The thrill is gone
It’s gone away from me
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away from me
Although, I’ll still live on
But so lonely I’ll be

B.B. King died on May 14th in Las Vegas, but he will live on. The lonely crowd will be us, his fans who wrapped our ears around his world whenever we felt the force of life beating us down to our knees. King redefined the blues and departs this world as the king. Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters may hold a few of the keys to the castle, but it’s King’s face on the front of the building.

Maybe it was the way he played the guitar, sitting in a chair, at the center of the stage, well into his 80’s. He played it so well and so honestly that one would think he was born with a guitar strumming around the crib. Maybe it was the way he sung the blues and made us feel the impact in our souls that he seem to be feeling deep in his bones as he belted out the tunes.

I remember seeing King play live in the late 1990’s at the Fox Theater with my friend Josh Brown. He got two tickets to a Blues festival, and all the greats came out to play so we went. Guy, Susan Tedeschi and B.B. King. The ones that took the stage before him were honorable and dynamic, but what they did paled in comparison to the show King put on. He only played for 45 minutes, but he sunk his soul into those songs. King was a musician who truly connected with his audience. He didn’t need a seven piece orchestra, a skin tight outfit, a trio of singers to help him out either. King could blow you away all by himself. He was old school. A relic from the past that wouldn’t die. One that kept getting stronger. (more…)