BB King..the thrill is gone/RIP

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"B.B. King, whose world-weary voice
and wailing guitar lifted him from the
cotton fields of Mississippi to a global
stage and the apex of American blues,
died Thursday in Las Vegas. He was
89.

His death was reported early Friday
by The Associated Press, citing his
lawyer, Brent Bryson, and by CNN,
citing his daughter, Patty King.
Mr. King married country blues to
big-city rhythms and created a sound
instantly recognizable to millions: a
stinging guitar with a shimmering
vibrato, notes that coiled and leapt
like an animal, and a voice that
groaned and bent with the weight of
lust, longing and lost love.

“I wanted to connect my guitar to
human emotions,” Mr. King said in his
autobiography, “Blues All Around
Me” (1996), written with David Ritz.
In performances, his singing and his
solos flowed into each other as he
wrung notes from the neck of his
guitar, vibrating his hand as if it were
wounded, his face a mask of suffering.
Many of the songs he sang — like his
biggest hit, “The Thrill Is Gone” (“I’ll
still live on/But so lonely I’ll be”) —
were poems of pain and perseverance.

The music historian Peter Guralnick
once noted that Mr. King helped
expand the audience for the blues
through “the urbanity of his playing,
the absorption of a multiplicity of
influences, not simply from the blues,
along with a graciousness of manner
and willingness to adapt to new
audiences and give them something
they were able to respond to.” - NY Times.


I shook his hand on stage - end of concert - in Cardiff in 1985. He then played virtually another set. Wonderful guy.


Saluté BB.


BN.

[Ian Thumwood]

I must have been to several hundred gigs in my life yet no one has ever out on such a good show as when I saw B B King in Vienne about ten years ago. You never cease to be amazed at the variety of blues artists whether this is acoustic / country settings, a Chicago influenced electric blues, more rock-orientated groups, artists with cross-over appeal or even meetings of minds with African musicians. If there is two words that sum up what a great blues gig is they would be "good time." Most people now imagine the blues to be something profound and whilst this can often be the case, when you get to hear a great blues artist perform live you get to appreciate just how successfully these people are able to communicate to their audience.

Seeing B B King was something special. When I saw him he was the final of three sets and his gig opened with his band jamming before the maestro was introduced on stage. Helped in to a chair, his guitar was then presented to him after receiving almost as much of a fanfare as it's owner. The music was hugely enjoyable and I've never seen an artist milk the audience quite as much as B B King. The love and affection for him was palpable and his guitar playing and singing, heavily influenced by jazz, was incredible. No one I have seen before or since has ever matched his showmanship[ and the professionalism with which the music was presented was extremely impressive. It was a bit like going to a football match where everything clicks and your team comes home not only with a 6-0 victory but does so through Le Tissier-esque goals. In the end, BB even had people singing and clapping along.

It was a bit strange hearing all the praise from rock musicians and pop singers like Will Young , most of whom are unworthy of comparison with BB, not only because the music he produced was demonstrably superior to pop and rock but also because there are not too many artists left who have the kind of elan and stage presence that King had. It was immediately apparent from the second he strode on stage that he was a colossus of 20th century music and a reminder that those musicians who have sustained a career of 60+ years have managed to do so because of their towering greatness. These days celebrity status for musicians can be acquired through the Cowellification of artists over the course of a three month TV series. B B King was the real deal. RIP.

[BBMmk2]

RIP BB KING Sorely missed

[Serial_Apologist]

I must have been to several hundred gigs in my life yet no one has ever out on such a good show as when I saw B B King in Vienne about ten years ago. You never cease to be amazed at the variety of blues artists whether this is acoustic / country settings, a Chicago influenced electric blues, more rock-orientated groups, artists with cross-over appeal or even meetings of minds with African musicians. If there is two words that sum up what a great blues gig is they would be "good time." Most people now imagine the blues to be something profound and whilst this can often be the case, when you get to hear a great blues artist perform live you get to appreciate just how successfully these people are able to communicate to their audience.

Seeing B B King was something special. When I saw him he was the final of three sets and his gig opened with his band jamming before the maestro was introduced on stage. Helped in to a chair, his guitar was then presented to him after receiving almost as much of a fanfare as it's owner. The music was hugely enjoyable and I've never seen an artist milk the audience quite as much as B B King. The love and affection for him was palpable and his guitar playing and singing, heavily influenced by jazz, was incredible. No one I have seen before or since has ever matched his showmanship[ and the professionalism with which the music was presented was extremely impressive. It was a bit like going to a football match where everything clicks and your team comes home not only with a 6-0 victory but does so through Le Tissier-esque goals. In the end, BB even had people singing and clapping along.

It was a bit strange hearing all the praise from rock musicians and pop singers like Will Young , most of whom are unworthy of comparison with BB, not only because the music he produced was demonstrably superior to pop and rock but also because there are not too many artists left who have the kind of elan and stage presence that King had. It was immediately apparent from the second he strode on stage that he was a colossus of 20th century music and a reminder that those musicians who have sustained a career of 60+ years have managed to do so because of their towering greatness. These days celebrity status for musicians can be acquired through the Cowellification of artists over the course of a three month TV series. B B King was the real deal. RIP.

Someone should publish this tribute.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Someone should publish this tribute.

Agree with that, v.good piece Ian. Something few have mentioned is that BB also had very good taste in musicians. VERY tight band when I met him and George Coleman, Lloyd Glenn, Jymie Merritt, the Newborns etc etc back in the day.

BN.

[Jazzrook]

'The Life of Riley' on BBC4 TV @ 11pm tonight(31/5/15).

[Serial_Apologist]

'The Life of Riley' on BBC4 TV @ 11pm tonight(31/5/15).

I'd overlooked that, so thanks JR, I shall do my best to stay up!