B.B. King
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Stretch of Highway Named for B.B. King
| Posted by Geffen on 6/14/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
Motorists driving on a stretch of U.S. 61 in Tennessee will be traveling the B.B. King Highway. A ceremony noting a name change for the highway was held last week at the Beale Street nightclub that also bears King's name.
The 79-year-old famed bluesman was on hand, but without the guitar he calls Lucille.
"I'm not very good at talking and Lucille is asleep on the bus," King said. "Thank you Memphis. Thanks to all of you, God bless you."
King, whose given name is Riley, grew up in rural Mississippi. He began his career on Beale Street and took the stage name "B.B." for Beale Street Blues Boy.
Boss of the blues
| Posted by Geffen on 5/16/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
For B.B. King, the concerts have been reduced as the years -- almost 80 -- have piled up. But there's one thing that is as indisputable as his stinging guitar solos: He still rules.
B.B. King turns 80 this year, and he sounds every minute of it in the opening moments of a phone conversation from a New York hotel room.
"I'm doing very good," says the venerable bluesman in a weary tone that's not too convincing. He has been riding in a bus all day, finishing the trip with a nearly hourlong delay in a New York traffic jam.
He doesn't have big plans for his milestone birthday on Sept. 16, but it's a safe bet that he'll be on the road somewhere. Although he has trimmed back his ambitious touring schedule in recent years, he still does close to 200 dates a year, including a stop tonight at House of Blues at Downtown Disney.
And that's not all. Not content to rest on his laurels, King is starting work on a duets album and contributing ideas and memorabilia for the B.B. King Museum. That $10 million project in his hometown of Indianola, Miss., will celebrate its groundbreaking with a ceremony that King will attend in June. He was honored with the 2004 Polar Music Prize, bestowed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and recently inducted pal Buddy Guy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On a Rolling Stone list of all-time greatest guitar players, King ranks third behind Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman. Oh, there's also a new greatest-hits compilation, B.B. King: The Ultimate Collection.
The thrill is gone?
No way.
"B.B. King is almost a religious figure in the blues," says Tommy Thompson, program manager for Smokestack Lightnin', the long-running blues show that airs Saturdays on 89.9 FM (WUCF) and also on-demand at www.smokestack lightnin.com. "B.B. is still the center post of the blues, and he has been for 50 years.
"He's one of the most important musicians alive today," Thompson says. "With the passing of Ray Charles, I think that leaves B.B. sitting on the throne by himself, and I'm not just talking about his longevity. His style, after all these years, is still crisp and clean and clear. Every album has two or three absolute gems on it, and I don't know many performers who have been able to do that so consistently for so long."
'Some good work'
After almost 60 years on stage, King takes it all in stride. His appraisal of his work is modest, even for the landmark 1965 Live at the Regal album that is considered an unparalleled blues classic.
"Of all the CDs I've ever done, I don't think I've made a perfect one," King says, energy rising with his interest. "But I do think in each of them there is some good work. If someone says that it's not so good, maybe they listened to the part that wasn't so good. But if they listen carefully, they will find some good work in each of them."
King acknowledges that he has "quite often been told that Live at the Regal is my best."
So is it?
King reacts with a gust of laughter and mock indignation:
"No! I just got through telling you I can't tell you which one is the best! I think there is some good work in it, yes."
The Regal album also is remarkable because of the unbridled emotion of the audience, an element that takes it beyond other concert recordings. "There was no direction to the people to applaud or not applaud. We just did a concert and that's what they did."
When he listens to it now, King still finds room for improvement. Same goes for every album and every show: "I miss notes every day," he says.
Museum is special
He has hit enough of the right ones to become an international icon, a status that will be celebrated at the B.B. King Museum in his hometown of about 12,000 people.
The museum will be built around a historic brick cotton gin where King worked for a time before hitching a ride to Memphis, TTTTTenn., to start his music career in the late 1940s.
King returns each summer to Indianola to play concerts and is pleased about the prospect of influencing young people about the life-changing power of music.
"I've seen the plans, and I like what I see," he says. "I'm very pleased with what's going on."
The museum's design combines memorabilia with an interactive studio, where visitors will be introduced to the basics of playing blues on guitar.
The final plans for the museum are taking shape, but there have been enough strange coincidences to make it seem as if the project is destined to be special, says Allan Hammons, the museum foundation's interim executive director.
Two teams of architectural students from Auburn and Mississippi State universities each independently recommended the same site for the project. When King made a visit, he reported that the museum was based at the same cotton gin where he once had worked.
"We were completely taken aback by it," Hammons says. "We have had more things happen that would appear to be almost unnatural. It's almost as if it were a project that was destined to take place."
Looking back and ahead
The memorabilia almost certainly will include at least one Lucille out of the 16 that King has used in his career. The guitar, of course, takes its name from a woman who inspired a fiery barroom brawl at a juke joint where King was playing in his early days.
Jim Abbott can be reached at jabbott@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6213.
NEW $10 MILLION MUSEUM TO HONOR B.B. KING
| Posted by Geffen on 3/10/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
Beginning in 2007, Last Brick Cotton Gin in Miss. Will House Blues Legend’s Legacy
(Indianola, Miss., April 4, 2005)
What becomes a legend most?
How about his own museum?
That’s what blues great and 13-time GRAMMY® winner B.B. King (www.bbking.com), renowned for his facile playing on the guitar famously known as “Lucille,” will get in his home state of Mississippi, beginning in 2007, when phase one of a new museum, The B.B. King Museum, finally opens, followed by phase two and three, as they become fully funded.
It’s an 80th birthday gift for Riley B. King, best known as “The King of the Blues.”
On Fri., June 10, King, the tireless music legend, will join officials, who are in the throes of fund raising for the project, to break ground for phase one---the restoration of Mississippi’s last brick gin mill ---of the planned, 2.3-acre B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss., near his birthplace.
Why Indianola, Miss.? According to King, “They asked to do it, and it’s where my roots are. Maybe it’s the same reason I go back year after year to do a free homecoming concert – there’s a sense of place that’s very powerful and I hope it can make a difference for the children of the Mississippi Delta.”
A decade in the making, the $10 million museum will be partially located within an existing, abandoned gin mill, where, as a youngster, King once worked.
The Bethesda, MD-based firm of Gallagher & Associates, which has helped design projects for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian, is designing the museum exhibits in conjunction with architect Stephen Perkins, who counts master planning for Tokyo Disneyland among his many assignments.
Different areas of the complex, to be developed and opened in phases, will feature various aspects of King’s 60-year career, many narrated and presented thru animation and recordings by King himself, including his difficult childhood in the Mississippi Delta and the early days in Memphis, where he launched his career in clubs and on local radio.
A Blues Studio, where visitors will be offered hands on experience at mixing an actual recording, and a number of other interactive exhibits, will also be featured.
A replica of the WDIA radio studios in Memphis, where the indefatigable musician discovered his first real success, will also be housed at the museum.
A major museum feature, the Delta Interpretive Center, will promote a curriculum of education and cultural outreach for at risk youngsters of the mostly poor Delta region.
The state of Mississippi recently declared “B.B. King Day” and has pledged state funds. Fund-raising is also flowing from individuals and corporate entities.
King’s actual 80th birthday is on Sept. 16, but he has already started celebrating a long and historic life, traveling as he will on one of his most extensive musical tours ever.
He will also start recording a new duets album that’s due out later in the year.
In 1987, King received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from NARAS, which produces the GRAMMY® Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors. The Presidential Medal of the Arts, among numerous other awards.
B.B. KING KICKS OFF 80TH BIRTHDAY YEAR
| Posted by Geffen on 2/28/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
MUSIC LEGEND, 13-TIME GRAMMY® WINNER B.B. KING KICKS OFF 80TH BIRTHDAY YEAR WITH A MUSEUM, CD, WORLD TOUR, TV SPECIAL
(Los Angeles, Calif., March 2, 2005)---What becomes a legend most?
How about his own museum?
That’s what music legend and 13-time GRAMMY® winner B.B. King (www.bbking.com) will get in his home state of Mississippi.
It’s an 80th birthday gift of sorts for the man born Riley B. King and best known as “the king of the blues.”
King, whose actual birthday is in Sept., has already started celebrating a long and historic life, traveling as he will on one of the most extensive musical tours ever undertaken by a music star, let alone one who is about to turn 80 years old.
During 2005, a number of milestone events are in the works.
In June, ground breaking for the $10 million B.B. King Museum will be held in Indianola, Miss., near his hometown of Bene.
The state of Mississippi recently declared “B.B. King Day” and has pledged funds to help build the long planned museum.
King will start recording a new duets album in March that’s due out later in the year on the Universal Music label.
Many performers over the years have been influenced by King’s trademark guitar style, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and George Harrison.
In 1987, King received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from NARAS, which produces the GRAMMY® Awards, and the veteran showman, who got his first break as a musician on a radio show in Memphis in 1948, last received a GRAMMY® Award in 2002 for “Best Pop Instrumental Performance.”
As in the past, King, renowned for his facile playing on the guitar famously known as “Lucille,” will star in concerts at a variety of venues, in the U.S., Canada and Europe, starting in March and continuing throughout the year.
During his career, he’s been known to play as many as 342 one night stands.
Among his many classics are “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Payin’ The Cost To Be The Boss,” “Everyday I Have The Blues,” “You Don’t Know Me” and “Why I Sing The Blues.”
Bulfinch Press will publish a major book on the musician, titled B.B. King’s Treasures, due to coincide with his 80th birthday on Sept. 16.
A King autobiography, “Blues All Around Me,” was published in 1996.
These days, B.B. King isn’t just a headlining entertainer, he’s also the namesake for a string of successful nightclubs.
Clubs bearing his name now operate in New York, Memphis, Nashville, Los Angeles and at the Foxwoods Casino in Conn.
A London version is expected soon and airport cafes, in Atlanta and Detroit, also bearing his name, have recently opened.
On Sept. 20, a major gala will be held in Beverly Hills as a combination museum fundraiser and 80th birthday party and in late summer a birthday concert, sponsored by the Isle of Capri Casinos, Mississippi’s largest public company, also to benefit the museum, is planned.
I’ve never learned to talk very well without Lucille,” says the Las Vegas based legend.
The B. B. King Treasures
| Posted by Geffen on 2/23/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
In 1947, with a two-and-a-half dollars in his pocket and his guitar on his back, Riley B. King, a sharecropper moonlighting as a blues and gospel musician, hitchhiked to Memphis from his home in Indianola, Mississippi. Today, after touring the world as an ambassador of the blues for more than half a century, B. B. King is a living legend.
Like a celebration thrown by B.B. for his countless fans, published for the occasion of his 80th birthday, The B. B. King Treasures brings remembrances, photos, and rare and personal memorabilia together in a magnificent collection from his life and career. Numerous illustrations throughout the book and 12 removable facsimile reproductions of items—among them a signed B. B. King business card from the 1970s and an official White House photo with a note of thanks to B. B. from President Clinton—provide the atmosphere for the party. The entertainment is a jam session, led by the King of the Blues himself, of rare and never-before-published quotes and stories from B. B., his friends, and people he worked with over the years. Also included is an audio CD featuring selected interviews, speeches and unreleased musical recordings of B. B King.
Available at bookstores everywhere in mid September or pre-order through your favorite online bookseller.
www.bulfinchpress.com
www.beckermayer.com
BB King Weeps At Dedication
| Posted by Geffen on 2/23/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
Blues legend BB KING broke down in tears in his native Mississippi on Tuesday (15FEB05) after state leaders declared the day BB King Day.
The THRILL IS GONE musician, 79, was honoured by the southern US state's legislative bodies in a ceremony held in the state capital Jackson's Senate chamber.
Referring to his black guitar, King said, "I never learned to talk very well without LUCILLE.
"But today, I'm trying to say only God knows how I feel. I am so happy. Thank you."
King admitted he hadn't wept since his pal RAY CHARLES' funeral in June 2004.
King explained, "That was tears of sorrow. Today, it was tears of joy."
Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame
| Posted by Geffen on 2/23/2005 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
B.B. King and Eric Clapton are inducting Buddy Guy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14th in NYC.
Paul Shaffer's band is the house band, and a performance by all three is scheduled.
Lightning In A Bottle
| Posted by Geffen on 10/28/2004 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
On February 7, 2003, renowned artists across multiple music genres and generations commandeered the stage at New York City ’s Radio City Music Hall to pay tribute to their common heritage and passion – the blues.
Shared with thousands of fans in attendance, legendary performers from roots, rock, jazz and rap joined forces for a once-in-a-lifetime “Salute To The Blues ” benefit concert whose proceeds went to musical education.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Paul G. Allen and Jody Patton, produced by Alex Gibney and directed by Antoine Fuqua, LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE captures the night’s magic and weaves a history of the blues through the juxtaposition of performances, backstage interviews,rehearsals and archival clips of some of the greatest names in American music, from blues royalty such as Buddy Guy and B.B. King, to their musical heirs ranging from John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt to Mos Def and India.Arie.
B. B. KING & GYÖRGY LIGETI WINNERS OF THE POLAR MUSIC PRIZE
| Posted by Geffen on 5/25/2004 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
The winners of the Polar Music Prize, The Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award, for
2004 were unveiled on Wednesday the 15th of October 2003 at The Royal Swedish Academy
of Music in Stockholm. The Chairman of the Board and Award Committee, Mr. Åke Holmquist,
read the Award Committee’s citations.
"The Polar Music Prize for 2004 is being awarded to the American composer, singer and
performer Riley B King for his significant contributions to the blues. King’s total dedication
to his music, a rich recording history and tireless touring lasting more than half a century have
made him one of the most prominent figures within the blues. Through his achievements in
spreading the blues throughout the world, he has, as a leading proponent of his music,
proved of fundamental importance to the development of modern popular music."
During the announcement at the Academy, a short film with live performances of B. B. King
was shown and pianist Mr. Fredrik Ullén played Ligeti’s "Etudes no. 13, L´escalier du diable".
The prizewinners will receive the prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden at a
gala ceremony in Stockholm to be followed by a celebratory banquet at Grand Hôtel on Monday
the 24th of May. Her Majesty Queen Silvia and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria will
be amongst the many other dignitaries attending.
As from 2004, the prizegiving ceremony will be held at the Stockholm Concert Hall,
which is also where the Nobel Prize ceremony takes place.
The event, which is broadcast on national television (TV4), attracts international media,
members of the international music business, celebrities, artists, musicians, government
ministers, politicians and other leading members of society and industry.
On Saturday the 22nd of May, B. B. King will, together with the eight
members of his band, perform at the Stockholm Concert Hall.
It is the intention to continue with the successful collaboration with the Stockholm Cultural Centre
(Kulturhuset) in organising a "Polar Music Prize Week" of activities culminating in the prizegiving.
This project has now been enhanced with the participation of NGO for assisting in the development
and economic growth of Greater Stockholm, "Sydväxt".
The Polar Music Prize was founded in 1989 by the late Stig Anderson who was one of the true
greats in the music industry. As the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA, he played a key role
in their enormous success.
Stig Anderson made a generous donation to The Royal Swedish Academy of Music with the
aim of creating what was to become known as the Polar Music Prize. This is also why the prize
is administered within the Academy.
It is an international music prize and awarded to individuals, groups or institutions in recognition
of exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music. The prize breaks down
musical boundaries by bringing together people from all the different worlds of music.
It is completely independent of commercial interests, thereby guaranteeing its integrity.
Sir Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Witold Lutoslawski, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Quincy Jones,
Mstislav Rostropovitch, Sir Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Pierre Boulez, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Ericson,
Ray Charles, Ravi Shankar, Iannis Xenakis, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Isaac Stern, Burt Bacharach,
Robert Moog, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Miriam Makeba and Keith Jarrett are the
individuals who have been bestowed with the prize since its inception in 1992. In 1992, the Baltic
States were also awarded the prize to encourage them in their work for protection of copyright.
The prize is now in its thirteenth year and is awarded in the amount of one million Swedish
Crowns (approximately equivalent to US$ 125.000 or € 110.000) tooooo each prizewinner.
B.B. King Museum Development Team Hosts Planning Summit
| Posted by Geffen on 1/05/2004 | Comments (0) | Views: ()
Indianola, Mississippi: Plans for a museum honoring international Bluesman B.B. King are well underway, guided by a development team with excellent credentials and input at a recent planning summit, according to Museum Foundation President Bill McPherson.
Members of the development team assembled in Mr. King's hometown of Indianola, Mississippi, on October 9 - 10 for the charrette. In attendance were team members including Architect Stephen Perkins of the Washington, D.C. and Dallas firm of ForrestPerkins; Patrick Gallagher, CEO, Deena Gift, Rob Malootian and Cybelle Lewis-Jones of the museum interpretive design and exhibit firm Gallagher and Associates of Bethesda, Maryland; Tom Moriarity and Leslie Smith of Economics Research Associates, international consultants to the entertainment and leisure industry with offices in Washington, D.C. and throughout the world; Paul Rosenthal, storyline consultant and Al Hillmann and Michal Carr of the film production company Hillmann and Carr, also of Washington.
Among those invited guests attending were blues historian and King biographer, Charles Sawyer, and Executive Director of the National Music Center and Museum, James Weaver, as well as founding editor of Living blues Magazine, Jim O'Neil.
The $10 million museum facility will be approximately 15,000 square feet upon completion and designed for an interactive and educational experience. The museum has been sanctioned by Mr. King and Floyd Lieberman, CEO of Lieberman Management, as the official B.B. King Museum. The facility is projected to open in 2005, during the international celebration of B.B. King's 80th year.
During the October planning summit, the development team and invited guests affirmed direction for the Museum. In addition to telling the B.B. King story, it will serve as a unique regional and national learning resource, committed to the creation of an innovative curriculum for K-12 and Lifelong Learning modules. Lesson plans and outreach initiatives will be created to encourage primary, secondary and continuing education groups from the region to visit the B.B. King Museum for tours and educational opportunities.
The B.B. King Museum will also seek to establish partnerships with other institutions. Its goal is to leverage resources in order to create greater museum exposure to potential visitors and students. The museum can thereby document best practices and understanding about the effectiveness and success of its outreach programs. The Museum will strive to create pathways to its resources through the development of digital media for internet and DVD distribution.
King visited Indianola, Mississippi, in early June 2003 to meet with the Foundation Board and perform his annual Homecoming concert. Upon viewing the museum site, he remarked that the vintage cotton gin building located there is the same structure in which he had worked as a youth. The site, located near the downtown district on Second Street, was donated to the B.B. King Museum Foundation by the City of Indianola. Current plans call for the early brick cotton gin building to be renovated as part of the museum campus, which will include new facilities as well.
The museum's connection to the place where Mr. King grew up and first played the blues is significant, according to Foundation President, Bill McPherson. McPherson sees the Museum as a way to showcase the origins of the Delta Blues, America's root music, as well as the accomplishments of a man who started life with few advantages, yet rose to become a musician recognized around the world.
"From bare beginnings, B.B. King has become legendary, performing in over 90 countries and influencing such musical icons as John Lennon and Eric Clapton," remarked McPherson. "The B.B. King Museum is the place where we can honor the talent and dreams of a Delta kid who became 'The King of the Blues'."
