The thrill is gone. As many of you are well aware by now the king of the blues B.B. King who was a winner of 15 Grammy awards and acted as a mentor and inspiration to multiple generations of musicians passed away last night (5/14/2015) at 11:40 PM CST in Las Vegas. He was 89 years old and passed peacefully in his sleep.
Though it does not make things any easier, King's passing did not come as a surprise. His health had been declining for years due to his ongoing struggle with diabetes. King had been checked into hospice care for only a matter of weeks before his passing.
Many well known musicians such as Slash, Eric Clapton, David Coverdale, Buddy Guy, Glenn Hughes, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Huey Lewis, Mickey Dolenz, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz, Keith Richards, and more including President Barack Obama came forward today to profess their sorrow for King's passing.
Since this is an editorial, I'm going to be mainly giving my own thoughts and feelings about the passing of this regal blues legend.
As a blues guitar player myself I have often found how I inadvertently use King's technique in my own playing. This is because many of the bands/artists I listen to on a daily basis were influenced directly by King and his technique. It is a simple style, really. It's based more on simplicity and feel rather than flash, speed, and intense knowledge of musical theory. That was the beauty of King's playing. He could say more with three or four notes than most guitarists can with 100. King was proof you don't need to be trained in years' worth of musical theory to sound good on your instrument. As long as you have that fire in your heart and the will to play from your soul you will sound just fine.
I also have to admire King's work ethic. He was almost constantly on tour. I heard once King spent an average of 221 days per year on the road performing. The man absolutely LOVED to play. I've heard of people who have insane amounts of passion for what they do, but this really raises the bar and takes things to a whole other level. Not many people have the drive or the energy to do this amount of work on anything.
The one album I would HIGHLY recommend you listen to is Live at the Regal 1965. This is half an hour of pure straight up blues and soul. B.B. not only makes his guitar Lucille wail, but his onstage persona is one of the most smooth and charismatic I have ever encountered. The man at this show managed to make everyone regardless of race, age, gender, etc feel as one and as though they could relate to what was being talked about in the music. This is a pretty big deal given that this concert happened during a time where America was still racially segregated and dealing with a great deal of race related violence. The fact that King could bring people from all walks of life under one roof to enjoy themselves and connect with one another during such a time is no small feat.
It is a truly mournful and somber day when one of the true originals and greats has transcended from the realm of the living to the ethereal plane. Hopefully by now he is up in Heaven jamming with many of the other musical legends who have passed on before him. If you are not that familiar with King's work, I cannot advise you enough to go to YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, or your local record store to listen to his stuff. It is honest, emotional, and powerful music that will live on long past the man himself. R.I.P. B.B. King. You will be truly missed....
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