B.B. King: The Man Who Saved the Blues
One note.
B.B. King possessed what every musician desires: a signature sound. One guitar note, one word from his mouth and you instantly knew it was B.B. King. He made his Gibson guitar sing. He made the world swing. But B.B. King matters for one reason beyond his musical prowess.
B.B. King saved the blues.
The music icon died in his sleep at 9:40 p.m. Thursday, the Associated Press reports. He was 89.
Through his playing, his showmanship, his huge heart, B.B. King, more than any other blues musician proved that America’s greatest music was meant for the masses. I’m not talking about people who have twisted blues into blues-rock. I’m not talking about jam bands who take blues licks and sell it to stadiums filed with patchouli-laced kids. I’m talking about pure blues on its own hard terms.
Riley B. King walked from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the world’s stage on his own terms with his own music —blues music. He saved the blues from being relegated as a museum piece or historical curiosity. His life of collaborations, honors, and awards is a testament to his musical power. B.B. King was the great blues ambassador.
B.B. King is the last of the original blues players. He was our last link to this great music’s roots. At his peak, B.B. King played over 300 shows a year. He brought America’s story to nearly every corner of this planet. He made us all share the same blues and realize our connected humanity.
The world has lost an alchemist who did the impossible: turned generations of pathos and pain into pleasure and exultant joy.
All contained in one note.
Here are some major stops in B.B. Kings’ journey. Anyone who wants the complete story must listen to his vast catalogue and watch the most amazing 2012 documentary The Life of Riley. Still, here are some hallmarks that set him apart.
Lucille
How many guitarists can you name? Now, how many guitarists’ guitars can you name? B.B. not only has one of the most recognizable guitar sounds in the world, he has given his guitar a name that everyone knows. That is influence.
But Lucille was not simply the name of an instrument. In King’s hands, Lucille told breathtaking stories with awesome dynamic range and a singular sound. Lucille was the preeminent blues griot. For all of the music geeks, please watch this dissection of King’s playing.
Beale Street
“B.B.” stands for Beale Street Boy — Beale Street being the downtown Memphis drag where much of modern day blues was born. King began his career on Beale Street in the late 1940s, working as singer and disc jockey on local radio station WDIA.
“The Thrill Is Gone”
This 1970 single was not King’s first top 10 single but it is arguably his most significant. It was all of the things a blues single usually avoids: slickness, polish, lush. But this one worked. Its longing was was unmistakable. It’s sincerity without question. And the combination brought the blues to those who might have other-wise dismissed it.
Live in Cook County Jail
One year after Johnny Cash played for inmates at California’s San Quentin State Prison, King paid a visit to prisoners at Chicago’s Cook County Jail (the largest jail in America). The album didn’t attract the same amount of pop culture fascination as Cash’s album but it’s no less of landmark moment. The sight of a share-cropper’s son playing in front of a group of incarcerated black men has enough subtext for 10 blues songs.
U2
Some might say it was U2 who gave B.B. King a late-career renaissance but anyone who knows about the 1960s British invasion understand the Europeans were the ones who got the better end of the deal. B.B. King gave U2 credibility that only a bluesman can provide. In ex-change, he got a new generation of fans to appreciate the blues. This was a blues peace mission of the highest order and B.B. King (then age 62) was the only person to play blues ambassador. Once again.
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