For many of us, the passing of BB King still leaves a massive gap – he truly had the 3 keys to living a fulfilling and impact-filled life:
– He was a generous soul, self-made and continued to lift everyone around him with his music, advice and example long after he had made it big
– He stayed true to his passion and talent…from the churches he always played music that had feeling never succumbing to over-production or changes in direction he did not believe in
– He worked hard (perhaps the hardest working musician out there) to ensure he could bring his music and positive message to the masses
On this day, BB King would have been 91 and I still miss him and his spirit each day.
Here’s a great retrospective from blues guitar phenom Joe Bonamassa – as he see’s BB King’s influence professionally and personally…
Filed under bb king, blues guitar by on Sep 17th, 2016. Comment. 
There is such a massive legacy of recordings, interviews and performances from the King of the Blues – BB King that although we lost a shining light this past week, we will always be able to remember and rekindle the spirit of the MAN!
I absolutely cherish this performance at Farm Aid because it depicts so much about why BB King was such a terrific artist and performer…
- The first 1:30 he clearly struggles with finding the groove – either his E or B string is out of tune slightly and he hits some sour notes as every performer does, but he plays through it with the passion and determination to get to that special place where a higher power begins to flow through him toward his audience
- He hits that groove around 1:33 with a perfectly placed high note that electrifies the audience – such a terrific example of BB King being every bit the artist, just like Picasso or any genius artist that creates that amazing work, but he would do it night after night after night!
- Starting at 2:13 he shares notes with the horns – another staple of BB King’s amazing sound – where he shows his little-mentioned genius at overall production and orchestration. BB always had a big band with a big sound and that demands tight production – he certainly had that. In fact, it was because he demanded that big band that he had to keep working well into his 80’s – he could have trimmed his band and likely retired on 30-40 bigger dates each year, some collaborations and called it a day. Compromise wasn’t in his mindset however. The same intense persistence that allowed him to escape his poor childhood would continue unrelenting right to has last days.
- Somewhere around the 3:00 minute mark he breaks his E string, and then, not missing a single soulful note he continues to deliver the most important lyrics to the song while re-stringing his Gibson himself…showing once again this guy lets nothing stop him from winning over his audience.
All of this in a 5-minute performance, yes BB King is one of the best live performers of ALL TIME in any music genre and was the best blues guitarist right up there with the other King’s.
Enjoy!
Filed under bb king, Blues Legends by on May 17th, 2015. Comment.
What makes a blues rock performance turn into pure magic? Watch this video, and you’ll find out:
This video was taken from the wonderful DVD “Joe Bonamassa Live At Rockplast” – perfect trio where tone, amazing songs and energy come together for one magical show.
If you like Joe at all, this is one of his best concert DVD’s of all time.
Filed under blues guitar, Joe Bonamassa by on Jan 9th, 2015. Comment.
Watch Gary masterfully re-create the wonderful Albert Collins slow blues “If Trouble Was Money”
While he doesn’t have the “Iceman’s” attack (as you can see from video clips below), he brings his own passion and style to the song.
What makes a blues artist stand out is when you know they are giving 110% – we can safely say that of both Albert Collins and Gary don’t you think?
By the way, this song finds its way onto a new Live Double CD from Gary Clark Jr that has some really cool tunes on it, check it out here.
Now here is the Iceman, Albert Collins (Man I gets so pissed that I never was able to see AC live!)
Votes?
Filed under Blues Legends by on Sep 4th, 2014. Comment.
Great local Ottawa, Ontario blues guitar talent JW Jones released his new video for “Aint Gonna Beg”, shot in Ottawa it features a ton of local Ottawa scenes in the background including: Classic Mayfair Theatre, Metropolitan Brasserie, Karters Corners Go-Carting…pretty cool when you can fit your hometown landmarks into your own video.
Oh ya, pretty darn good song too with some nice guitar work. If you haven’t hear of JW before, he is definitely one of Ottawa (and Canada’s) premiere blues guitar players…here’s the video:
Filed under blues guitar by on Aug 12th, 2012. Comment.
One of the most important parts of listening, understanding, enjoying and playing the blues is respecting the past. The blues is a living and breathing evolution in the human condition as reflected through the instruments and voices of blues music through the years.
To really understand and be able to play blues guitar, you’ve got to have a deep emotianal tie to both your instrument and the music…it just HAS to be that way to be real.
There’s no better way to really GET this than to look at some of the real blues guitar greats…
This first video “Death Letter Blues” should hit you right in the GUT, it sure did me as I watched it over and over again…I literally could not take my eyes of Son House as he tells the story about learning of a love lost but only then to recount the feeling he has that love was lost long before his girl ever died (because she never really loved him like he loved her).
Watch this and tell me you aren’t moved!
Just as we learn from the past, one of the reasons I love blues music is that the masters continually pass the torch onto willing disciples – that’s what’s happening in this video “My Black Mama”where a young Buddy Guy sits in with Son House…amazing stuff!
Talkl to me people – leave me a comment.
Filed under Blues Legends by on Jul 19th, 2012. Comment.
