Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century…
B.B. King is one of America's few, long-standing musical treasures whose stature has grown to an unassailable, international level. Despite his 85 years, King continues to tour, perform and to grow in influence, casting a shadow that reaches far beyond the blues scene from whence he first came. His warm, down-home vocal style, his distinctive, talking blues guitar playing, and his songs that sing of love's joys and hardships Sweet Sixteen, How Blue Can You Get?, Help The Poor, The Thrill Is Gone and countless others are all indelibly imprinted elements in the modern musical heritage. Celebrating his 50th Anniversary signing to ABC-Paramount Records in 1962 we bring you this multi-format career retrospective. Leading the way with a slick 10 CD, 194 track collection chronicling his entire career from his first recordings in 1949 through to his most recent studio album.
In 1974, B.B. King brought the blues back to Africa. Invited to take part in the three-day music festival which featured the legendary boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, King played before a crowd of over 80,000 Africans and delivered a performance considered by many to be one of the greatest of his phenomenal career. B.B. King filled the night with his raw power, searing energy and heart stopping emotion.
Celebrate 50 years of blues music with The King of Blues, B.B. King, as he performs his greatest hits live by request from his fans. Originally aired on the A&E Network on A&E's Live By Request, B.B. and special guest Jeff Beck electrify New York city with all-time favorites like "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Ill Survive."
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century.
Universal's 2012 box set Ladies & Gentlemen…Mr. B.B. King is hardly the first B.B. King box set – MCA assembled a similar four-disc set called King of the Blues in 1992, Ace had a tremendous four-CD box called The Vintage Years in 2002 that covered his pre-ABC/Paramount recordings (apparently every ten years it's time for a new B.B. box) – but it certainly is the most ambitious, arriving in two separate career-spanning incarnations…
Originally released in 1958 by the budget-priced Crown label, The Blues collected a dozen sides B.B. King cut for RPM and Kent between 1951 and 1958…
This 2011 concert recording captures the legendary blues guitarist B/B/ King and his guitar Lucille ripping through a number of songs like "I Need You So," "Key to the Highway," and "The Thrill Is Gone." Along the way he gets help from such celebrated performers as Slash, Ron Wood, and Mick Hucknall.
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century.
The career of blues guitar legend B.B. King has spanned some six decades, and he has earned a reputation of one of the best of the blues through constant touring and dynamic live performances. One of the frequent stops along King's seemingly never-ending tour is the annual jazz festival in Montreux, Switzerland, where the guitarist has made better than 20 appearances through the years.
Step forward the eighth set in Ace's mid-price series of vintage B.B. King recordings based on his albums released on the Crown label. Between 1957 and 1963, the Bihari brothers' dime store label released 12 albums, comprised of singles from their RPM and Kent labels, tracks from the vaults, plus dedicated album sessions. Despite the "cheap and cheerful" production values, the B.B. King Crown albums became collectors' items due to the high quality of B.B.'s recordings and the eye-catching artwork. The LPs were a discographical headache until Ace was able to unravel the details.