Thread: B.B. King 9/16/1925 - 5/14/2015

One of the greatest.

Originally Posted by rolodave

One of the greatest.

For sure. RIP BB.

Bob

Everything he gave to music and what music has given to the world, his contributions will be greatly missed. He has a true talent which he shared with everyone.

Having grown up listening to blues and jaz my life has a hole in it today.

Other greats will come along but B.B. King will never be replaced.

I didn't see this yesterday. RIP Mr. King.

He was a very talented musician. I wish I could have seen him play live. I need to find my 'Riding With The King' album and give it a listen.

Saw him Live twice,At the Fillmore in SFO, and the civic in san jose Kali. He was great.will be missed

I'm a great fan of BB King. Did anyone ever notice that he rarely sang and played the guitar at the same time? It's something I noticed years ago and it holds true pretty much on all of his recordings.

Now I'd bet you are going to have to check this out right now.

RIP - saw him at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, was spectacular...

Years ago, I saw him at the Ontario Place Forum. This was the original music venue at the site. Sitting on the hillside, listening to those beautiful notes in the warm summer evening. B.B. played the Blues, but not a soul was saddened by the music. quite the contrary.

As to why he rarely sang while playing, that was explained once in an interview. B.B. did not want to interrupt Lucille, so he would let her carry the tune, until it was his turn to talk.

There is a U2 video where he tells Edge that "he was no good with chords (meaning BB)" BB always had a rhythm guitar player in his band so he could concentrate completely on singing and his solos. Nobody was a more tasteful lead player than BB, he could kill you with one note

Originally Posted by UKRob

I'm a great fan of BB King. Did anyone ever notice that he rarely sang and played the guitar at the same time? It's something I noticed years ago and it holds true pretty much on all of his recordings.

Now I'd bet you are going to have to check this out right now.

Great piece on NPR radio this morning. They said he always paid his band members well and took care of his family financially. My wife and I saw him for the last time a couple of years ago. Old age and diabetes had taken its toll, he sat on a stool and played, the voice and guitar licks were still dynamic.