As the ruler of the kingdom of BLUES, the legendary B.B.King is undoubtedly the most important electroacoustic guitar player of the past half century or so. He had always had the supreme confidence to squeeze all the subtle senses of speech out of any lyric; his distinctive little vibrato was enough to separate him from those who came after him. At the same time, he is also an expressive super singer, good at singing the same lyrics using different tunes, and often changes the way he sings, vibrating, false or true and false. The most important point, though, is that B.B.KING has always been a humble superstar, and always smiling. Xiaobian will share with you today this guitar master who is known as the "King of Blues".
Greatest Hits
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Biography
B.B.King was born on September 16, 1925 in Itta Bena, Mississippi Delta, and was originally named Riley B. King. His father left him a surname with the voice of an emperor, King, but as a child, King was displaced between his mother and grandmother, and his life was difficult. As a teenager, like his parents, King first became a sharecropper and learned to sing in church. Because King's mother and grandmother were unusually devout believers, King's singing style gradually developed his later powerful and charismatic tone under the influence of the congregation, and the missionaries' use of the guitar as an accompaniment instrument also fascinated King, who was still a sharecropper. So, soon after, the missionary began teaching King to play the three chords of E, A, and B.
Immersing King in country music and gospel music through the sharecropper life and church music education in the Mississippi Delta, he formed and participated in two or three gospel singing groups, usually in church, but occasionally having the opportunity to perform live on WGRM Radio in Green word, Mississippi. When singing, Riley adds a guitar. However, every Saturday night, King plays blues on the streets of Indianola. Blues music was nothing new to him, and his cousin, Bukka White, was a famous blues player in Memphis, and Bukka would visit King from time to time while they were still living in one place.
In the summer of 1946, King first came to Memphis, where he found Bukka White on Beal Street, where bukka took him in. For the next 10 months, Bukka taught the enthusiastic Mississippi youth some of the techniques of playing the blues. In Memphis, King's genius was discovered, he learned a lot from improvising ensembles with other Memphis blues, and Bukka taught him everything that would make King a successful blues player: from how to hold a guitar to how to organize lyrics. What's more, King felt an attachment to music from Bukka. Without this, there might not be today's B.B.King.
Not long after returning home, King decided to set out for Memphis again—after all, the life of a sharecropper growing grain was far from King's musical talent. At the end of 1948, King returned to Memphis and began his professional musical career. At the time, Memphis had a radio station in Memphis that had only been in existence for more than a year, WDIA memphis, the first radio station in the South that was black from employees to managers, and the station hired King as the host of the program, giving King ten minutes each time. During this time, King can play guitar or sing anything, as long as he can promote a new soup, Pepticoon. So, with his own unique music, King quickly became a famous "Pepticon kid". Because of his popularity, the radio station was more attentive to his show and packaged him as a DJ. In his new show, Sepia Swing Club, King plays recordings of black musicians and accepts on-demand guitar or singing from listeners. As a DJ, he needed a stage name, initially "Beal Street Boy", which he later changed to "Blues Boy King". Finally, the name was shortened to the world-famous "B.B.King". During his years as a DJ at WDIA (1948-1952), King recorded several singles for Bullet Recording and RMP, including a song for his wife, "Miss Martha King."
The birth of rock 'n' roll created a cast of black stars: Little Richard, Fats Domino, James Brown and Chuck Berry. King, on the other hand, was unlucky, and his black music remained isolated in the mainstream white music scene. Although King transferred his appointment agent to ABC Records in the early 60s, he still couldn't find a gap to mainstream music. Frustrated, King performed no more than two times in front of a white audience before 1968, both of which were disastrous. Despite his bad luck, King's music during this period was better than ever, such as the early 60s classic "Sweet Sixteen" (Sweet Sixteen).
Things changed around 1965, beginning with white people first hearing Sun House and Mississippi John Hurt sing at the Newport Folk Song Festival. On that day, a new group called Butterfield Blues Band took the stage, and they sparked a strong national current. Soon the band released their debut album and won the hearts and minds of middle-class white Americans. The new excitement comes from the roots, quirky musical sound effects created by the band's guitarists, Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield. All the people were asking them, "Where did you learn to play like this?" The two guitarists answered honestly, "We copied the Colorful phrases of B.B.King." When people were stunned to ask "who is he," Bishop and Bloomfield would always say, "A real monster." ”
In fact, even at the time, King was not a guitarist in the usual sense, claiming to know only a few chords and could only play monophonic solos, and had no way to sing while playing. However, B.B.King has influenced countless guitarists in future generations, the main reason is that he can put his feelings into his playing, can make his guitar "sing". Even with just one note, King can use a variety of methods to make it sound special. For today's blues guitarists, it is almost impossible to play without using the push string technique. King is said to have been the first guitarist to use string pushing techniques, and his place in the blues world is naturally indisputable. After the mainstream Music Scene in the United States finally heard the name B.B.King, the whole world seemed to be ready for his appearance.
In 1969, B.B.King performed for the first time on the network's "Tonight Show" program. In 1971, King appeared on the Ed Sullivan show. Being able to perform on Sullivan means that a real star is born. B.B.King believes that the most important ability of a blues musician is the skill he shows when facing a live audience. He used to imitate the great band leader, saxophonist and singer Louis Jordan. You can hear a passage in "How blue Can You Get" from B.B.king's most famous rhythmic line borrowed from Jordan. Another obvious example is B.B.King's "Nobody Loves Me But My Mother." King was one of the few people in Bruce's who could consistently produce hits during the '70s. The reason is that he is not afraid of experimentation. In 1973, he went to Philadelphia to record 2 hit songs: "To Know You Is To Love You" and "I Like To Love The Love.". In 1978, he collaborated with jazz-inspired The Crusaders on "Never Make Your Move Too Soon" and "When It All Comes Down."
In 1993, in "Blues Summit" recorded for MCA, King performed a duet with john Lee Hooker, Etta James, Koko Taylor, and others. In 2000, King collaborated with another recognized guitar maesque, Eric Clapton, on the album Riding With the King. Two great masters have their musical inspiration and talents colliding on this album: King's concise words, dramatic vibrato and Eric Clapton's clear and powerful undertones, relaxed and fast rhythms are very harmoniously combined, and the two sides work together seamlessly and complement each other perfectly. At the same time, the album also won the 43rd Annual Grammy "Best Blues Album" Award.
On May 14, 2015, Beijing time, B.B.King died in Las Vegas, USA, at the age of 89.
Achievement
The legendary B.B.King was undoubtedly an authority in the field of guitar in the second half of the twentieth century and one of the leaders of blues music of this era. An accomplished Blues guitarist would be unthinkable without the guidance of a master musician, while B.B.King created his own musical style with his own inspiration and efforts.
1968 Male Singer of the Year Jazz
Best Blues Singer of 1969
Best Blues Artist of 1973
Best Blues Guitarist of 1973
Best Blues Player of 1974
Best Male Vocalist of 1974
Best Blues Singer of 1974
Best Blues Artist of 1975
Best Blues Artist of 1981
1987 Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement
1991 Orville H.E. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award
Best Blues Artist of 1993
1993's most outstanding blues singer
1994's most outstanding blues singer
1996's most outstanding blues singer
Best Blues Guitarist of 1996
Best Rock Instrumental Performance of 1996
1997 Bruce Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
Best Blues Guitarist of 1997
1997's most outstanding blues singer
Best Traditional Blues Album of 1999
B.B.King only
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