The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.
~B. B. King
I never use that word, retire.
~B. B. King
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His bent notes and staccato picking style have influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice — capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric — provides a worthy match for his passionate playing.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)
In 1993, Willie Nelson joined with his friends for a fantastic birthday concert with Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Kris Kristofferson, Marty Stuart, B.B. King, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Edie Brickell and Neil Young.
we get Willie Nelson and a dazzling array of stars for a superb birthday concert, celebrating the life and music of one America’s most popular singer/songwriters. Filled with power-packed performances, unforgettable songs and candid interviews with Willie and many of the superstars he’s influenced! It was out on VHS and Laserdisc but has not been released on DVD (yet…)
The concert film also has statements and messages from his friends, like Lesley Ann Warren, Sydney Pollack, Dennis Hopper and Lou Diamond Phillips and Bill Clinton, all talking about the man and artist. The songs are wonderful in this big party for Willie Nelson.
Set-list:
Graceland – Willie Nelson and Paul Simon
Whiskey River — Willie Nelson
Getting Over You — Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt
Seven Spanish Angels — Ray Charles and Willie Nelson
Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan
Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys — Willie Nelson and Waylon Jenning
On The Road Again — Willie Nelson
Song for You — Ray Charles
Old OUtlaws Like Us — Travis Tritt
How Do You Feel About Fooling Around? — Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson
Way More’s Blues — Marty Stuart & Waylon Jennings
Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line — Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Marty Stuart
Night Life — Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King
Funny How Time Slips Away — Lyle Lovett
Crazy — EmmyLou Harris
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain — Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell
Valentine — Willie Nelson
Are There Any More Real Cowboys? — Willie Nelson and Neil Young
Hard Times, Come Again No More — Bob Dylan
American Tune — Willie Nelson and Paul Simon
Always On My Mind — Willie Nelson
Whiskey River — Willie Nelson and Family, Don Was and the Healing Hands of Time Band
The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.
~B. B. King
I never use that word, retire.
~B. B. King
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His bent notes and staccato picking style have influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice — capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric — provides a worthy match for his passionate playing.
~Bill Dahl (allmusic.com)
The Thrill Is Gone (Live at Montreux 1993):
From Wikipedia:
Birth name
Riley King
Also known as
B.B. King, King of the Blues
Born
September 16, 1925 (age 88)
Origin
Itta Bena, Mississippi, United States
Genres
Blues, soul blues, jazz, blues rock, electric blues, rhythm and blues, soul
Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American songwriter, vocalist, and famed blues guitarist.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. and No. 17 in Gibson’sTop 50 Guitarists of All Time.According to Edward M. Komara, King “introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed.”King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He is widely considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, because of this he is often nicknamed ‘The King of Blues’. He is also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career appearing at 250-300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows, still at the age of 86 King appears at 100 shows a year.
Over a period of 63 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.
Over the years, King has developed one of the world’s most identifiable guitar styles. He borrowed from Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker and others, integrating his precise and complex vocal-like string bends and his left hand vibrato, both of which have become indispensable components of rock guitarists’ vocabulary. His economy and phrasing has been a model for thousands of players, from Eric Clapton and George Harrison to Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. King has mixed blues, jazz, swing, mainstream pop and jump into a unique sound. In King’s words, “When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille.”
Everyday I have the Blues:
Honors & awards:
In 1977, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music by Yale University
In 1980, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1990, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
In 1991, he was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the NEA.
King was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1995. This is given to recognize “the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nation’s most prestigious artists.”
In 2004, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music awarded him the Polar Music Prize for his “significant contributions to the blues”.
On December 15, 2006, President George W. Bush awarded King the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
On May 27, 2007, King was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Brown University.
On May 14, 2008, King was presented with the keys to the city of Utica, New York; and on May 18, 2008, the mayor of Portland, Maine, Edward Suslovic, declared the day “B.B. King Day” in the city. Prior to King’s performance at the Merrill Auditorium, Suslovic presented King with the keys to the city.
In 2009, TIME named B.B. King No.3 on its list of the 10 best electric guitarists of all time.
Each year during the first week in June, a B.B. King Homecoming Festival is held in Indianola, Mississippi.
A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was added for B.B. King, commemorating his birthplace.
On May 29, 2010, Sabrosa Park (at the small town of Sabrosa, north of Portugal) was renamed B.B. King Park in honor of King and the free concert he played before 20,000 people.
Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American songwriter, vocalist, and famed blues guitarist.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 6 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. and No. 17 in Gibson’sTop 50 Guitarists of All Time.According to Edward M. Komara, King “introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed.”King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He is widely considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, because of this he is often nicknamed ‘The King of Blues’. He is also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career appearing at 250-300 concerts per year until his seventies. In 1956 it was noted that he appeared at 342 shows, still at the age of 86 King appears at 100 shows a year.
Over a period of 63 years, King has played in excess of 15,000 performances.
