A loss to us all......

[BigSteve22]

One of the greats has passed away. Rest in peace Mr. King, you are missed.

Riley Ben (BB) King. 1925-2015

 

[line6man]

The thrill is gone.  :sad:

 

[bagman67]

Do yourself a favor and check out this Austin City Limits episode of B.B. at the height of his powers:


http://video.pbs.org/video/2365490253/

 

[bbl4ck]

Do yourself a favor and check out this Austin City Limits episode of B.B. at the height of his powers:


http://video.pbs.org/video/2365490253/

Thanks for posting that show Mr. Bagman!  It was nice to see him again in his prime...
I have seen him many times through the years, but the last show I saw him, I knew his time was sadly soon to end.
I was lucky enough to get front row seats for him here in Phoenix a couple years ago.  He opened for the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
It was a sit down show for him except for a couple moments when he stood up. 
He only played a couple riffs during each song with his back-up band playing most everything.
Even with this limited playing, he took a break for a couple songs during the middle of the show.
A lot of people were pissed regarding the show saying he should not have even made an appearance in his condition.
I figured it was great that he kept on giving until the very end and felt lucky to see him again.
We truly lost a legend of the blues.  Rest In Peace BB...
:sad:

 

[stratamania]

Do yourself a favor and check out this Austin City Limits episode of B.B. at the height of his powers:


http://video.pbs.org/video/2365490253/

Thanks for posting the link.

@all If you haven't checked it out you should.

BB King, thanks for the music and a life well lived.

 

[Jusatele]

I have seen BB many times over the years, last couple of times he was sitting down during the show, even with his disabilities the man was a stellar musician and one of the best entertainers I have ever seen. He would capture your atention and hold you in his hand as he told stories and joked between songs. The man truly loved to be on stahe and he loved his fans.
Rest in peace BB, Millions morn your passing

 

[DangerousR6]

It's a sad sad thing, all the greats are dying off.

R.I.P. B.B.

 

[KingOfTheCountry]

The last of the Kings of the blues has gone. Such a lost!
I will miss you every single day Mr. King. R.I.P.

I've got the key to the highway...

 

[Re-Pete]

Do yourself a favor and check out this Austin City Limits episode of B.B. at the height of his powers:


http://video.pbs.org/video/2365490253/

Thanks for posting that show Mr. Bagman!  It was nice to see him again in his prime...
I have seen him many times through the years, but the last show I saw him, I knew his time was sadly soon to end.
I was lucky enough to get front row seats for him here in Phoenix a couple years ago.  He opened for the Tedeschi Trucks Band.
It was a sit down show for him except for a couple moments when he stood up. 
He only played a couple riffs during each song with his back-up band playing most everything.
Even with this limited playing, he took a break for a couple songs during the middle of the show.
A lot of people were pissed regarding the show saying he should not have even made an appearance in his condition.
I figured it was great that he kept on giving until the very end and felt lucky to see him again.
We truly lost a legend of the blues.  Rest In Peace BB...
:sad:

It's a tricky thin line the artists tread when having demands for shows versus their own health & whether they can do the shows.

If you look at footage of the last lot of Rolling Stones shows, Keith is definitely following Mr. King's lead and playing less. A lot of posturing and stage movement that hides the fact he isn't playing his parts all the time. It must be noticeable if you are in the stadium & know the guitar parts really well?

Some entertainers do it out of necessity to pay their own bills and will play til they can't physically take the stage. Others do it to 'pay back' to fans who have built their career. Show their face, make their fans smile, play as much as you can.

If you want a good example of going on for too long, take a look at Brian Connolly of The Sweet. Troubled with addictions he kept going, looked horrid & sounded just as bad in his final years. He was lost way too early to liver cancer, I believe.

Mr King, well, I like to think he just loved playing to an audience. He did amass some money, got the fame he wanted too. He became a Legend. The man gigged most of the year, for many years. Despite growing up in a  segregated society he transgressed that barrier to such an extent, people in countries like Australia (where I live ) knew of him. He had a distinct sound when playing guitar that would cut through & was an expert player of Gibson ES semi acoustic guitars.

His Lucille model is well specced out & I hope Gibson continue with that model for some time yet, so I have time to save up & buy one!

R.I.P. Mr. King. Thank you for the music.

 

[stubhead]

I don't get sad when old people die, Americans seem kinda weird to me about death. I'm quite sure you can say that he spent a HUGE proportion of his life doing exactly what he loved best. THAT counts the most, IMO. I mean, congrats, dude! Sad seems almost greedy - what else do you want him to do? Not die.... :icon_scratch:

Hendrix & Allman both died of rank howling dumbass hippie stupidity, zat bothers me more. James was doing the duty with an ex-figure skater who had a serious back injury, hence a prescription for some deep-whack Euro pain killers. Man dose = 1, girl dose = 1/2. Only, dumbass Jimi Hendrix was into numerology, along with ALL the other -ologies, pyramidology & UFOlogy nar nar nar. And Jimi's secret master number was NINE... = pea-brained moron behavior. Also explains his predilection for tripping on stage so bad he couldn't do the show. NINE... of everything, every time. Monsieur Allman liked to smoke a bunch of pot, chug some whiskey, shoot up a bit o' heroin, THEN go play chicken with trucks on his stretched-fork Harley chopper - with an un-strapped helmet perched on his head, because NObody's gonna tell ME what to do...Overthrow the MAN! = pea-brained moron behavior.

What's profoundly wild about BB to me is that NOBODY ever bent a guitar string up to an exact pitch prior to him! An exact 1/2 step, or whole step, or step and-a-half. Listen to Chuck Berry, Lonnie Mack, surf, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, "Hideaway" - nope.

AMAZING. What would our/your/it's music even sound like without him? Buddy Guy & ALBERT King immediately leapt upon it and ran wild - they'd still be pushing a broom or slopping out the hog pen WITHOUT THAT. There are fifteen million guitarists in America, 50 million in the whole world.  Going halfsies, you'd say B.B. King taught TWENTY-FIVE MILLION guitarists what to do. UH, President Whosit? Napoleon what? Alexander the Pretty-OK? Some Greek dude... yikes. Impact...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYxPz7KpdG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jJ7iFWpPaA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEe_eraFWWs

 

[MikeW]

There are fifteen million guitarists in America, 50 million in the whole world.  Going halfsies, you'd say B.B. King taught TWENTY-FIVE MILLION guitarists what to do. UH, President Whosit? Napoleon what? Alexander the Pretty-OK? Some Greek dude... yikes. Impact...

I'll count myself in this group, definitely. I've been lucky enough to see him twice. The second time was at a benefit concert with Kenny Wayne Shepard. The two of them sat on stage, on folding chairs, and ripped through The Thrill is Gone for 15 minutes. Trading licks, copying each other, and laughing about it the whole time. Awesome. I'll never forget that.

Thank you Sir! You will be missed.

 

[stratamania]

I thought I would add this video to this thread.

[youtube]V8Nc2IuQ1YE[/youtube]

 

[stubhead]

Wow! About 2:06 is the best I ever heard Bonamassa play. SLOW. Under normal circumstances he sounds like a Lick Regurgitation Module. And he KNOWS it, he just hasn't broke the machine yet. Where's Patti Boyd when you need her...