MIXMAG 2014
ST. LOUIS — At 88, blues guitarist B.B. King
is a living legend, a Rock and Roll Hall of
Famer with his own satellite radio channel
and a string of blues-themed restaurants
in New York, Las Vegas and several other
cities.
Slowed by age and infirmity, including
diabetes, King continues to tour — with
sometimes painful results. In St. Louis,
some fans are singing the blues after
an erratic weekend performance led to
a stream of audience catcalls and early
departures.
Concertgoers said King’s rambling Friday
night set at the Peabody Opera House
featured just a handful of complete songs
amid meandering musical snippets, longwinded soliloquies, an eight-piece backup
band that missed its cues and a 15-minute
sing-along of You Are My Sunshine.
promoter did not respond to multiple
interview requests.
Other recent King performances have also
struck sour notes. During a November
concert in North Texas, the bluesman’s
voice “was weak and ragged, and his
trademark guitar style had dissolved into
a parade of sour notes,” a Dallas Morning
News review said.
Bob Johnson, a retired IRS agent who
attended the St. Louis concert with his adult
daughter, said the dissatisfied audience
members were trying to encourage King
more than criticize him, suggesting specific
song titles or urging him to “Play some
music” during the long interludes.
“Everybody was trying to be respectful that
this guy is 88 years old,” he said. “It was
painful to watch.”
“Is he a living legend? Absolutely. Do I love
his music? You bet,” said digital marketing
executive Larry Goldstein, who paid $150
for a pair of tickets plus parking. “But
when you’re paying that type of money, you
expect to see a show.”
The experience at King’s concert highlights
an increasingly common occurrence as
musicians in their 70s and 80s take the
stage in front of nostalgic audiences. A
recent St. Louis concert by 87-year-old
rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry was also
marked by missed chords, forgotten lyrics
and a backing band’s persistent efforts to
cover Berry’s missteps.
St. Louis record store owner Tom (Papa)
Ray did not attend the King concert, but
said audiences should know to adjust
their expectations when watching beloved
musicians whose peak is well in the past.
“If your 88-year-old father or grandfather
was great in a particular art or craft, and his
performance was disappointing, would you
heckle him?” said Ray, owner of Vintage
Vinyl. “It totally saddened me to hear about
that.”
Brad Goodman, King’s Los Angelesbased agent at William Morris Endeavor
Entertainment, declined to comment
through an assistant. Peabody Opera
House executives and King’s Las Vegas
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