This week we celebrate Riley “Blues Boy” King, the undisputed king of the blues, in honor of his upcoming 86th birthday on Thursday. Born in a rural shack deep in the heart of Mississippi, B.B. King is the epitome of a rags to riches story, letting his instantly identifiable single-note guitar sound carry him to international super stardom. “Lucille took me from the plantation,” says King in Lucille, his spoken-word tribute song to his beloved guitar, “and you might say, brought me fame.”
King has long been known as the ambassador of the blues. Because of his incredible fame and international successes, he is in the unique position of being able to bring the blues to audiences across the globe that may have never listened to blues music otherwise. King has been faithfully bringing his joyful, happy, and deeply stirring music to literally hundreds of thousands on his sometimes over 300 tour dates every year. This week is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the fantastic life of B.B. King, and the joy he has brought to millions of people over the course of his long and fruitful career. May he celebrate many more birthdays in the future.
Today, we’re kicking off the celebration of B.B. King with two duet performances by the two biggest blues superstars on the planet, B.B. King and Buddy Guy. The first is a fitting and wonderfully soulful duet from Buddy Guy’s latest album, Living Proof. The second is Buddy and B.B. King playing live at B.B. King’s Blues Club
