By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
BLUES CIRCLE OF LIFE
I
t's not an easy thing to be declared the
King of the Blues. The heritage and long
history of the genre requires deep
knowledge, skill and reverence for the
music and its culture. B.B. King wore the
crown lightly and humbly, never using the
moniker personally but he represented the
blues royally, from his tireless touring to
his signature stinging guitar riffs. Boasting
nearly 70 years as a bluesman, he was our
play opera halls and palaces but never losing his humility or the earthy essence of his
sound.
He scored lots of hits that defined his
immediately recognizable guitar style of
bent notes and crying riffs, from '"The
Thrill Is Gone" and "Three O' Clock Blues"
to "Sweet Little Angel" and "Everyday I
Have The Blues." And he has influenced
mostly every guitarist that has played
B.B. King, 2012 @ House Of Blues, Chicago
Photo: LinkedIn
longest running legend and most beloved
ambassador. B.B. and Lucille were as much
a part of blues lore as the Mississippi Delta
that birthed him and his legacy will always
live on along with the title he so rightfully
earned.
Born Riley B. King in Itta Bena,
Mississippi in 1925 (although some colleagues believe it was earlier; his birth wasn't formally recorded) to sharecroppers, he
lived the hardscrabble life that inspired the
blues. He faced brutal Jim Crow and sharecropping systems, toiling in cotton fields
and witnessing a lynching before he was
12. By the time he was 14, he was orphaned
and living alone in a one-room shack. He
once explained his early years to the late
CBS anchor Ed Bradley as "it was a scary
place for a young, parentless black boy and
blues gave voice to those fears."
His life changed once he moved to
Memphis and started performing and
DJing as the "Beale Street Blues Boy" on
Sonny Boy Williamson's radio show. It
was later shortened to B.B. He listened to
Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson
records and picked up more guitar skills
from his cousin, legendary country blues
musician Bukka White. He developed
these influences into his signature precise,
soul-grabbing sound. He communicated
effortlessly through Lucille, named for the
woman who inspired a bar fight ending in
a fire at the Arkansas juke joint he was
playing. B.B's ability to conjure cries and
shouts from Lucille was one of the reasons
he's considered one of the most significant
electric guitarist's of the latter part of the
20th century. He made Lucille talk and the
world listened. He's credited with expanding the reach of the blues, taking the
urbane tone of his riffs and the gospel
vigor of his singing to stages and hearts
that had never witnessed such power. B.B.
was the King of the Blues not because he
had earned 15 Grammys and 74 Billboard
entries, but because he was the genre's
most convincing ambassador, rising to
since, including Jimmy Hendrix, Buddy
Guy, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page and
Eric Clapton. He owned clubs and mansions and collected every musical honor
possible but he never forgot who he was
and the voiceless people he represented.
B.B. played free prison concerts and founded the Foundation for the Advancement
of Inmate Rehabilitation and Recreation
in 1971 with former attorney F. Lee Bailey.
He pushed for the improvement of prison
conditions and recorded his seminal
album, Live in Cook County Jail at Chicago's
notorious prison in 1971.
The global blues community mourns
and celebrates his life fittingly, in a tour of
pivotal locations in King's life, Las Vegas,
Memphis and Mississippi, his final resting
place. He didn't rest much in life, touring
an average of 250 shows a year, determined
that the blues gain as much exposure as
possible. His music guarantees continued
exposure and the certainty that the blues
and The King, lives on.
The 32nd annual Chicago Blues
Festival features a showcase of guitarists
influenced by B.B. King, including John
Primer, Toronzo Cannon and Buddy Guy.
But another highlight is one of the few
women headliners, Zora Young, who also
played with B.B. King. An accomplished
performer and blues fest regular, racking
up her 7th appearance this year, Zora was
nurtured by a classic Delta upbringing of
church and family, including a famous
cousin, Howlin' Wolf.
"I saw him around, he would pick us up
in a big shiny car," said Zora about her
childhood memories of Chester Burnett,
AKA Howlin' Wolf. "My family was into
religion but they respected him because he
was the Wolf! But his mama disowned him
because he sang the blues."
Growing up in Mississippi, Zora
attended church five days a week and sang
gospel music. She wasn't allowed to listen
to secular music. "I sang in the choir until I
got old enough to leave," she said. "I'd be
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illinoisentertainer.com june
2015