RIP BB King
May 15, 2015 5:57:18 GMT -5
Post by franko on May 15, 2015 5:57:18 GMT -5
B.B. King, the larger-than-life guitarist and singer who helped popularize electric blues and brought it to audiences for more than six decades, died Thursday in Las Vegas.
Into his late eighties, King toured the world year-round as the unrivaled ambassador of the blues. His indelible style – a throaty, throttling vocal howl paired with a ringing single-note vibrato sound played on his electric guitar named Lucille – defined the genre. He won 15 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
"He is without a doubt the most important artist the blues has ever produced," Eric Clapton wrote in his 2008 biography, "and the most humble and genuine man you would ever wish to meet. In terms of scale or stature, I believe that if Robert Johnson was reincarnated, he is probably B.B. King."
"Blues purists never cared for me. I don't worry about it. I think if it this way: When I made 'Three O' Clock Blues', they were not there. The people out there made the tune. And blues purists just wrote about it. The people is who I'm trying to satisfy."
King' style – marked by his signature ringing, vibrato notes – became a hallmark of blues playing, imitated by everyone from Clapton to Buddy Guy. "I always liked the steel guitar. I also love the guys that play the bottleneck," King said. "But I could never do it; I never made it do what I want. So every time I would pick up the guitar, I 'd shake my hand and trill it a bit. For some strange reason my ears would say to me that sounds similar to what those guys were doing. I can't pick up the guitar now without doing it. So that's how I got into making my sound. It was nothing pretty. Just trying to please myself. I heard that sound." the whole Rolling Stone magazine article
B B King website
saw him in concert a coupla years ago. he was moving slower but man the guy could still play.
Into his late eighties, King toured the world year-round as the unrivaled ambassador of the blues. His indelible style – a throaty, throttling vocal howl paired with a ringing single-note vibrato sound played on his electric guitar named Lucille – defined the genre. He won 15 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
"He is without a doubt the most important artist the blues has ever produced," Eric Clapton wrote in his 2008 biography, "and the most humble and genuine man you would ever wish to meet. In terms of scale or stature, I believe that if Robert Johnson was reincarnated, he is probably B.B. King."
"Blues purists never cared for me. I don't worry about it. I think if it this way: When I made 'Three O' Clock Blues', they were not there. The people out there made the tune. And blues purists just wrote about it. The people is who I'm trying to satisfy."
King' style – marked by his signature ringing, vibrato notes – became a hallmark of blues playing, imitated by everyone from Clapton to Buddy Guy. "I always liked the steel guitar. I also love the guys that play the bottleneck," King said. "But I could never do it; I never made it do what I want. So every time I would pick up the guitar, I 'd shake my hand and trill it a bit. For some strange reason my ears would say to me that sounds similar to what those guys were doing. I can't pick up the guitar now without doing it. So that's how I got into making my sound. It was nothing pretty. Just trying to please myself. I heard that sound." the whole Rolling Stone magazine article
B B King website
saw him in concert a coupla years ago. he was moving slower but man the guy could still play.
. RIP BB.
