B. B. King

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John and this podcast episode will be devoted to one of the most beloved American blues guitarists:  B. B. King!

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
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Transcript

Thank you for that introduction and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John and this podcast episode will be devoted to one of the most beloved American blues guitarists:  B. B. King!

[That was B. B. King's version of Louis Jordan's jump blues tune "Caldonia"]

Riley B. King was born in 1925 to sharecropper parents in Mississippi.  Raised in the Mississippi Delta, as a child he sang in the gospel choir at the Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael.  By age 12, he got his own guitar.  He was self-taught on guitar, learning by ear and by watching others.  The teenaged Riley King would pause during his tractor work to listen to the radio.  He was inspired by the sounds of Delta bluesmen like Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Lockwood Jr.  Riley soon discovered records by legendary blues artists and was particularly entranced by the single-string solos coming from T-Bone Walker's electric guitar.  Riley then knew he would have to have an electric guitar.  During World War II he continued working as a tractor driver.  That job got him a deferment from military service during the war, since experienced farm hands were deemed essential at home.  Riley also joined a gospel group called The Famous St. John’s Gospel Singers, performing at churches and on a local radio station in Greenwood, Mississippi.

In 1946, Riley King hitchhiked with his guitar to Memphis, Tennessee.  For ten months he lived with his cousin, Delta bluesman Bukka White.  White mentored him in the ways of the blues and introduced him to the Memphis music community.  Riley’s big break came in 1948 when he got a chance to perform live on a popular West Memphis radio program hosted by Sonny Boy Williamson.  His performance on KWEM impressed the station’s listeners and caught the attention of the local music scene.  Soon he was landing steady gigs at the 16th Avenue Grill in West Memphis and was hosting a short weekly segment on black-run radio station WDIA in Memphis.  WDIA was the first radio station in the South to cater entirely to a black audience.  Riley’s warm personality and smooth singing voice made him a natural on radio.  His 10-minute segment was initially called “King’s Spot.”  It became so popular that WDIA expanded it into a longer show called the "Sepia Swing Club".  As his radio presence grew, Riley realized he needed a catchy stage name.  At first, they called him the "Beale Street Blues Boy".  That was soon shortened to just “Blues Boy” King and eventually abbreviated to the iconic "B.B. King".

By 1949, B.B. King’s popularity in Memphis had earned him a recording opportunity.  He cut his very first record for Bullet Records in Nashville.  That single was called “Miss Martha King” and was written for his first wife.  Around this time B.B. met Ike Turner.  Turner recognized his talent, and recommended B.B. to the Bihari brothers of Los Angeles, who owned Modern Records and its RPM subsidiary.  In 1950, B.B. King signed with RPM/Modern, setting the stage for his national breakout.  King assembled his band, known as the B.B. King Review, under the leadership of trumpet player Millard Lee.  The band featured saxophonists, a pianist, a bassist, and a drummer for a full, big-band blues sound.  Because B.B. never felt strong in chord strumming, he hired an arranger named Onzie Horne to assist with composition and chart arrangements.  B.B.’s own guitar playing focused on improvisation with single-note leads, which would become his signature sound.  His playing featured an expressive guitar voice that stood front and center, highlighted by bent notes and his unique shimmering vibrato.  Soon he was performing live shows with a call-and-response between his singing voice and his guitar licks.  

With the Bihari brothers producing , B.B. began recording blues singles that would soon climb up the R&B charts.  In 1951, King recorded a mid-tempo blues number called “3 O’Clock Blues,” and in early 1952 it shot to #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.  “3 O’Clock Blues” stayed at the top of the R&B chart for five weeks, firmly establishing King as a new star in blues music.  He followed it with a string of hits through the 1950's, songs that would become classics of electric blues.  Over the next few years B.B. King would achieve #1 singles on the Billboard R&B charts with "You Know I Love You", "Please Love Me", and "You Upset Me Baby".  Other hits he had on the R&B charts included “Woke Up This Morning,” “When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer,” “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Sweet Little Angel,” and many more. 

[Here is an excerpt from a B. B. King live performance of “Every Day I Have the Blues”] 

For the rest of the 1950's B.B. King was a consistent presence on the R&B charts, and with success on records came relentless touring throughout the United States.  Traveling in his own bus with his band, B.B. performed night after night, often doing multiple shows a day.  He played the notorious Chitlin’ Circuit, a loose network of black-owned clubs, juke joints, dance halls, and theaters that stretched across the Jim Crow South and into the urban North.  In 1956, he set a personal record by performing 342 one-nighters that year.  Despite the grueling life of touring, he thrived on the road.  B.B. King was gaining a reputation for his tireless commitment to playing live, whether it was small rural venues or major ones like the Apollo Theater in Harlem and the Howard in Washington, DC.

One cold winter night in the mid-1950's at a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas two men started fighting.  They knocked over a burning barrel, and the audience and B. B. King's band rushed out of the building.  Realizing that he had left his beloved guitar in the burning building, B. B. recklessly ran back into the burning hall to rescue his instrument.  The next day, B.B. learned that the brawl which started the fire was over a woman named Lucille.  He was struck by the name and the circumstance and named his guitar Lucille so he'd remember to never do something that foolish again.  From that point on, "Lucille" would adorn every one of B.B. King’s Gibson guitars.

In 1956 B. B. King started his own small record label on Beale Street in Memphis.  He called it Blues Boys Kingdom and began producing some local talent in Memphis.  Between 1958 and 1974 he would have 10 more top 10 hits on the R&B chart, including "Sweet Sixteen", "Chains And Things",  and "I Like To Live the Love".  B. B. King's charm and professionalism set him apart from the competition.  He ran his band with discipline, insisting on tidy appearance and punctuality.  By the end of the 1950's, B.B. King was the undisputed king of blues in the R&B world. 

 In the early 1960's, B.B. King continued to record strong material and maintain a busy tour schedule, but the mainstream music industry’s attention had shifted to soul, Motown, and rock and roll.  He made a key business move in 1962 when he signed with ABC-Paramount Records, giving him access to better distribution and promotion.  Then, on November 21st, 1964, B.B. King recorded a live show at the Regal Theater in Chicago.  The resulting album, Live at the Regal, was released in 1965.  Live at the Regal showcased B.B.’s onstage charisma, as he bantered humorously between songs.  The album is widely heralded as one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded and was ranked at #299 in Rolling Stone's 2020 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.  In 2005, Live at the Regal was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.

[Here is an excerpt from B. B. King's version of "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss"]

In 1967 B. B. King hired Sid Seidenberg as his new manager.  Seidenberg recognized that young white musicians were openly idolizing and emulating the black blues pioneers.  So Seidenberg began booking B.B. King at venues that previously catered almost exclusively to rock audiences.  On February 26th, 1967, at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, King played to a predominantly white, counter-culture audience and received an enthusiastic reception from the crowd.  Buoyed by this new audience, B.B. King’s career entered a fresh chapter.  In 1968, he played the Newport Folk Festival and went over brilliantly.  The same year, the Rolling Stones invited him to be the opening act on their 1969 American Tour, putting him in front of huge arena crowds of rock fans.  B.B. King was suddenly the cool elder statesman whom all the rock stars wanted to hang out with and learn from.  

Then, at age 43, B.B. King achieved what had eluded most of his blues contemporaries: a major crossover hit on the pop charts.  He recorded a deeply soulful version of “The Thrill Is Gone" in June 1969 for his album Completely Well, released the same year.  King's version was a slow 12-bar blues notated in the key of B minor in 4/4 time.  Unlike his earlier raw blues hits, this track was given a lush arrangement with a dramatic string section accompanying B.B.’s cutting guitar lines.  Released by BluesWay Records in December 1969, “The Thrill Is Gone” became B.B. King’s signature song, climbing into the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and peaking at #15 in 1970.  It also reached #3 on the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart.  B.B. King's recording earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1970 and a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1998.  Rolling Stone would later rank King's version of “The Thrill Is Gone” at #183 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 

With the success of “The Thrill Is Gone,” B.B. King had firmly cemented his place as the world’s most famous bluesman.  As the 1970's dawned, B.B. King now had the respect of fellow musicians, the adoration of fans across racial lines, and the stability of a secure place in the music industry.  Viewed as an elder statesman of the blues, he nevertheless still performed with the energy of a man half his age.  He continued playing 250 to 300 shows a year and truly earned his royal nickname, “King of the Blues,” through his ceaseless work and genuine commitment to his craft.  

The 1970's saw B.B. King continue to release strong albums and memorable live recordings.  B.B. King’s studio albums in this era also experimented with blending blues with other genres. 1970's Indianola Mississippi Seeds featured guest appearances by young rock and soul musicians including artists like Leon Russell and Carole King.  Yet, no matter what new elements were introduced, B.B.’s stinging guitar and shouting vocals remained front and center.  In January 1971 he released Live in Cook County Jail, an album recorded inside an Illinois prison before an audience of inmates.  Live in Cook County Jail became one of the top-selling blues albums of all time and hit #1 on the R&B chart in 1971, King's only album to do so.  Live in Cook County Jail also spent thirty-three weeks on the Billboard Top LPs chart, where it peaked at #25. Rolling Stone ranked Live in Cook County Jail at number 499 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 2002 it was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.  Years later, King co-founded the Foundation for the Advancement of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation, tying his support for prison reform to his music.  

[Here is an excerpt from a B. B. King live performance of “Why I Sing the Blues”] 

From the 1980's onward, he maintained a highly visible and active career, appearing on numerous television shows and sometimes performing 300 nights a year.  On stage, B.B. King was a masterful bandleader, having refined his live act into a well-oiled machine.  He would open shows with an instrumental by his band to warm up the crowd, then make a dramatic entrance with Lucille, often wearing a shiny sports coat or tuxedo jacket.  By now he mostly performed sitting down, but it hardly diminished his dynamism.  During this period, B.B. also became something of a cultural ambassador, taking his blues to countries that had never experienced it live.  B.B. King played in roughly 90 different countries around the world over his lifetime.  Even as a global star, B.B. King remained admirably grounded and approachable.    

He also became a familiar sight on television and in pop culture.  He made guest appearances on shows like The Cosby Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Sesame Street, bringing blues to the mainstream in a friendly format.  He starred in commercials ranging from McDonald’s in the 1980's to diabetes monitors in the 2000's.  Such appearances introduced him to millions who might not have listened to blues records but found themselves charmed by this grandfatherly guitar man with the twinkle in his eye.  In concert, he was often joined by rock luminaries.  In 1985, he shared the stage with U2’s Bono and The Edge for the film Rattle and Hum.  

Starting back in the late 1960's, rock guitarists began acknowledging B. B. King's influence, and he would have a huge impact on countless musicians.  Guitarists from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan to B.B. King's protégé, Buddy Guy, all sang his praises.  B.B. King's influence reached well into the rock and roll realm, impacting artists like the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and many others.  B. B. also found commercial success through a series of all-star collaborations.  His final chart entry on the Hot 100 was a 1989 collaboration with U2 on "When Love Comes To Town".

King used guitars characteristic of the different periods he played in. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career. He played a Fender Esquire on most of his recordings with RPM Records.  Later, he was best known for playing variants of the Gibson ES-355.  In 1980, Gibson Guitar Corporation launched the B. B. King Lucille model, an ES-355 with stereo options, a varitone selector, fine tuners, and no f-holes to further reduce feedback.

B. B. King was showered with numerous honors.  In 1980, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Blues Hall of Fame, acknowledging his status as one of the all-time greats.  In 1987 he earned a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  King also received the National Medal of Arts in 1990 and was a Kennedy Center honoree in 1995.  In 2004, he was awarded the international Polar Music Prize, which is given to artists "in recognition of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music."  In 2008 the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center opened in Indianola, Mississippi, with exhibits dedicated to King’s music, his influences, and the history of the Delta region.  King was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. 

B. B. King had 32 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1989.  King charted 25 albums on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.  Between 1968 and 2008, he attained 33 charting albums on the Billboard 200.  His highest-charting album was his 2000 album with Eric Clapton titled Riding With the King, peaking at #3.  King won a total of 15 Grammy awards.  Rolling Stone ranked him at #6 on its 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Through it all, B.B. King remained a gentleman to anyone he met and was always generous to other musicians.  I had the good fortune of seeing B. B. King perform during his 2013 tour of the United States when he performed at Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University on October 13th, 2013.  Unfortunately, the last eight shows of his 2014 tour were canceled because of health problems caused by complications from high blood pressure and diabetes.  On May 14th, 2015, at the age of 89, B. B. King died in his sleep from vascular dementia.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Rock and Roll Flashback where I discussed the career of the great bluesman, B.B. King, the King of the Blues!  I will close out this podcast episode with B.B. King's version of "The Thrill Is Gone".  So, fellow travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!