Today is a sad day for sure given that news has broken about the death of beloved blues guitar great BB King…certainly one of the top most influential blues guitar players of all time. Today is also bittersweet as we truly reflect on the influence BB has had on music and musicians well beyond Blues living and breathing fire inside the heart and souls of professional and amateur musicians alike.

The blues is about staying true to timing, feeling and evoking emotion above all else including your instrument, effects, scales, location, song choice, etc… like this performance at Sing Sing BB calls one of his best –

The measure of a great musician is when you instantly know who they are within 5s or less of hearing them play – and with BB there was no doubt having invented the soft sweet piercing sound of Lucille, the amazing string bending and vibrato that was vintage BB King.

Today we are seeing the massive influence this one man has had on the musician and fan community – there is no doubt as to his influence and impact.

It’s worth noting as well that BB is one of the last links to the original blues music in the United States – with one leg back in the days of T-Bone Walker (melody and string bending), Blind Lemon, Muddy Waters and a host of other original blues and gospel musicians and the other leg in modern day music creating a “time warp” tunnel that helped keep us all rooted in the revolution that was blues music in the 1940’s and beyond.

Here’s a great lesson from BB for those who want to hear how his influences and how they were put together as ingredients into his sound:

What always amazed me about BB was how he used his first finger to bend strings and then back-ended with his third, this is a “part” of what makes his sound.

I’ve watched BB King live, I’ve studied his various techniques and he is one of the guitarists that I always have in the back of my mind when I’m playing striving for the best note at any given time…that will be with me always as I’m sure it will be with you.

BB King lived his life to the fullest, was lucky enough to tap into a blessed gift having the courage to pursue that gift to its fullest until the very end…the message to us all should be to live up to that standard. R.I.P Riley (aka BB) King – god willing, will see you in the next life in that all-star Jam!