encourage each and every one of you to join in and help the fight against crime.” The take is finally done. They cut the camera off, and start spooling up cords and taking down the lights. Then, King is up and ready to leave. But he never does. “Alright, thank you all,” he says, then starts right back in, with another story. There are more tales to tell, more friends to be made, more lives to touch. He’s been as patient with the last as he was with the first. Finally, what might have been the last group files out of King’s quarters, only to stumble into another smattering of fans and friends still waiting in the hall. Several children traveling on tour with King are walking up and down the arena halls, patiently biding their time under fluorescent lights that make their church clothes glow.

I come to this with some trepidation. Although I’ve been a blues fan since high school in the 1970s, I was not always a B.B. fan. (I am now.) I was young and naïve; I loved Muddy and Wolf and Little Walter. I thought B.B. was too commercial, too polished, too jazzy. All those horns? No harp player? I heard “The Thrill Is Gone” on WBCN, the “rock of Boston” radio and wondered if that’s the only example of blues anyone around me knew. Then, around 2000, I decided the time had come to around go see B.B. live. How could one be a proper blues fan and not have seen The King? This was at elegant Symphony Hall in Boston – not exactly my preferred juke joint setting. The show was a kind of a disappointment. B.B., then around 75, rambled, didn’t finish songs, and his handlers allowed annoying “super fans” to get onto the stage and interrupt the show. But B.B. stayed after the show until every single person got to chat with him. I started hearing some of B.B.’s other music, mostly on Sirius Bluesvillle satellite radio. It was fantastic! Songs such as “Three O’Clock Blues,” I Gotta Move Outta This Neighborhood,” “Since I Met You Baby,” and especially the hilarious “Jack, You’re Dead.” That oh-so distinctive shimmering guitar, the perfectly orchestrated bridges, and solos – along with his early Memphis recordings – such emotion– blew me away. 46 Blues Music Magazine

performer that they all really loved. It was felt on the stage. B.B. himself was dressed in a fine suit and gave a performance each time that was never equaled in any of the other venues. At the end, he came out in tears and addressed the audience humbly: “You gave me a chance here at the Apollo in 1953, and I’ve never forgotten it. I hope that tonight I was able to give something back to you with my music.” With the resulting applause and other noticeable tears in the audience, I was privy to almost a full circle of this wonderful bluesman’s career.– Pete Sardon – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

I realized how ignorant and mistaken I was in my earlier opinions. To top it off, I discovered via Bill Wax’s “You and Me with B.B. King” Saturday afternoon radio shows on Sirius, just what kind of person this man was, a extraordinarily kind, positive HUMAN being who could spin magic with his stories. He had fascinating tales about being a blues musician throughout the decades, including when he first began seeing white kids at his shows. He described Johnny Winter “as the whitest man I had ever seen.” B.B. has a great sense of humor, even though some of his stories involve horrible times when racism in the South was at its worst. I also realized how influenced he was by T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, and Lowell Fulson, all great musicians and favorites of mine. B.B. King is a great bluesman. And I was totally wrong.– Karen Nugent – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

In 1968, I began buying every blues album I could afford after seeing my first blues concert that year (Muddy Waters was the artist). I have more B.B. King recordings that any other blues artist in my blues collection as his music is eminently listenable and his live recordings still jump out of the speakers. I Have been fortunate enough to have seen him perform in Philly, Camden, Long Beach, Dana Point, and Los Angeles, my fondest memories of him were in the mid-‘90s when I had the immense pleasure to see him perform not once but twice at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. First of all, the clientele at the Apollo dress to the nines! The red velvet seats there are narrow, but they were all filled and the audience shared a commonality of seeing a

I was in sixth grade, in command of the TV room as I had won the battle with my siblings to hold the pair of pliers that changed the channels. A rerun of Johnny Carson was on, and a man holding a big guitar walked from behind the curtain and proceeded to blow my mind. I didn’t really care that he played guitar, it was the power and emotion of his singing that held me transfixed. Though it must have been around the time of “The Thrill Is Gone,” that wasn’t the tune, I can’t say for sure what it was. Doesn’t really matter. It was my first “Blues” moment. I was astonished and affected like no other performance I’d ever seen. I remember Carson had him over to the couch and how good humored and gracious he seemed. Many years later, this scene flashed through my head as I was a fly on the wall while my friend Bill Wax interviewed B.B. in a tiny studio. All I could think of was, “Well, How Did I Get Here?” We’d been to a show a week before, and I printed out some pictures I’d hoped he sign.


He picked one up, gave it a good look, and commented on how he liked the fact that trumpeter James “Boogaloo” Bolden was prominent in the background. “I can have one, right?” Whoa, it hadn’t occurred to me that he’d want one, I figured someone of his stature already had a couple of good pics. Even if he tossed it into the trash in the tour bus, it made me feel special. Of course, I kept one, and it’s never leaving my wall! For all his immense talent, his biggest gift may have been how special he made others feel.– Bob Sekinger – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

Thankfully, because of B.B.’s efforts, there are blues festivals in almost every big city around the U.S. and Canada. Now, we have to follow up on Buddy Guy’s vision and take it one step further, demand that our commercial radio stations in mid-size and big cities play blues on the radio in prime-time slots.– Richard Skelly – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

Like many of my generation, I grew up listening to rock and the blues as filtered through the English invasion bands – Stones, Animals, etc. I was consumed with researching for more information on songwriters with unusual names like McKinley Morganfield and Chester Burnett. Reading Hit Parader magazine one day, I spied a column by Eric Clapton discussing his favorite records. At the top of his list was a record titled Live At The Regal by B.B. King. It took some doing to get my hands on a copy. And despite Clapton’s accolades, I was not prepared for the experience of that first listen – the visceral excitement of an audience hanging on every note poured out by a masterful storyteller and guitar player. In high school, I was interested in journalism, working on the school paper, which lead to an internship with the local newspaper. My adviser, G.C. Skipper, was a veteran newsman raised in Alabama. In short order, we discovered that we shared a lot of the same musical interests, including blues music. As my internship was wrapping up and college was dead ahead, G.C. and his wife invited me join them for a trip to Chicago to see B.B. King at the famous Mister Kelly’s nightclub.

I recall an October or November early 1990’s press conference at the Blue Note jazz nightclub on West Third Street with B.B. King, to announce the release of an autobiographical CD-ROM about his life and musical times. For whatever reasons, there were only a handful of us there. So I felt compelled to ask a question: “What’s your take on what’s going on in the world of contemporary blues these days, where it seems like 80 percent of the touring acts are white guys and gals, while only about 20 percent of these acts are actually African-American people?” He said something to the effect, “I’m grateful for all the white musicians that are out there, carrying the torch for the music and keeping it in front of people, because they help to keep me out here on the road, too.” Everywhere he went, he brightened people’s days and made them smile. Like Louis Armstrong, he would stay around in the dressing room or on the tour bus at his concert sites until every last autograph seeker or photo seeker was accommodated. 48 Blues Music Magazine

As we moved closer together and posed, all of a sudden, in his big booming voice he yells: “Put your arm around me AAAAAJAAAYY!” And I did. Look at the photo. A King on and off the stage.– A.J. Wachtel – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine

I quickly accepted their generous offer, and then headed home for a marathon listening session with the Regal album. I remember three things from that night. The way the sustained notes from B.B.’s guitar hung in the air, each one a brief vignette on life. Then there was his voice, so powerful that I couldn’t help but get wrapped in his descriptions of bad luck and heartbreak. But what made the deepest impression was the joy and passion that B.B. had for the music. Sure times may be tough, and he certainly had more than his share of hard times, but he was standing tall and showing us that music has the power to overcome and heal the human spirit. There will never be a finer ambassador for blues music. B.B. had that rare combination of being an outstanding musician and singer in addition to having a gentle, loving spirit that endeared him to family, friends, and fans. He served as the inspiration for countless aspiring musicians around the globe, just as the legacy of his life will be the guiding light for future generations to aspire to.– Mark Thompson contributing writer Blues Music Magazine

A few decades ago, I had the opportunity to meet B.B. backstage while I was covering a show in New Hampshire for a Boston entertainment publication. We started talking, and ended up sitting side by side. I found him to be an intelligent, talkative, and funny person who answered every question I had. After about a half hour of talking privately to me in the band room behind the stage, I asked him if I could take a photo with him.

I’ve spent much of my adult life wanting to have a conversation with B.B. King. I came close in 1987 when I helped present him with a birthday cake on stage at a summer blues festival, but words were not exchanged. At the time, we didn’t know about his diabetes, and he was too much a gentleman to tell us that a great heap of chocolate wasn’t on his diet. He also spared comment on having to listen to 7,000 sun-baked fans, many of them half-drunk, sing happy birthday. As I said, he was too much a gentleman. A decade later, I set up interviews several times with him for a monthly blues column I wrote for ICE magazine. But on each occasion, the interview didn’t happen. It’s probably just as well. Sometimes it’s best not to meet heroes. Better to keep a distance and retain the awe. I maintain there is nothing wrong with hero-worship; it’s reality that is often a bring-down. Besides, what could I have asked the “King of the Blues”? The man’s had a very public journey from segregated Mississippi in late 1940s to wide-world fame more than 60 years later. Every night he went on a stage he told us his life story through the music.

So if somehow it had worked out that we’d had that face-to-face conversation, I’d like to think I would have skipped the interview questions and just had the good sense to say, “Thank you, Mr. King.”– Bill Wasserzieher – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine


King was his name, King was his title, and he wore it with a style that redefined dignity for a genre of music that knew no monarch until he christened a Chicago nightclub with a record that said it all, Live At The Regal with the accent on Regal. In 1965 I had to go into Boston’s “Combat Zone” to score a copy of that defining ode to call and response. The Harvard Coop had Muddy Waters LPs. Briggs and Briggs on Mass. Ave had Slim Harpo, and the college radio stations played Howlin’ Wolf, but I had to venture into the hood in Roxbury and Louie’s Lounge to see The King. That show changed my life as he himself changed just about every blues man’s life I’ve interviewed in the last half century. He would work tirelessly for more than 70 years to earn his namesake title. John Hunter saw B.B. in the early ‘50s and the experience turned him into a guitarist literally overnight. I watched Buddy Guy and B.B. visit backstage in Syracuse and experienced a side of Buddy like never before or since. He was a child at his first prom. I was fortunate enough to recommend the underrated Rhett Tyler as opening act for B.B. last year and watch him bask in the King’s aura. So humble and so sweet, B.B. told me after his mother died he carried corn in his pocket and fed it to the squirrels on the riverbed so that he’d have someone to talk to. “I just want you to know one thing,” he told me in 2008. “Just remember I said I was no saint, but I didn’t do anything I’m ashamed of today. That’s one thing I can say if God’s willing. I never did anything I was ashamed of. Never! Of course, I did some things I wouldn’t let you see me do, but I wasn’t ashamed to do it.” He will never die in our hearts or in his recorded presence. To generations of blues performers B.B. King will forever be live at the Regal.– Don Wilcock – contributing writer, Blues Music Magazine


B.B. WAS ALL YOU HAD TO SAY

Like Prince or Madonna, a full name wasn’t necessary when speaking of the King of the Blues. Everyone – not just blues fans or guitar players – knew who “B.B.” was. When he died recently, it wasn’t just the passing of a great man and musician. It was the passing of the last universally-known bluesman the world may ever see. Whether it was a nine-year-old in Japan or a 90-year-old in Norway, B.B.’s name was that iconic. Everyone knew who he was even if they didn’t own his music. He toured and recorded endlessly for decades, spreading and re-spreading his name around the globe. Whether he was playing for a pope or president, a king or queen, B.B. easily transcended the blues genre as an ambassador for both the music and the culture from which it sprang. Still, even after an array of awards and accolades, King never forgot his roots or what it was like to be a fan. Up through last year, the legendary bluesman returned to his native Indianola, Mississippi, every summer for a special homecoming show. He was also known to meet and greet his biggest fans after most performances. What other cultural icons can we say these things about? (I don’t know for sure, but I’ll bet Madonna doesn’t go back home for a yearly performance where she invites the neighborhood kids up on stage and her fans onto the bus.)

A MEETING WITH THE KING

About 25 years ago, I met B.B. King. He played at the Cincinnati Zoo back in my native Ohio. My buddy Pat and I enjoyed a great show. Pat snapped photos throughout, and after the encore, I suggested that we hang around and try to figure out where King would be holding court afterward. After avoiding security for a few minutes, we saw a couple folks ushered into a backstage door. So, we followed them with a we-belong-here look on our faces.

Sure enough. There was the big man himself at the end of a small receiving line. When it was our turn, we shook hands, spoke briefly, got autographs and went to pose for a photo. That’s when Pat cursed, looked up from his camera and announced. “You’re gonna kill me, Rog, but I’m out of film!” The first B.B. King show I attended was a year or two before that – on my birthday – at Memorial Hall in Dayton, Ohio. The opener was a pre-comeback Buddy Guy, which I thought was pretty awesome since the elder bluesman had been an early influence on the younger. The King and his protege both kicked butt, and I still have the show poster somewhere. I saw B.B. a few times in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Slowly, he began to sit longer and play a little less at each show until finally he played the entire show sitting down and spent a notable amount of time talking and letting the band play. Performing some 300 gigs a year took its toll. When I moved to Mississippi, not only did I get to see King play his yearly Indianola homecomings, but I also got to see first hand the land and the culture that gave rise to such blues greats as Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King. For those of you who have been here, you know. The place and the history explain the men and the music. A night in a Delta juke joint and a day at one of our blues museums truly tells the story behind the old 78s and scratchy LPs.

A MUSEUM FIT FOR A KING

A couple years back, Indianola, Mississippi, opened the doors to its amazing $15,000,000 B.B. King Museum. Just before the official grand opening, I took 80-something-year-old Big George Brock through the facility – as workers finished moving artifacts into place and carpenters’ saws buzzed in the background. Mississippi-born Brock grew up in the same way as King – working a cotton plantation in the segregated Mississippi Delta. As Brock walked through the new museum, he kept pointing at photos of one-room school houses, juke joints and cotton fields, saying, “Yup. That’s just how it was.” Blues Music Magazine 51

Brock also told me about one day in the mid-1940s, when he drove a truckload of cotton choppers from Flower’s Plantation to the tiny nearby town of Dublin, Mississippi, for lunch. As he pulled up, there was King (just 6 years his elder) sitting out front playing for tips. “The next time I heard him, he was talking about, ‘Peptikon sure is good’, on the radio in Memphis!” Brock saw King from time to time through the decades that followed, and about two years ago (some 60 years later), he opened up a show for his old friend in St. Louis. He got to spend a few minutes with King backstage before the show. They laughed about the old days. Brock called me the day after King passed, commenting about how few of his old blues friends are left. Another Magnolia State bluesman, Mark “Mule Man” Massey, shared this memory with me: “I played for B.B. King with a stripe on my leg [at infamous Parchman Farm]. Then, I met B.B. five years after I was released, and I said, ‘Do you remember coming to Parchman prison?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Well, I was one of the guys in Parchman when you came there. You’d just got your new black bus. You got out with a hoe and held up the light lines, so the bus could get through, and I was thinking, oh man, B.B. King’s fixing to get electrocuted!’ ‘Yeah, I remember.’ I said, ‘We couldn’t meet you, but you signed a picture and sent it over to us.’“ The respect in Massey’s voice said it all.

One of my Cat Head store customers, Don Gentry, remembered a less dangerous story about King. He said that in the late 1960s King opened for Kenny Rogers & the First Edition at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Every time King tried to end his show and leave the stage, the students would carry him back on for one more song. Gentry said whenever he brings up the memory with his friends

who were there, they usually forget that Rogers even played. Even the self-proclaimed “Ladies’ Man” of Greenville, Mississippi, James “T-Model” Ford, once shared a B.B. King memory with me. The supremely confident octogenarian said, “I played in Australia with B.B. King. I like to have took his show. I got to whooping that guitar. B.B. King quit playing!” (In reality, King probably decided that Ford’s alternately-tuned guitar and elastic timing were best left to play with just the drummer!) B.B. PASSES THE TORCH

One final anecdote comes from Clarksdale, Mississippi, blues prodigy,16-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Ingram and the Delta Blues Museum’s student band met King on his tour bus in Indianola two years ago. “He said his band was on the way to play Carnegie Hall one time and got lost. They stopped and asked a wino how to get to Carnegie Hall. The wino said, ‘Practice!’ [King] just wanted to make impression on us, and tell us we need to practice.” Farewell to one of history’s great musical icons, and an unwavering ambassador for blues music and state of Mississippi. B.B. King. R.I.P.


PHOTOGRAPHY © ROGER STOLLE

I’m probably the thousandth writer to make a complimentary pun out of B.B. King’s biggest hit song, but I’m also probably the hundred thousandth guitar player to use B.B.’s finger-shaking trill to make a guitar note sing instead of just shout. I don’t remember a time when B.B. wasn’t “King of the Blues.” He was completely established at the top before I even heard any blues. I remember going to see him at the newer version of The Boston Tea Party in 1970 or so. I was not only taken and shaken by B.B.’s music, but was absolutely amazed that a man his age could actually pick up a guitar and perform so strongly in his mid-40’s! Whether out of generosity or boredom, B.B. asked if there were any guitar players in the house who would like to join him on-stage and play Lucille, his guitar. I did, and played my best, really thrilled and appreciating the experience fully at the time. Of course, musically, I was a baby, but it was the first time I played on-stage with a famous blues musician. I guess I started at the top. At another of B.B.’s Tea Party gigs, I remember seeing Rod Stewart lurking in the back of the club, just enjoying B.B.’s show. I joined Muddy Waters’ band in August, 1973. The week I joined Muddy’s band, B.B. had an outdoor concert in Boston canceled because of rain, and came down to Muddy’s gig at Paul’s Mall and sat in.

We were on some shows where they sang the same song together, and it was Blues singing as good as it gets. B.B. really helped everyone on the sad occasion of Muddy’s funeral in ’83. It was a comfort to see B. when Mud was put into the ground. I remember taking the opportunity to see all of B.B.’s performances when both bands were on a week-long Jazz festival in Nice, France

one summer. I was basically trying to learn as much as I could about his touch from watching him play – concentrating on his right (picking) hand to learn more about what gave B.B. his instantly-identifiable sound on the guitar, along with his more obvious trademark finger trill. In about early ’74, I was playing with Muddy at the Cellar Door in D.C. I had spent the day listening to B.B.’s songs from the ‘50s on cassette, and I really had him on my mind and in my ear. On Muddy’s songs that night, where it

was appropriate, I’m sure B.B.’s licks popped out of my guitar. In the dark balcony there was an enthusiastic customer whose voice sounded familiar, and it turned out to be B.B. himself. He hung out with Muddy and the band after the show, telling road stories. I said to him, “I bet you can tell who I was listening to today,” and he smiled. In ’75, Muddy played at a blues festival in Peoria that seemed to have just about everybody on it. Luther Allison performed a tribute to B.B. – three or four of B.B.’s signature songs in the middle of his set.


PHOTOGRAPHY © BOB MARGOLIN

Luther did not realize that B.B. was on the show, but B.B. arrived right while Luther was doing his songs. When he left the stage, Luther found B.B. waiting in the wings, laughing, “Now what am I going to play?” Luther was embarrassed, but B.B. was very nice to him. In ’87, I added on to my friends The Nighthawks, and we opened for B.B. in Roanoke, Virginia. B.B. was so nice, so giving, that he actually visited our dressing room to say hello and thank us for being on the show with him. In ’94, I was working with The Muddy Waters Tribute Band and we opened on B.B.’s annual summer tour. One of my best friends, spectacular guitarist Tom Principato, was living in Austin then and came to the show. He knew B.B. was celebrating a birthday and he had made a video tape of old B.B. performances, and other music films he thought B.B. would enjoy, for a birthday present. Tom asked me to try to get it to B.B. Even though I was on the show, I know how tight concert security can be and I respect a performer’s privacy. Backstage, I ran into B.B.’s friendly, talented percussionist, Tony Coleman, and asked him if there was a way to get Tom’s videotape present to B.B. He told me it would be no problem to give it to B.B. personally and brought me into B.B.’s dressing room. B.B. was touched by Tom’s present, and after chatting for a few minutes, I stood up to leave. B.B. looked up at me from his chair, and with the sweetness of a polite child who is not used to generosity but gets a surprise treat, said softly, “Thanks again for my present.” No, Mr. King, thank you! Recently, there was still something in B.B.’s show that chilled me: B.B. sings “Key To The Highway,” and when he gets to the line “I’m going to roam this highway, ‘til the day I die,” he adds, in a spoken-word aside, “I’m going to stay out here ‘til I die,” or something close to that. Perhaps he’s just being dramatic on-stage, but I get the feeling that he means exactly that. I thank B.B. King for all he’s done, and every night I play I thank him with my guitar. As with his friend Muddy Waters, we will miss the man but his blues will live on, a touchstone for all who love music, and the thrill will never be gone.– Bob Margolin54 Blues Music Magazine

In September, 2005, B.B. King turns 80 years young and is celebrating in fine fashion. There is the B. B. King Birthday tour

around the country, a new biography with our own Charles Sawyer and Dick Waterman helping B.B., and a birthday anthology released by Universal Music. This B.B. King Anthology is a three-disc set. The first two discs contain 34 King classics while disc three is the DVD of King’s Blues Summit, a weekend show recorded with 11 blues luminaries as King’s guests at King’s Memphis blues club on Beale in 1993. The music starts a dozen years into King’s career. “How Blue Can You Get,” recorded in 1963 is still a staple of King’s live nights. From there, disc one covers “Sneakin’ Around” and “Help The Poor,” both of which are crafted like the songs Ray Charles was doing at that time. By song six, King is back to the blues with “Everyday I Have The Blues” and “Sweet Little Angel” from his landmark Live At The Regal record. Guaranteed that once you hear these cuts, Live At The Regal will be on your must buy list. That one night in November, 1964, continues to be an outstanding example of King’s chitlin’ circuit appeal. Other live cuts include “Gambler’s Blues” and Sweet Sixteen,” parts one and two, recorded in Chicago in 1965, and “Please Accept My Love” recorded at the Village Gate in NYC in 1969. You’ll also find King’s signature hit, “The Thrill Is Gone,” here. That song in 1969 was King’s official entry into mainstream white radio and clubs. “Paying The Cost To Be The Boss,” “Lucille,” and Nobody Loves Me But My Mother” all have a youthful King delivering his blue message with his powerful tenor and answering by his shaking his trademark guitar vibrato on Lucille’s strings.


Leon Russell and Joe Walsh join King on Russell’s “Hummingbird,” while Carole King plays electric piano on “Chains And Things.” The second record begins with King from 1971 and has numerous friends joining. Musicians like Klaus Voorman, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, and Jim Gordon join King on “Ghetto Woman.” Dr. John and Fathead Newman play behind King on “There Must Be A Better World Somewhere.” Then Jesse Ed Davis and Joe Walsh help King on “I Got Some Help I Don’t Need.” Even Stevie Wonder adds keyboards on two tunes from 1973. On “Let The Good Times Roll” from 1976, James Toney, who plays organ, is the first member of King’s current band to show up. No King anthology would be complete without his brilliant 1987 collaboration with U2 on “When Love Comes To Town.” The record fittingly ends with “I’ll Survive,” King’s personal message of endurance. By including King’s Blues Summit DVD as part of the package, Universal Music has taken King’s birthday celebration over the top. In 1993, King brought blues greats to Memphis as a musical summit. the eleven musical cuts are interspersed with B.B. talking about the part Memphis and Beale played in his life in music. Blues guitar giants like Robert Cray, Joe Louis Walker, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins join King in guitar battles while singers Ruth Brown, Koko Taylor, and Irma Thomas sing the old man verses woman debate common to the blues. The songs covered here include “Stormy Monday,” “Taint Nobody’s Business,” “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” and “Kansas City.” King ends his night out with an all-out jam on “The Blues Is Alright,” and his “Tribute To Miles, Stevie Ray & Albert.” Believe me that if you can’t get to see King on his Birthday tour, this Anthology is the next best thing.– Art Tipaldi

B.B. KingB.B. King AnthologyUniversalMusic


He turned 72 in September and released Deuces Wild, his 75th album, in November. Where

his previous release called for a summit meeting of some of the blues’ greatest living players, Deuces widens the musical guest list to include some of B.B.’s upper echelon music friends. If you’re B.B. King and you build it, the musicians will come. The artists MCA assembled chose either from a list of songs previously recorded by King or other tunes that could showcase King’s satin on sandpaper vocals and trademark guitar vibrato. B.B. was present and playin’ with each artist on all the sessions but Joe Cocker’s. Add to that the production value of John Porter’s knowledge of what makes King’s sound work on disc, and you have some of the most relaxed and yet musically challenging King sessions ever. Van Morrison opens the party with his own “If You Love Me.” The bittersweet vocal caress Morrison employs is emotionally satisfying that this is the only tune on the disc King doesn’t offer any vocal counterpoint. Instead, King supplies some of his most compelling solos above Phil Marshall’s warm string arrangements. Tracy Chapman next trucks her signature vocal trills on the big one, “The Thrill Is Gone.” It’s refreshing to hear this chestnut of the blues canon played with a freshness derived from either the inventive vocal point of view with a woman answering B.B.’s inflexible stance or the edge from Lucille. Then King and Eric Clapton deshuffle “Rock Me Baby” and institute a funkifed reggae beat. Slow and ponderous, it gives these long time friends ample elbowroom to jam guitar vitality into the smallest of spaces to fill. B.B.’s favorite blues lady Bonnie Raitt choose the Areatha Frankin tune, “ Baby, I Love You,” to stretch out on. The groove is pure Muscle Shoals, greasy slide, fat back beat, piano and organ. When the grand old men of rock, the Rolling Stones, play with the Boss, it’s only fitting

they selected “Playing The Cost To Be The Boss” to rock out on. Picture the King squinched face, fist pounding into open hand, Mick’s hips ‘n lips, and Keith’s cigarette in the headstock. The guitar solos move in a 12 bar friendly head cutting. First King’s huge Gibson’s tone, then Richards’ typically nervy low slung Strat, then Ron Woods’ more polished assualt and then Mick’s dirty harmonica. Is that enough for ya! Dr. John and King casts an upbeat New Orleans spell on Doc Pomus’ “There Must Be A Better World Somewhere.” There’s also a wonderful duet with Mick Hucknall of Simply Red on the Percy Mayfield classic, “Please Send Me Someone To Love.” Joe Cocker and B. duet on Keb’ Mo’s “Dangerous Mood.” David Gilmour and the King swing on “Crying Won’t Help You.” Country guitarist Marty Stuart joins King on “Confessin’ The Blues.” Stuart is more part of the alternative country scene that freely mixes traditional and contemporary aspects of that genre. The guitar duel reels in this Nashville meets Memphis slugfest. Hey, what’s this, M.C. B.B. rappin’ with the Grandmasta Heavy D, chillin’ with his homeys in da hood, dissin’ all them others but his squeeze Lucille. Definitely fun stuff especially when B.B. asks Heavy D to hold his hand walkin’ through da hood. Since the mid-60’s, every King performance has included Willie Nelson’s “Night Life.” The musical conversation between these musical road warriors clearly illustrates how opposites can be compatible in music. King’s muscular guitar tone and churchy voice balances Nelson’s violin-like guitar and reedy laments. A beautiful way to close out the set. After touring for over 45 years, perhaps near 15,000 performances, garnering awards from all corners of the musical world, most recently the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, and penning his autobiography, King certainly could sit and rest with a “been there, done that” recording attitude. Instead, like the musical genius he is, B.B. King still pushes to create fresh musical concepts.– Art Tipaldi

B.B. KINGDeuces WildMCA


This B.B. King record took top honors as Contemporary Blues Album in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Produced by T-bone

Burnett, One Kind Favor focuses on the traditional blues that B.B. King heard in the 1940’s growing up in Indianola, MS, and later in the early 1950’s on Beale Street. Instead of the Las Vegas, “You Are My Sunshine,” supper club King, we get King’s deepest blues emanating from the taproot of his soul. The voice, at 84 years old, still booms from the bottom. And Lucille accentuates everything King feels. Read any King biography or watch a King DVD and you’ll hear him lovingly revere the names Blind Lemon, T-Bone, and Lonnie Johnson. The record starts with Blind Lemon’s elegant, “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” a song King and every other African American in the south grew up with. Burnett swirls Dr. John’s bright piano, Neil Larsen’s B-3, and the muscular acoustic bass of Nathan East with King’s timeless reading of Jefferson’s poetry. A waterfall of King’s signature thick vibrato on Lucille leads the charge on “I Get So Weary,” a song that King heard T-Bone Walker deliver in the 1940’s. On “Get These Blues Off Me,” a song written by T-Bone’s wife, King’s thundering voice and stylish runs up and down Lucille’s neck have the same crossover appeal that King discovered on “The Thrill Is Gone.” If you love when B. B. sings slow blues, this is the song to replay over and over. King continues his T-Bone Fest with “Waiting For Your Call,” reminiscent of King’s “I’ll Survive.” His thunderous voice and vigorous guitar slow dances with Dr. John’s lush piano. But the young King also held Lonnie Johnson in high regard. Johnson was one of the classy 1920’s guitarists who effortlessly mixed blues and jazz styles. Like Walker, a perfect mentor for King to study. Here, King reprises three Johnson tunes. “My Love Is Down” is given standard Lucille treatment.

King’s 7+ minute funeral march of Johnson’s “Backwater Blues” reminds of every destructive Mississippi flood from 1927 to Katrina. King and Dr. John end the record with “Tomorrow Night,” Johnson’s tear jerking ballad of a one nighter looking for forever. In between, King covers John Lee Hooker’s “Blues Before Sunrise,” Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Years,” and two from the Mississippi Sheiks, one of the major string bands from the 1930’s, including their biggest hit, “Sitting On Top Of the World.” The list of musicians accompanying King include Jim Keltner and Johnny Lee Shell on guitars, Nathan East, borrowed from EC’s band, Stephen Bruton, and a massive horn section which answers every King and Lucille call. Though the songs are mostly mid-tempo, the delivery drips emotion and reverence. There is considerable joy in hearing B.B. play these timeless blues through his life’s experiences and make old and scratchy 78s his own blues statement.– Art Tipaldi

B.B. KingOne Kind FavorGeffen


Hard to believe that B.B. King turned 80 on September 16, 2005. Octogenarians are

supposed to be resting, not on the road 150 nights a year, recording new albums, showing up on the tube as a spokesperson, and, in Riley B. King’s case, still pursuing a career that began when World War II was still a fresh scar in the American psyche. That B.B. is still out there playing well is all to his credit. That the Geffen/UMe, Virgin/EMI and the unhyphenated Ace labels released B.B. King packages the week of his birthday is no doubt a credit to their event-oriented marketing teams. The Geffen/UMe disc offers new recordings, while the Virgin/EMI and Ace collections go back to his reputation-establishing days at the old Modern label. The Ace compilers have come up with some interesting rarities in its single-disc release, but Virgin/EMI has the real red beans & rice stuff on its double-CD set—the performances that make B.B. King the last undisputed king of the blues. Virgin/EMI’s Original Greatest Hits offers 40 early career gems recorded in the 1950s and very early 1960s. They appeared on the Bihari brothers’ Modern imprint and its associated RPM, Crown, and Kent labels. The tracks are sequenced in chronological order until the end of the second disc, where, in an odd shift, the compilers place his debut single of “Miss Martha King” and “When Your Baby Packs Up and Goes” for the Bullet imprint in 1949. This eccentricity aside, this set has just about every track that a basic B.B. King collection should contain. The No. 1 chart hits are here: “3 O’Clock Blues,” “You Know I Love You,” “Please Love Me,” and “You Upset Me, Baby,” as well as such near misses as the No. 2 “Sweet Sixteen, Part 1,” the No. 3s “Bad Luck” and “On My Word of Honor,” and the No. 8 tune that so inspired Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, “When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer.”

Even the pieces included that didn’t necessarily make it to the charts or with fans

at the time, for example, the novelty instrumental “Mashed Potato Twist” or “I’ll Survive,” are here for good reason. All 40 tracks stand every test that a half-century of time can throw at them, and they still merit absolute attention today. They capture the young B.B. when no other bluesman could play with such precision or sing with such an evocative, transcendent voice. Fifty-plus career years on, B.B.’s voice warbles a bit and he plays his guitar Lucille sitting down, but there is much to like on his new Geffen/

UMe collection, B.B. King & Friends: 80. This is not one of those albums where a famous-but-frail musician is propped up by guests for one last “product” release. Instead, 80 catches a robust-sounding King performing with, in alphabetical order, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Roger Daltrey, Gloria Estefan, Glenn Frey, Billy Gibbons, Daryl Hall, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer and Van Morrison. He’s done a “duets” disc before, Deuces Wild in 1997, but 80 is the stronger collection. The game plan for 80 seems to have been to mix songs from his illustrious past with new

B.B. KINGOriginal Greatest HitsVirgin/EMIB.B. KING & FRIENDS80Geffen/UMe

Blues Music Magazine 5 9

material, in a seven-to-five split, and to record them in studios where famous friends could duck in and join him. Sessions took place in London (with Clapton, Daltrey, Knopfler, Morrison), New York (Estefan, Hall, Mayer) and Los Angeles (Bland, Crow, Frey, Gibbons), as well as a live-on-stage session at Caesar’s Palace Showroom in Las Vegas (John). The remarkable thing is that nearly every track hits the mark, starting with the opening version of Sonny Boy Williamson I’s “Early in the Morning,” featuring King and Morrison on vocals (and Van on harmonica) and ending with the live workout between B.B. and Elton John on Jimmy Rogers’ “Rock This House.” In between King and his old Beale Street friend Bobby Bland sing a soothing “Funny How Time Slips Away,” Clapton shows up for a guitar exchange on a new version of “The Thrill Is Gone,” a soulful Daryl Hall trades vocals on Jerry Ragovoy’s “Ain’t Nobody Home,” and young John Mayer, who recently announced that he’s forsaken pop for blues, joins B.B. on a cover of Leon Russell’s “Hummingbird.” But arguably the strongest track is a gritty face-off between Roger Daltrey of The Who and King on the Stix Hooper-Will Jennings tune “Never Make Your Move Too Soon.” Without the credits you’d never know it’s the voice that sang the line about “Hope I Die Before I Get Old” all those years ago. Age also becomes Daltrey. The other possibly odd-seeming pairing with Gloria Estefan also turns out to be a knockout. They perform a nearly seven-minute take of the Doc Pomus-Dr. John song “Must Be a Better World Somewhere.” In fact, the only collaboration that duds out is with Sheryl Crow, who is fast becoming one of those people famous for simply being famous. B.B., meanwhile, remains the king of the blues for all the right reasons.–Bill Wasserzieher


“Sincere, honest, true, for real, genuine. If you have those five things, then you can play the blues.” Carlos Santana. Within the first three minutes, Santana accurately and succinctly describes the life and music of B.B. King. Follow that with testimonials by Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, Walter Trout, Joe Bonamassa, and Eric Clapton, and The Life Of Riley kicks off with all the power of a one-note lick on Lucille. From there, Jon Brewer’s documentary, narrated by Morgan Freeman, traces the rise of and subsequent worldwide notoriety that B.B. King has amassed throughout his glorious lifetime. The first 15 minutes trace King’s early life in and around Indianola, Mississippi. Sitting on his bus or in his Las Vegas house, he reminisces about his parents, his music, his school years, his Sunday’s in the church, sharecropping, segregation, and the earliest music he heard. Standing on a plowed cotton field, King also gives insight into the backbreaking labor of a sharecropper. At the 30-minute mark, King heads off to Memphis, only to fail in that first trip at establishing his musical mark. It was there, however, King sat with his cousin Bukka White and absorbed essential musical lessons.

He explains how his signature vibrato was born through his frustrations of trying to emulate White’s vibrating slide on strings. After eight months, King returned to his tractor-driving job. After he paid off his debts, he returned to Memphis for good. Bobby “Blue” Bland and Rufus Thomas share Beale street stories, and King tells

of his jobs and radio show at WDIA. His earliest recordings, “Miss Martha King” and “Three O’Clock Blues,” and his baptizing Lucille were the start of his early-1950’s popularity. At the one-hour mark, Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, Dr. John, Bono, Robert Cray, Walter Trout, Robert Lockwood, jr. Jonny Lang, and Susan Tedeschi all explain the gifts King was born with. Later, Billy Boy Arnold, Ronnie Wood, Mick Taylor, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Doyle Bramhall II, Joe Bonamassa, Paul Rodgers, Carlos Santana, and Peter Green, all offer praise his 1964 Live At The Regal recording His second wife, Sue Carol Hall, tells of

the tumultuous life married from 1958 to the early 1960s to a musician who was logging 320+ nights a year. Sid Seidenberg tells of charting a more lucrative course in the 1960s; British invasion luminaries tell of his influence in England in the 1950s and 1960s; King lovingly tells of his standing ovations at his first Fillmore West gig in 1967 when he performed on a bill with Moby Grape and Steve Miller.

B.B. KINGThe Life Of RileyMVDvisual2014DVD


By shifting from all-black audiences on the chitlin’ circuit to playing for white college kids on rock circuit, King took the blues to the whole world. Once there, “The Thrill Is Gone” only cemented his global status. Decades later, Bono recounts the experience of writing “When Love Comes To Town,” complete with detailed explanations of composing and filmed performances broadcasting King to worldwide audiences. When Bono was showing B.B. the charts, King countered to him, “Gentlemen, I don’t do chords. I do this.” The final 20 minutes chronicle his Riding With The King album with Eric Clapton, musical tributes from his peers, snippets of his yearly homecoming concerts in Indianola, and a brief introduction to his museum, which opened in 2008 in Indianola. Throughout the two-hours, B.B. himself tell his life stories. Most are well-known and oft-repeated. But here, they are augmented with his recordings, archival photos, or filmed performances. Throughout his stories, told on buses, in hotel or backstage rooms, or at his home, we can see the aging of King. From a 70-something King with President Clinton to an 87-year-old King singing “Sweet Home Chicago” with President Obama in 2012, one can clearly see the physical effects, but the voice and guitar originality still come through as powerfully as ever.

With King’s passing, this DVD docu-biography offers King’s longtime fans and friends another chance to celebrate the 65+ years of his enormous gifts we were blessed to have. For new fans, this DVD will throw open the curtain of discovery.– Art Tipaldi

PHOTOGRAPHY © JERRY MORAN


Photographer Joseph A. Rosen


Photographer Pertti Nurmi


Photographer Jerry Moran


Photographer Marilyn Stringer

Photographer David Horwitz



Photographer Bob Sekinger

Photographer Scott Allen - Jen Taylor


Photographer Scott Saltzman



Just one note and you knew it was B.B. King, we all agree. My one last note is sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this Tribute to the King, without you sharing your stories, photographs, time, and energy it would not have been possible. It truly is an incredible read. As it was coming together the emotions ran like a rollercoaster, from outright belly laughs, to get me another box of tissues, please. The stories and photos portray a life well lived by a man who would never admit to being our King. This was truly an honor to work on and special thanks to Editor-In-Chief Art Tipaldi who in April 2015 said, “I don’t really want to add to your workload but could we…”

My B.B. King story: It was the summer of 1969, and my sixteenth birthday was approaching, This was a time of hot sunny days, and fearful nights. Living on the streets of New York City at any age is challenging, but as a mere five foot seven, 140 pound blond haired, blue eyed kid, for me it was life threatening scary. After the last run-in with my father, those cold mean streets seemed a safer haven then home. An older friend had an extra ticket to see a show in the city (Manhattan) featuring a musician named B. B. King.

With no job, no money, a free ticket, and a friend to hang with late into the dark and lonely night, it wouldn’t have mattered who was playing, I’m in! On the subway ride, to the show that night my friend told me I had something in common with B.B. King. He explained about B.B.’s mother and grandmother passing and his being on his own so young. I remember him telling me not to worry because B.B. turned out alright.

The show was at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, it seemed enormous, very bright, and really clean. The music was incredible, it was as if B.B. was talking directly to me. He had a hard time in his life and yet he seemed so happy. This man sang about sadness, but yet he lifted my spirit and instilled a sense of hope. The band members and B.B. hung around and shook everyone’s hand, including mine! Later that night on the rooftop where I lived in the

Bronx, I found a renewed sense of purpose. If B.B. could overcome his hard times, then so could this skinny little kid. I’ve had the pleasure of watching B.B. King perform 21 times, and meeting him twice. His music, personality, and commitment to his craft inspired me to do better then, and continues to this day. May God Bless You B.B. King, I still owe you one and always will…- Jack Sullivan


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