Sunday, December 5, 2010

The King of the Blues: 85 and Still Kickin'

        "His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth. Yet B.B. King continues to wear his crown well." - B.B. King's website claims. This is not unfounded. At 85 years of age, B.B. King is still making music, still touring, and still giving us all of that great entertainment that he always has. B.B. King's music is more than just soulful, it defines soul.
         I got the rare opportunity to see B.B. on his 2008 North American Tour at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, IL. This was a landmark moment in my life simply because B.B. King has been my favorite guitarist and favorite musician from a very young age. I first heard B.B. when I was 10 years old, which was when I decided that I wanted to learn the guitar and play like B.B. King.
        B.B. is not just a musician, but a wise leader of the blues genre. Last month, at 85 years of age, he announced dates for a continuation of his current US tour, and this week announced 2011 Australian dates. We hope to see many years to come from this living legend.

Below are 2 videos from the Carbondale show in which I attended, and 1 high quality video from a different show







1 comment:

  1. B.B. King is the shit. I saw him, Clapton, Beck, and Mayer at the 07 Crossroads Guitar Festival. His performance was awesome but sad at the same time. He kept saying things like "I might not be here for too much longer.." and other things of that same nature. He was really just trying to say that the music he helped to create is in good hands with the current generation, but it was still pretty sad.

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