Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King, celebrated his 86th birthday last month. B.B. King's first big break came in 1948 when he performed on Sonny Boy Williamson's radio program on KWEM which is out of West Memphis. In 1949, King began recording songs under contract with the Los Angeles-based RPM Records.
"My very first recordings [in 1949] were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that very first session. I had Phineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother, Calvin, played guitar with me. I had Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player. The Newborn family were the house band at the famous Plantation Inn in West Memphis.”
By the 1950’s King had grown to be one of the most influential and important names in the R&B music. Several of his greatest hits include “Everyday I Have the Blues,” “Sweet Little Angel,” "How Blue Can You Get?” “Hummingbird,” and “Thrill is Gone.” It is safe to say that King is a revelation to our music’s history
Rolling Stone rated King at no.3 in their “Top 500 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!” In this article, the writer suggests that in King’s song, “Three O' Clock Blues,’ you can hear his original and passionate style, juicing the country blues with electric fire and jazz polish.”.... I couldn’t help but agree!
King is still thriving in his musical career, in fact, he is currently on tour. This Friday, October 21, I will be seeing King perform in Long Island, at the Paramount Theatre. I will be attending this event with much apprehension and gratitude for being able to experience what I’m sure will be another life altering show.
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