16. September 2013 By Walter Price 0

B.B. King, The Greatest at 88

The King of the Blues – BB King

The GTC wishes Riley B. King A Very Happy 88th Year of Life!

Riley starting  playing the streets and blues joints of Mississippi and Tennessee as a young man in the 1940s. As he started getting more attention from radio stations and the, all too important, Memphis scene he started going by the more appealing Beale Street Blues Boy. Which eventually gave way to the much catchier moniker, Blues Boy King and then, simply, B.B. King! 

Why is the short history of this legend’s name so important? Because with the name B.B. King and his electrifying music artists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Canned Heat, U2 & ZZ Top found inspiration in creating their own defining sounds.Sounds that went own to influence an entire new generation of musicians and the beautiful wheel of music keeps on turnin’.

If you would like to know the complete story of The King of The Blues, B.B. King, please take some time and read his official biography here. It is a fantastic read for any lover of music.

Now, can we please hear some words from the King himself?!

“The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.” B.B. King

“If you want to be a good blues singer, people are going to be down on you, so dress like you’re going to the bank to borrow money.” B.B. King

“I don’t have a favorite song that I’ve written. But I do have a favorite song: ‘Always on My Mind,’ the Willie Nelson version. If I could sing it like he do, I would sing it every night. I like the story it tells.” – B.B. King

“The way I feel today, as long as my health is good and I can handle myself well and people still come to my concerts, still buy my CDs, I’ll keep playing until I feel like I can’t.” – B.B. King

Long Live The King!

Also Born Today: Joe Butler – The Lovin‘ Spoonful (1941), Ron Blair – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, (1952), Belinda Butcher – My Bloody Valentine (1961) Kenny Jones – The Small Faces, The Who & Faces (1948) & My Mother Judy M. (1949)

CategoryB.B. King Canned Heat Eric Clapton Jeff Beck Jimmy Page My Bloody Valentine Stevie Ray Vaughan The GTC The Who U2 ZZ Top

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