B.B. King died last night at the age of 89. I’ve been listening to his music for around the last 30 years. My sons have grown up listening to his music. He had a way of playing a lyric line of blues on his guitar Lucille which was moving and that reached inside you. He could make you feel his music in a unique and powerful way. He wasn’t concerned with dazzling guitar pyrotechnics. He just let the music flow out. He also could sing. Better than most, and in a way that complimented his sparse guitar playing. His voice and his guitar interacted and perfectly complimented each other.
I’m including two of my favorite B.B. King songs for you to enjoy.
His death even touched my second graders. Half of them knew who he was and that he died. One boy even said, “You won’t be able to get music like that anymore!”
That’s for sure. No one played like he did.